SodaStream is embarking on a mission that could do plenty for its bottom line, but even more for the oceans, by bringing attention to the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” a swirling gyre of more than 3.5 million tons of plastic garbage between Hawaii and the continental U.S. The maker of home soda machines partnered with The Earth Day Network and an ecological organization called 5 Gyres (yes, there are four more of these abominations) to invite people to visit what they’re calling “The Secret Continent.”
A video travelogue on www.secretcontinent.com invites vacationers and honeymooners to consider the destination, while clearly the intent is to get consumers to consider the devastation. “So you’re asking yourself , what is this place?” says a shill, while bathers wade waste deep in soda bottles and garbage bags behind him. “Is it marvelous? Yes. Is it breathtaking? Absolutely. Imagine every piece of plastic ever manufactured gathered by the ocean’s current into a brand new continent. It’s double the size of Texas, but triple the fun.”
The site offers free prizes of SodaStream machines to winners of a contest to name the continent, asks them to sign a petition to convince world leaders to designate it an official continent, and points out that one Soda Stream bottle eliminates the use of as many as 2,000 plastic soft drink bottles.
“People talk about recycling, but nobody talks about reusing,” says Nirit Hurwitz, SodaStream’s global brand manager, pointing out that users of its machine do the latter as a matter of course. “We wanted to talk about the Garbage Patch because it’s such a devastating thing and most people don’t know about it.”
SodaStream will be trying to get the word out today, Earth Day, with a global public relations campaign it hopes will add momentum to its “Secret Continent” digital campaign. Hurwitz says that a large segment of SodaStream owners are drawn to the machine’s waste-saving attributes.
“At our core, we’re a green company,” she says. “People who use SodaStream like the assurance that they’re doing something good for the the environment.”
