The ocean has long been a driving force for SARAH & SEBASTIAN’s design ethos, inspiring Creative Director, and experienced diver, Sarah Munro to champion marine conservation. This fuelled our philanthropic initiative The Xanthe Project, launched in 2022 as our commitment to safeguarding the future of our oceans. 

With over 8 million tonnes of plastic entering our oceans annually—130,000 tonnes from Australia alone—marine environments face an escalating crisis. Microplastics have infiltrated even the remotest parts of our oceans, becoming one of the greatest threats to wildlife—Leatherback Turtles, for example, often confuse drifting plastic for food, with devastating consequences.In light of this, we set an ambitious goal to remove 10,000 pieces of waste from Australia’s coastlines by July 2025. At the end of January, the SARAH & SEBASTIAN team had already removed over 6,000 pieces collectively, with individuals dedicating their own time to cleaning up beaches and parks.

To continue this momentum, our teams across Australia will gather at local beaches in February and early March—in celebration of Clean Up Australia Day—joining forces with Take 3 For The Sea, one of our Xanthe Project partners, to clear rubbish and debris.

"In just one hour, we've collectively removed over 3,800 pieces of waste and debris from this one beach alone. Imagine if we all simply took one hour every week to pick up rubbish—the global impact would be huge."

– Leela Siva, Educator and Presenter, Take 3 For The Sea

This week, our New South Wales team removed waste from Yarra Bay, a beach close to our head office in Alexandria. In the coming weeks, our Queensland teams will focus their efforts on Sandgate Beach and the Gold Coast. In Perth, the team will tackle Watermans Bay, and in Victoria, they will work to restore Brighton Beach. 

"We need to turn the tap off on plastic. If we reduce our plastic consumption, less of it will reach our beaches and waterways."

– Leela Siva, Educator and Presenter, Take 3 For The Sea

At Yarra Bay alone, we cleared over 3,800 pieces of rubbish, amounting to a staggering 48.5 kilograms! We collected everything from microplastics to cigarette butts and large debris, which will be disposed of accordingly and recycled where possible—each piece of waste a reminder of our responsibility to protect our marine environments.

We were proud to partner with Take 3 For The Sea for this initiative, pioneers of the movement proving that simple, intentional actions can make a powerful impact. As of February 2025, we have removed 10,181 pieces of waste from gutters, creeks, and beaches across Australia, reaching our goal early, and aiming to exceed this figure significantly by July 2025. 

"As of February 2025, we have removed 10,181 pieces of waste from gutters, creeks, and beaches across Australia, reaching our goal early."

SURPRISING FINDS

– A pillow
– Multiple vapes
– A pair of socks
– A pair of underwear
– A plastic football
– An unopened, melted ice lolly
– A whopping 439 cigarette butts
– Countless half-filled water bottles
– A 3-meter plastic cable
– A plastic chair
– Countless pieces of styrofoam, food wrappers and shards of plastic debris

WHAT SHOCKED US

The closer we looked, the more we found. At first glance the beach, shrubs and grassland appeared pristine, however, as worked our way through different areas, we found they were saturated with rubbish, many pieces half-buried in the sand or blown into the intertwined vines of the brush.

WHAT WE LEARNED

Even though the local councils comb through our beaches, parks and waterways to clean up rubbish and debris on a daily basis, there's still so much debris and plastic waste left over in public spaces and they wash up on the shore constantly.

WHAT WE WALKED AWAY WITH

The importance of being more mindful of our daily plastic consumption and saying no to single-use plastics. We also realised just how much of an impact small, daily actions can make.

OUR CALL TO ACTION

We invite you to join us on our mission to take three for the sea. Simply take three pieces of rubbish whenever you leave a beach, take three actions to cut single-use plastic, and take three others on the journey—small steps to make a lasting change.