Leave nothing but your footprint: Reef makes a pledge for cleaner beaches

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Dedicated to making sure beaches stay clean and healthy, international beach apparel brand Reef pledges to use the fun, freedom and spirit of the beach to champion a better life for people and planet. 

To achieve this, Reef is targeting to accomplish 1,500 beach clean ups, remove 150,000 lbs of trash, and engage 30,000 volunteers around the world this year, in the hopes that their industry and communities play an equally big role in enacting meaningful change for the planet. 

Volunteers pick up trash from the shore of San Juan, La Union during Reef’s Free the Sea Movement 3. 

Globally, Reef partnered with Surfrider and has cleaned up 840 beaches and collected 206,871 lbs of trash which is beyond the target mentioned with the help of 30,654 volunteers as of this writing. 

In the Philippines, Reef hosted their annual Free the Sea Movement, a fun-filled 3-day event and coastal clean-up that aims to promote responsible travel and environmental conservation. 

Now on its third year, Reef’s Free the Sea Movement 3 in San Juan, La Union was created in partnership with WWF-Philippines and aimed to encourage people to live a sustainable lifestyle by not using single-use plastics that are harmful to the environment, specifically oceans. 

100 volunteers participated in the clean-up during Free the Sea Movement 3 and the event also included Plastic Solutions’ talk on eco-brick making. Reef is also part of WWF-Philippines Ayoko ng Plastic Campaign, which seeks to lessen, and eventually eliminate, single-use plastics within the country by raising awareness of the issue of plastic pollution with the public. 

Single-use plastics are among the biggest pollutants found in our oceans today. In 2016, plastic production amounted to as much as 335 million metric tons, approximately half of that amount used for single-use purposes. A whopping 32% of plastic packaging being left to the environs, with 8 million tons of plastic packaging wind up in the ocean each year. 

Reef’s Music Festival Night at Free the Sea Movement 3 caps off the first day of the event with performances from different bands. 

The event also included free surfing clinics for the volunteers and a fun Music Festival Night graced by bands like Orange & Lemons, G2 & the Bundocks, Coeli, The Geeks PH, Rusty Machines, Eazyhead, We are Imaginary, Cheats. 

Aside from mounting coastal clean-ups, Reef is also committed to supporting environmental programs of local communities. Recently, Reef also donated cash and goods to the La Union Surfers Club to support the organization’s environmental efforts in the area. 

“A lot of our programs next year will be geared towards encouraging people to live a sustainable lifestyle,” says Reef Philippine Marketing Head Marnelli Gaerlan. 

“Most of our products are now PVC free and we even have sandals enhanced with Eco One as well which makes them 100% biodegradable.” 

Eco-One®, by Ecologic, LLC. Eco-One is an organic additive that enhances the biodegradation process through a series of chemical and biological processes when disposed of in a biologically active landfill. A normal plastic bag could take hundreds of years to breakdown, but with Eco-One, the material will biodegrade over a shorter period of time. 

Next year, Reef will also enhance their plastic packaging with Eco-One. 

Reef’s pledge for cleaner beaches is in line with their latest campaign Beach Freely, which encourages everyone who steps into the sand or into Reef products to experience the beach in their own way and take that fun spirit of the beach with them wherever they go. 

By committing to preserve and restore beaches, Reef aims to help ensure that everyone continues to have the opportunity to Beach Freely. 

Embrace the spirit of fun, freedom and the beach with Reef – watch the recap of Free the Sea Movement 3 in La Union by visiting https://bit.ly/2EcTPEw. 

For more updates on Beach Freely and Reef’s products and activities, follow www.facebook.com/reefphils/. 

ABOUT REEF® 

REEF is the global brand that encourages people everywhere to Beach Freely. United by the spirit of the beach since 1984, REEF designs innovative and comfort-driven products to celebrate the freedom and fun of the beach lifestyle. 

REEF® and Reef Beach Freely™ are trademarks of South Cone, Inc. 

Reef invites everyone to embrace the fun, freedom and spirit of the beach with ‘Beach Freely’

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Reef, the industry leader in beach and surf footwear, is launching its new brand mantra that seeks to unite the world around the fun, freedom and spirit of the beach – Beach Freely. 

