Through the partnership, Aggressor Liveaboards will provide environmentally-safe Stream2Sea sunscreen and personal care products in staterooms aboard five select Caribbean-based Aggressor yachts.
The programme provides every guest on the Bahamas Aggressor, Belize Aggressor III, Belize Aggressor IV, Cayman Aggressor V and Turks and Caicos Aggressor II yachts a customised package of products, including SPF 20 sunscreen, sting gel and other assorted items. All the items are free of harmful chemicals and agents that are causing damage to the environment in many parts of the world.
Aggressor Liveaboards is one of the leaders in promoting the protection of the environment. The company launched the ‘Green the Fleet’ initiative two years ago and has been at the forefront of marketing and promotional efforts designed to make the liveaboard lifestyle environmentally sustainable for divers and protect the health of the world’s oceans.
The ‘Green the Fleet’ initiative sees all captains’ briefings welcoming guests aboard their yacht include information about the company’s environmental initiatives, conserving water, and respectful interactions with marine life, while new sustainability initiatives will build on existing green operations already in place across the fleet.
These include switching from single-use plastic bags to small, compostable, non-plastic garbage bags, participating in local recycling efforts, purchasing beverages in glass bottles or cans only, and providing each guest with a complimentary re-usable water bottle, and using primarily non-toxic, biodegradable cleaners.
The ‘Green the Fleet’ initiative is also working towards eliminating single-use plastics from all Aggressor yachts, beginning with plastic straws, cups and utensils, and Aggressor Liveaboards luggage tags will be made from natural materials instead of plastics.
“These Stream2Sea kits are a natural extension of what we are doing,” said CEO Wayne Brown. “As part of our service to guests, we provide a welcome gift to every traveller when they arrive in their stateroom. The kits are a subtle and not-so-subtle way to tell each diver about our commitment to the environment and that they play an active part every day.”
This pilot programme is part of a larger initiative between Aggressor Liveaboards and Stream2Sea to educate dive travellers about the harmful effects of some sunscreens on coral reefs, marine creatures and the aquatic realm in general. Stream2Sea is one of the leading sunscreen products in the dive industry, with products that do not contain harmful chemicals such as Oxybenzone, which was recently banned by Hawaii and the Caribbean island of Bonaire.
Stream2Sea was launched in 2016 by President Autumn Blum, a cosmetic chemist and PADI instructor who has seen the harmful effects of some sunscreen products on coral reefs and aquatic areas firsthand. Blum decided it was time to take action and subsequently launched Stream2Sea. As the company has grown, so have the opportunities to make a difference, like the programme with Aggressor Liveaboards.
“I’m excited to be working with the team at Aggressor and the Green the Fleet initiative,” she says. “I have a history with Aggressor Liveaboards and it is a perfect fit with two industry leaders to work together to further environmental awareness and education. When you consider the number of divers traveling on Aggressor Liveaboards yachts each year, this certainly has the potential to be a ‘first-step’ towards a much larger and permanent way to make a difference.”
