Our mission is to tackle marine and coastal pollution by demonstrating and inspiring positive environmental behaviours and practical action by individuals, communities and businesses.
We started in Emsworth, Hampshire in 2018 as a group of volunteers giving our time to help clean up our local community spaces and, in time, the surrounding areas. We originally focussed on encouraging businesses to cut back on the amount of disposable, pointless plastic that is used. We ran a few beach cleans and started talking to the local communities in the Solent area, and grew from there. We started out as the Final Straw Emsworth, then needed to grow because we had so much interest in the campaign and so became the Final Straw Solent. We were a non-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) from June 2018 through to September 2020, at which point we gained our charity registration and became the Final Straw Foundation CIO.
We work with many different types of business on sustainability and to help them find ethical and sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic in their activities. We have a very busy school outreach programme and have reached thousands of children in the Solent area through assemblies, workshops and wild beach schools. We work with community groups, giving talks and running activities and encouraging people to avoid single-use plastic and how to best dispose of it if they do need to use it. We still run regular beach and community clean-ups. It is a great way to get back in touch with nature, with benefits that include the obvious clear-up of litter, meeting like-minded people, and getting some often well-needed headspace and connection with nature.
We pride ourselves on helping all types of businesses make the necessary decisions to be part of active solutions that will help the natural environment to thrive again.
We are proud to support and align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by promoting sustainable practices and reducing environmental impact. Through initiatives that minimize plastic waste, encourage reusable alternatives, and raise awareness about environmental stewardship, we actively contribute to SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 14 (Life Below Water). By fostering partnerships and engaging communities, we aim to inspire meaningful change and create a healthier, more sustainable future for all.
Our impact is far reaching and we are continually inspired by our generous volunteers, funders, fundraisers, education partners, accredited clubs, organisations and businesses. Here's what we've been up to of late...join us and make a real difference.
There are a few friends we would like to acknowledge, be it for their expertise, the example they're setting or their innovative solutions. We love their work.
We joined forces with Kate Fortnam and the environmental arm of the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) to launch our original single-use-plastic free accreditation scheme for inland & marine clubs, training centres and boating businesses in 2020. The collaborative standard successfully highlighted the responsible and innovative products and practices used in the recreational boating industry. With our shared passion and mission synergies we make a great team in our efforts to enable the community to make more environmentally sustainable choices that protect marine environments, creating best practices for others to follow in reducing the potential for pollution.
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Cathy and the team make it easy for businesses to donate unwanted items to local charities. We couldn't agree more that to work towards a more sustainable world, we need to work towards a circular economy and their simple app makes sending less to landfill a breeze.
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Brad & Kharran from the Naked Pantry provide a sustainable way to shop for zero waste, high quality staple foods and household products. They eliminate the need for plastic packaging. We simply refill our products when we need them, cutting out unnecessary and damaging waste. Be it our gorgeous smelling, clean office, gifts for teammates or our satisfied taste buds, they always have what we need with superb, locally sourced products and snacks.
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Tom, Emily and the gang at the Monster creative digital agency have kindly built this custom website with us. We're so grateful for their patience, expertise, guidance and skills. Hopefully you are finding it easy to use and engaging! Do get in touch with them for your graphic and web design, SEO, Google Ads and custom WordPress website opportunities, they'll help you realise them.
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There are many, varied ways you can help and partner with The Final Straw, here are some of them:
