Stella has teamed up with Oceana this World Oceans Day, calling upon global leaders to protect 30% of our seas by 2030. Oceana is the largest international advocacy organisation focused solely on ocean conservation. To date, it has protected almost 4 million square miles of ocean.

Oceans cover over 70% of our planet, yet only 8% of them are protected. Most of life on Earth can be found in our oceans. Marine biodiversity – the variety of life in Mother Earth’s oceans – is essential in supporting the planet’s natural functions, as well as underpinning a healthy planet and social wellbeing.

A United Nations report from 2019 also stated that biodiversity loss is currently an estimated ‘1,000 times higher than the natural rate’. And our seas are essential in fighting climate change. Globally, 90% of the extra heat created from human-caused carbon has been absorbed by the oceans. We need to save our seas.

The COP15 summit in 2022 outlined the historic 30x30 ambition — one to conserve 30% of the world’s land and 30% of the oceans by 2030. In doing so, we can protect our planet’s life support systems: our oceans supply half of the oxygen that we breathe and absorb 26% of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere each year.

It is time we turned our attention to marine conservation today, in order to protect biodiversity and its habitats and ecosystems that are crucial for our collective tomorrow.

Stella McCartney is committed to working towards developing nature-based solutions to biodiversity loss and climate change. Protecting our world and its biodiversity is not enough, that is clear, we must regenerate and restore the natural world so Mother Earth can rebalance herself.

From regenerative sourcing to continuing to recycle pre- and post-consumer waste, we are on a conscious luxury mission to create fashion that does not compromise on desirability or social and environmental sustainability. We always want to push boundaries, open new opportunities and advance change in the fashion industry.