An Emoji with a Mission

Santa Barbara, California — September 11, 2024: A new emoji may be coming to your phone next year. Marine Watchdogs, a California-based ocean conservation nonprofit, today announced its proposal for a new emoji to the Unicode Technical Committee.

Designed to represent the urgent need to reduce plastic pollution, the proposed emoji aims to galvanize global awareness and action with a symbol that delivers a simple but powerful message, encapsulating the reminder to avoid single-use plastics, especially plastic bottles.

Environmentally-conscious people can use the Reduce Plastic icon now by saving it and texting by phone SMS or attaching it to an email.

"People are becoming aware of the health issues around plastic, and the sheer volume of plastic accumulating in our environment and our oceans is a crisis that demands immediate attention," said Judah Sanders, Marine Watchdogs' Science Director. "This emoji has the potential to become a powerful tool in raising awareness about the devastating impacts of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems."

Americans use about 50 billion plastic bottles every year.

The public-domain icon is available for download so environmentally-conscious consumers don't have to wait until the emoji is approved by the UTC, which Marine Watchdogs hopes will be included in iOS and Android phones in 2025.

With plastic production and pollution continuing to grow worldwide, Marine Watchdogs believes it's a growing crisis that's taken a backseat in the media to more sensational current events like elections and wars.

"Wars and elections pass, but in the human lifespan, plastic is permanent trash," said Dave Dahl, Marine Watchdogs Managing Director. "With the equivalent of a truckload of plastic trash entering our ocean every minute, there's no way to remove it as fast as it's accumulating, and the plastic products we use today will be here for centuries after we're gone."

Fragmentation of plastics in the environment, coupled with the release of chemical additives from these plastics, lead to a potential future peak release of toxic compounds.

Marine Watchdogs believes this emoji has the potential to reach a global audience. "This emoji is more than just a picture; it's a call to action," said Gitte, Marine Watchdogs Events Director. "We believe a universal symbol can help drive behavior change by reminding people to choose non-plastic products."

In addition to their ocean research and education programs, Marine Watchdogs provides a free database of plastic product alternatives and other public services on their website to help consumers adopt sustainable, biodegradable products and packaging materials made from paper, wood, aluminum or glass instead of disposable and single-use plastics.

About Marine Watchdogs

Marine Watchdogs is a California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit environmental action company dedicated to protecting marine ecosystems. Funded by individuals, sponsors and organizations supporting ocean preservation and environmental health, Watchdogs aims to reduce the growing flow of toxic plastic trash by providing awareness of and access to ocean-friendly alternatives. More information: marinewatchdogs.org

About the Unicode Consortium

The Unicode Consortium is the standards body for the internationalization of software and services. More information: unicode.org

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