Specialist air cargo management company, Magma Aviation, has transported over 1000kg of flip flops on a pro bono basis for UK-based Non-Profit, Sea Sense. Sea Sense produces plastic-free biodegradable flip flops, of which the sales fund the prevention of plastics from reaching our oceans. They work with grassroots organisations and communities in Sierra Leone, Kenya and Indonesia to reduce plastic pollution whilst also providing a vital income for plastic collectors in developing countries.

Logistics are crucially important for Sea Sense, as the more cost-effective and efficient the process, the more funds and time they can dedicate to plastic collection. Magma Aviation stepped in to donate their time and resources in transporting the flip flops from the point of manufacture in Fuzhou, China to the point of sale in the United Kingdom using multimodal transport solutions.

Sea Sense founder, Luke McMillan, explains: “We are grateful for Magma Aviation’s efficiency and their eagerness to assist our cause. By donating their time and resources we were able to transport our flip flops across the world quickly, and as a result we have been able to free up funds to employ more plastic collectors in Sierra Leone, providing them with a truly vital income.”

Magma Aviation operations manager, James Le Poer Trench, said: “We had two priorities with this charter: the first was to ensure the transport was as quick and easy as possible, reducing Sea Sense’s lead time. The second was that Magma Aviation would pay for the transport, end-to-end. Profits from each pair of flip flops enable 500 ocean-bound plastic bottles to be removed from some of the world’s most polluted waterways and coastlines, so we are delighted to have transported over one tonne of flip flops to their point of sale to fund this amazing endeavour.”

Luke adds: “Plastic flip flops are the world’s most popular shoe, with 3 billion pairs sold globally every year. Awareness of ocean plastics is high, but the methods of helping the cause are relatively unknown. We are providing people with the chance to make a difference; a simple way to convert concern into action.”

Sea Sense is a Climate Positive business, something they have achieved by offsetting in excess of their carbon usage. So far, Sea Sense has collected over 22,000kg of ocean-bound plastic, equivalent in weight to over 2.2 million plastic bottles.