Manao Anu is based in Newquay, Cornwall in the UK. A small oceanside town who's entire identity is tied to the sea.
The surf capital of the UK and home to several of the UK's most stunning beaches, we witness first hand on a daily basis the damaging impact of single use plastics and non-recyclable materials on our beaches and wildlife.
When Manao Anu was launched it was a high priority to us that not only was our impact as small as possible and we continued every day to improve, but to also highlight the problems our oceans face today and what we can do to help.
Clothing brands all over the world have a huge impact on our oceans whether they are aware or not, just as with all of us individually. Are you aware of how your fashion choices impact our oceans?
MARINE LIFE
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About 90% of seabirds are estimated to have plastic in their stomach, and more than 100,000 marine mammals are killed by plastic debris each year.
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Microfibers released from your clothing and other micro-plastics are sometimes mistaken for food by fish and other marine animals. This not only harms the animal that ingests it, the material passes up the food chain into larger animals and humans.
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For marine life, once ingested, microfibers can cause gut blockage, physical injury, changes to oxygen levels in cells in the body, altered feeding behavior and reduced energy levels - all of which can impact growth and reproduction.
HOW CAN YOU HELP
Shop Consciously.
Unfortunately there doesn't exist a perfect solution in the world right now. However, there are some things you can do to make a more positive impact on our oceans.
* Try to align and choose brands that offer full transparency in their manufacturing processes - they should be able to trace their raw materials all the way back to the source, with accountability every step of the way to consumer’s closets.
* Focus on buying well made, high quality, long lasting items. Buy right, and you buy once.
* Look into brands accountability to sustainability. What are the garments made from, are they aligned with recycled materials, are they looking to reduce their impact, to exist in a way that creates as little impact as possible.
* Repair, don't throw out. To reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill and often our oceans, give some tlc to the items you love already.
* Wash your clothes less. It may sound simple, but washing your clothes less is one of the easiest ways reduce your impact. Do your items really need washing or is it just habit. putting them away. Help your clothes last longer by avoiding tumble drying, and hang on a line instead. You can also put your wash on a gentle cycle at 30c.
* Join or organise a beach clean. A great way to support your oceans and your community. Get a group of friends and do you bit to clear away single use plastics and microfibers from our beaches.
OUR COMMITMENT
At Manao Anu we open about our sustainable journey, and the fact it is, and will always be a never-ending one to do better, to do more.
MATERIALS
Before launch, we spent over 6 months researching into materials, their impact and durability. Each of our changing robes are currently designed and produced using up to 90 recycled plastic bottles.
Producing this way helps to divert more plastic bottles on average a year from landfills, and ending up in our oceans where their impact can be devastating.
As we move forward the long term goal is to continue to become more sustainable, and have a fully recycled 100% recycled change robe selection.
Launching in Autumn this year our new Manao Beanies are made from 100% recycled materials.
Manao Anu is a 100% recycled brand in terms of packaging. Our swing tags, stock cards, thank you cards, and a few other extras inside our packages are all recycled materials. The custom mailer bags we use are also 100% biodegradable.
