WHERE CREATORS, THINKERS AND LEADERS COLLABORATE FOR THE OCEANS
Parley for the Oceans is the global environmental organization and network where creators, thinkers and leaders come together to raise awareness for the beauty and fragility of the oceans and collaborate on projects that can end their destruction. Working across the creative communities, brands, governments and environmental groups, we take action to protect the oceans, Earth’s largest and most vital ecosystem, with an approach led by creativity, collaboration and eco-innovation.
Our mission is to rapidly transform human-made materials and systems to work in harmony with the ecosystem of nature, and to inspire and empower more impactful participation in the environmental cause. Working across the worlds of science, art, fashion, design, technology, finance, entertainment, sport, space and ocean exploration, we address today’s biggest ocean threats in a range of initiatives that challenge the status quo and invite everyone to own their role in the solutions. The only way forward is together — and there is no greater unifier than the ultimate source and life force: the all-connecting oceans.
Featured Initiatives
Launched in 2012, Parley has grown from a series of talks into a global movement of individuals, groups and organizations taking action for the oceans. a look at what we do:
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Art for the Oceans
Art Basel and Parley are calling for support to address the devastating impacts of climate change, plastic pollution and biodiversity loss on marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
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Clean Waves
Sunglasses made from marine plastic debris and reclaimed fishing nets – one of the key threats to life in the oceans. 100% of proceeds support clean ups and education in remote island regions.
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Adidas x Parley
Our long-term collaboration with adidas has helped reshape the industry and transform the global consumer mindset – turning threat into thread and providing a new benchmark for major brands.
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Parley Ocean School — Online
Education for action. Our new online portal connects curious minds to the knowledge, tools, innovation and inspiration to create change in their communities.
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Forests Of The Sea
A landmark new initiative, Forests of the Sea unites scientists, conservationists, creators and communities in work to research, protect and preserve global kelp forests for future generations.
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Ocean Uprise
Parley’s creative activist community – created by youth, for youth – where passionate young leaders from around the world come together to learn, connect and take action to protect the oceans.
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Talisker x Parley
Talisker and Parley for the Oceans join forces on a mission to protect 100 million square meters of marine ecosystems around the world.
The THREATS
“If the oceans die, we die.” — Captain Paul Watson
Humans have altered every corner of the globe. Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels are heating the planet, pushing the oceans and climate to irreversible tipping points. Plastic is found everywhere, from the tallest mountains and deepest ocean trenches to the blood in our veins. Deep-sea habitats are destroyed before their importance is understood, while waters are polluted with waste, noise, sewage and runoff. Coral reefs are bleaching and biodiversity is plummeting, and still marine life is removed as if the seas were limitless. The loss of even one species can set in motion a total ecological collapse.
Despite the destruction, the oceans remain resilient. It’s not too late to turn things around, but the window to act is rapidly closing. Now is the time to reimagine how we live on this planet, to redesign broken economic systems and ways of thinking, and work in harmony with the ecosystem that allows us to survive. The threats are many, so are the solutions. Parley is focussed on three interconnected ocean crises:
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Plastic Pollution
Plastics made from fossil fuels pollute every known corner of the Earth. We’re calling for a Material Revolution.
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Climate Change
To mitigate the impacts of climate change, we must understand the planet’s largest climate regulator: The Oceans.
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Biodiversity Loss
Industrial overfishing and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing methods are destroying ocean biodiversity.
The Approach
Everyone has a role to play in this movement and a responsibility to act, but it’s on the creative industries to own the challenge of molding a new reality. Artists, activists, architects, designers, explorers, filmmakers, inventors, writers, scientists and anyone with the imagination and courage to question everything — we need you. We have the tools to confront environmental threats. Now let’s act at the scale and pace that is urgently required to shape a future humanity, the oceans and all life can survive.
No one will solve today’s global planetary crisis acting alone. Working together, we can view each issue through every possible lens and take a multidisciplinary approach to solutions. Parley was launched for exactly this purpose, with the goal of accelerating a process of change which was already in motion. We’re a new form of environmental organization — one that sees the solutions in creativity, collaboration and eco-innovation.
With the support of our partners and a global network of collaborators, we help shape ideas from conception to reality, from a good intention to the finalization of an agreement and an actionable strategy for change. We develop the blueprints for action, and help see them through to make an actual impact.
The Strategy
Every second breath we take is generated by the oceans. Inspired by this fact, Parley devised a simple strategy that can be scaled to address complex environmental threats: Parley AIR. Avoid. Intercept. Redesign.
Originally presented at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in 2015, the Parley AIR Strategy has been adopted by individuals, industry-leading brands, governments and institutions as a realistic framework for the Material Revolution. Together we are creating the blueprints for a better future — a world where our way of life protects our life-giving ecosystem and defends the air we breathe.
AVOID plastics & emissions wherever possible
INTERCEPT plastic waste & pollutants
REDESIGN materials, methods & mindsets
Why parley
In pirate lore, a parley is a conference or discussion, especially between opposing sides as a negotiation for terms of a truce. The root of the word parley is parler, French for “to speak.” Parley was founded to create a space where seemingly disparate parties can talk, think and act together to negotiate peace between humankind and the life-giving ecosystem that connects us all: the oceans.