Ipswich sailmaker joins forces with Surfers Against Sewage

OneSails at Levington, near Ipswich, has joined forces with Surfers Against Sewage and other businesses which want more protection for the UK's coastal environment.

John Parker, who heads up the OneSails GBR (East) loft in Suffolk said: “As passionate, lifelong sailors who live and work by the sea we are always looking for new ways we can help protect the marine environment.

"We have followed Surfers Against Sewage’s campaigns for many years, and they were the obvious choice when it came to teaming up with a charity taking action to implement real change.”

Surfers Against Sewage  was launched in 1990 by a group of Cornish surfers fighting for a cleaner sea as it was making them sick.

Now it lobbies leaders to take action on plastic pollution, the climate emergency, industrial exploitation, and water quality.

So far this year it has facilitated the clean-up of over 172k miles of UK beaches, engaged with nearly 4k schools nationwide, and lobbied government about sewage spills.

Nathan Steffenoni from OneSails GBR (south) in Hamble said: “As a business, we are investing in product development and recycling initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of our sails.

"Like many of our team, I am a sea swimmer, a surfer, and a sailor so this is also a personal commitment as well as a company mission.”

Earlier this year, OneSails UK announced a partnership with the charity Clean Sailors and its global ReSail project to recycle and re-use old sails.

Over the summer, the company prevented 100 old sails going into landfill through the campaign.

ReSail by Clean Sailors allows sailors around the world to search for and find local drop-off points for their old sails and ropes which are used in a variety of different products and businesses.

Anyone can drop old sails off to the OneSails lofts near Ipswich and in Hamble on the south coast.