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This advertisement has been produced by the commercial department of the Financial Times on behalf of EDP

The true cost of ocean trash

Dive into a new kind of store - one that features the forgotten stuff found beneath the ocean

This is Backwash, the store that offers everything that everyone wants today - and that nobody will want tomorrow.

From the latest gadgets to the hottest fashion trends, it will open your eyes to all the things you desire while revealing what really lies behind today's mass consumption of products.

Come inside and explore the vast range on offer.

Surf the deep web

This state-of-the-art laptop can be yours for just 500 Earth years - the length of time it will take to break down in the sea. Personal computers such as this are just one of the many electronic products found by volunteer divers in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Portugal. Despite the ocean's life-sustaining majesty, it has become a dumping ground for the things that people no longer want.

Over time, electronic items with metal, chemical and plastic parts break down into multiple ocean hazards¹. Microplastics absorb harmful chemicals, and we're only just beginning to understand how the trillions of microplastics in the ocean impact marine and human health. Mercury, which is a potential neurotoxic compound for humans and animals, lurks in batteries, screens and other tech components.

Notebook for Deep Web

Price: +500 Earth years
to decompose

+500 Earth years

The problem is only getting worse. According to the E-waste Monitor², 57.4mn metric tonnes of e-waste were generated in 2021, compared with 44.1mn metric tonnes in 2014. Only 17.4 per cent of e-waste is collected and properly recycled, meaning much of it either ends up in a landfill or at the bottom of the ocean.

This type of item, once valued and now forgotten, is a frequent find at the Backwash store, a unique shopping experience curated by the global renewable energy player EDP.

0mt

Expected total annual global E-Waste generation by 2030 in Mt. (million metric tonnes)

Source: E-waste Monitor

Wear those water shoes

This elegant pump can be yours for just 500 Earth years - the time it takes for the synthetic material to decompose. The Backwash project found thousands of shoes and other fashion items during the ocean clean-up supported by EDP. The world now consumes about 80bn new pieces of clothing every year - about four times as much as 20 years ago³. Every second, the equivalent of a rubbish truck full of clothing ends up burnt or in landfill⁴.

Shrimp Shoes

Price: +500 Earth years
to decompose

+500 Earth years

Fortunately, today's consumers increasingly demand sustainable alternatives to fast fashion. The secondhand clothing market is expected to almost double in the next few years, from US$177bn in 2022 to US$351bn in 2027⁵.

Growth of clothing sales and decline in clothing utilisation since 2000.

Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2015.

Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Enjoy a cup of ocean brew

Would you care for some coffee while you browse the store? This plastic flask can be yours for just 500 Earth years. Before you say yes, consider that plastic items such as this, which was found off the coast of Portugal in the first ocean clean-up operation supported by EDP, contribute heavily to the contamination afflicting all the world's oceans.

More than 170tn plastic particles from the slow breakdown of consumer goods have formed what scientists call a "plastic smog"⁶ spread throughout marine waters. The particles are small enough to enter the food chain as fish and other animals ingest them, spelling danger for marine life and humans alike.

Cold Coffee Thermos

Price: +500 Earth years
to decompose

+500 Earth years

Plastic production has increased exponentially over the past 70 years, growing from 1.5mn metric tonnes in 1950 to 390.7mn metric tonnes in 2021⁷. Only 9 per cent of plastic waste is recycled globally, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). At the same time, more than one fifth of all plastic produced is mismanaged, often simply ending up as litter.

Globally, only 9% of plastic waste is recycled while 22% is mismanaged.*

*Share of plastics treated by waste management category, after disposal of recycling residues and collected litter, 2019.

Source: OECD

Soak up that sea-horse power

Speed around the ocean with this piece of machinery - all yours for the price of just 500 Earth years. The propellers of outboard engines pose a huge danger to marine life. In Florida's shallow waters, nearly every manatee bears scars⁸ from a collision with an outboard motor; populations of the marine mammals dropped precipitously⁹ with the rise of boats as a leisure activity in the area.

Motor 60 Sea Horse Power

Price: +500 Earth years
to decompose

+500 Earth years

Outboard engines such as this harm the environment in several ways. The emissions from fossil fuels used by these types of engines are the principal cause of global warming. Noise pollution, caused by engines in boats, ships and from naval activity, can also cause cellular damage¹⁰ to invertebrates such as anemones, which are a food source for tuna, sharks, turtles and other marine life.

Don’t be a wash out

This mod-con is a must-have, reducing domestic chores to a minimum and adding precious minutes to your downtime every day. The price? A mere 500 Earth years. Before adding it to your shopping cart, however, consider that laundry detergents pose a serious threat to the marine ecosystem.

Salt-water-washing-machine tub

Price: +500 Earth years
to decompose

+500 Earth years

Many detergents contain surfactants, or surface-active agents - chemicals that reduce the surface tension of water, making it easier for water to absorb pollutants and pesticides. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), surfactants also break down the external mucus layer that protects fish from parasites and bacteria¹¹. Each washing-machine cycle releases, on average, 700,000 synthetic microfibres into the water courses; it is believed that the ocean contains 4bn plastic microfibres per square kilometre.

Save our seas

If the Backwash store has made you think twice about what you buy and how you dispose of it, you have already taken a step towards addressing the global problem of ocean waste. But the positive action does not stop there.

Around the world, governments and organisations are starting to take important decisions to clean and protect oceans. In a historic move at last year's United Nations Environment Assembly, all 192 member states agreed to end plastic pollution by 2030¹². In June, member states also signed the so-called High Seas Treaty, which aims to protect waters outside national jurisdiction.

Companies are also stepping up. EDP, the global energy company that supplies renewable energy in almost 30 countries, sponsored a Guinness world record-breaking ocean clean-up programme¹³ which removed over 3 tonnes of plastic and other rubbish from an area off the coast of Portugal. The programme involved 597 scuba divers who fished out items as diverse as spectacles, power tools and washing-machine parts.

"Sustainability requires everybody to be active, everybody to try and step up to the challenges - this is a collaborative effort," Miguel Stilwell d'Andrade, EDP's Chief Executive, told attendees of the company's We Choose Earth event in Madrid. "It's not just about governments, it's important that all of us, in whatever roles we have, take steps, think intentionally and try to make a difference."

On an individual level, people can become more active in campaigns to protect our oceans, joining the efforts of organisations such as The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organisation that develops and uses advanced technologies to remove plastic garbage from the oceans. They can also lobby governments and local representatives to push for more effective and ambitious recycling and waste management systems and marine protection initiatives. Supporting policies such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which mandates plastic producers to pay for managing plastic waste, is an important way to demand greater corporate responsibility for protecting our planet.

As EDP's Backwash store highlights, the world's oceans are an essential piece in the sustainability puzzle. Together, we can turn the tide on the way we have abused them.