Selfridges has unveiled Project Ocean, welcoming royalty, celebrities, environmental NGOs and the fashion, lifestyle and environmental campaigners into the transformed London Oxford Street store.
The global initiative is both a celebration of the world’s oceans and a forum for conservationists to issue an urgent public wake-up call to address issues of sustainability, overfishing and marine protection. The month long campaign will run from today until 12 June. In partnership with the 186-year-old The Zoological Society of London, the leading retailer is harnessing its creative power on a scale never seen before to raise funds for marine conservation and help change consumer habits on behalf of the world’s next generations.
Today, Selfridges was awash with all things ocean for the launch, from frogmen processions and live coral installations, to an evening soiree. The proceedings were highlighted by a surprise visit from HRH Prince of Wales, who visited the store to help celebrate the start of this ambitious and unique campaign. For a whole month, the London store is given itself over to leading international marine protection campaigners and 22 environmental NGOs, as well high profile activists from the worlds of art, fashion, culinary arts, and entertainment.
HRH joined Alannah Weston, Creative Director of Selfridges and project partner Jonathan Baillie, Director of Conservation Programmes at Zoological Society of London to speak out on this important issue, outlining the unthinkable prospect of the world’s major fisheries collapsing by 2050.
Alannah Weston, co-creator of Project Ocean commented: “Project Ocean has created a wonderful opportunity to use Selfridges’ own unique channels to help conservationists reach a wider audience and raise the stakes for global impact. We hope our customers will be inspired by the project and make sustainability a part of their everyday lives. Our hope is that 100 years from now, people will be still be able to enjoy the wonders of the ocean and that Selfridges will still be able to sell non-endangered fish in our stores”.
Project partner Jonathan Baillie of the Zoological Society of London says, “Project Ocean is the start of an ongoing campaign with two simple messages: 1. We need to stop eating endangered fish, 2. We need to create protected reserves in the ocean. Selfridges is helping you speak to people in their own language and convey these messages in a compelling way.”
Richard Benyon, Natural Environment and Marine Minister, said: “It’s great to see Selfridge’s promoting exactly what the government wants to see - conservation of our marine environment and resources to ensure clean, healthy seas for future generations.”
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