Australian wine brand removes over 10 million plastic bottles from world oceans

By James Lawrence

Published: 08 February, 2022

The Hidden Sea, founded by Aussie rules football star-turned-winemaker Richie Vandenberg and Justin Moran in 2021, and brought into the UK by Kingsland Drinks, has achieved a major sustainability milestone by removing the equivalent of more than 10 million single-use plastic bottles from the ocean.

Spearheading a campaign in conjunction with UK retailers, the brand’s owners pledged to remove and recycle the equivalent of 10 single-use plastic bottles for every wine bottle sold.

This environmental drive was undertaken in collaboration with ReSea Project, a Danish organisation committed to removing ocean waste plastic and recycling it, while also improving communities most directly affected by ocean waste and creating awareness about responsible waste handling. It currently operates in Southeast Asia, which is a major recipient of plastic waste from countries around the world, including the UK.

In addition, The Hidden Sea has entered a licence agreement with Climate Active with the goal of achieving carbon neutral status for its range of wines for vintage year 2021 and onwards. The company is currently measuring its carbon footprint from grape growing all the way through to customers taking ownership of the wines produced. Additionally, the wines are 100% vegan and the winery is solar powered.

Justin Moran, co-founder of The Hidden Sea, said: “Reaching this milestone is a fantastic achievement, and we’re grateful to retailers in the UK for getting behind us. This moment demonstrates that consumers – when given the opportunity – will make more socially conscious meaningful choices if they place them at the heart of a movement. But the job is not done. We’re on a mission to remove one billion by 2030. To achieve this goal, more support is vital. We’ll be investing heavily to sound the alarm, drive awareness, get the support of further retailers, and drive consumers to store.”

Marine biologist, Madeline St Clair, added: “The Hidden Sea’s 10 million bottle milestone is a wonderful example of how businesses can affect change when they put the planet at the centre of their focus. The world’s oceans are vital to the health of the planet and the simple truth is that plastic, of any kind, does not belong in the world’s waters.”

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