Beach Freely encourages everyone who steps into the sand or into Reef products to experience the beach in their own way – whether that’s surfing, barbecuing, swimming and enjoying other water sports – and take that fun spirit of the beach with them wherever they go. 

Local’s Perspective, the country’s first ever surfing coffee table book was launched during Reef’s Beach Freely event. Written by Michael Eijansatos from My Life on Board and published in partnership with Reef, the book covers the best surfing spots in the country and around Asia.

With its pristine white sand beaches and surfing spots hailed around the globe as some of the world’s finest, the Philippines has a vibrant beach-loving and surfing community who were there to witness the launch of the campaign at Alabang Town Center. Featuring games, music and all the other things that makes beach parties memorable, Reef invited the crowd to get into the Breach Freely spirit. 

The event also kicked off the launch of “Local’s Perspective” – the first Philippine Surf Book to be published. Created in collaboration with Reef’s long-time partner, My Life on Board, the book compiled the best surf images together with some of the finest wave chasers of our time, not only in the Philippines, but also across Asia - immortalizing those moments and telling the story of the history and culture of the locals who shaped the Asian surfing scene.

The book features images from the best surf photographers in Asia and Oceana like Giang Wardani from Batu Karas in West Java Indonesia, Bali based National Geographic photographer Tommy Schultz, Mentawai Island based surf photographer from Japan Hatsumi Ishibashi, World Longboard Championship Chaplain and photographer Andrew Carruthers from Australia and Siagrao based surf photographer Oliver Bayer.

It also highlights work from the Philippines’ own local surf photographers like Red Bull Ilume finalists and Sony World Photography National Award winner Gaps Sabuero, surf photographer from Samar Abdel Elecho, La Union based surfer and photographer Jeferson Ganuelas, Baler Based surf photographer JP Sarmiento and My Life on Board founder Mike Eijansantos. 

Mike was inspired to create this book because as he said, “Everything is digital already. So I want to create a book that immortalize the beauty of the images.”

Lovers of Reef can look forward to feeling this new, invigorated spirit in Reef’s latest products. 

Reef featured new their newest products during the launch: the Fanning Low sandals which has a built it bottle opener and ultra-soft support cushion soles, and the perforated board shorts which gives ultimate breathability and dries almost instantly after you step out of the water.

Perfect for surfers who are feeling the heat this summer, Reef’s perforated boadshorts feature light breathable polyester fabric created from woven soluble yarn and have perforated holes allow for water and air to freely pass through the fabric, speeding up the dry time and enhancing breathability. Complete with a zipper closure back pocket, key loop and non-velcro fly make this perfect for surf or other high intensity water sport. 

For the trendy beach-goer, Reef has created a slimmer, sleeker version of the ever-popular Fanning sandal. The Fanning Low has the same all-day comfort, arch support, and thirst quenching technology as the Fanning; but with slimmer straps and a lower side profile for a more youthful and fun vibe. 

Michael Eijansantos from My Life on Board talks about how the surfing community has grown in the country, given that we have some of the best beaches and surfing spots in the world. His book, Local’s Perspective, was inspired his dream to immortalize the beautiful blue waves of the Philippines and spots around Asia.

The Fanning Low has a super soft yet supportive EVA footbed, an airbag under the heel for even more support, and a rubber outsole for top of the line traction and durability – and it even has a bottle opener to ensure you are always able to quench your thirst! The new Fanning Low will be available in 6 six fun colors, right in time for one’s next beach adventure. 

The new mantra also lends itself to the Reef’s updated impact strategy to help keep beaches clean for everyone to enjoy.  Environmental and social impact has been a priority for Reef since the company’s founding in 1984 and has continued to grow throughout the years through the global Reef WeHeart program.

At the Beach Freely launch, Reef Chief Operating Officer Jane Ortega talks about how Reef continues to be a brand that always strives to create innovative products while making beach time fun and free.

Reef Marketing Supervisor Marnelli Gaerlan said that Reef aims to “…promote responsible travel by always seeing to it the [we] Reef always have the planet in mind.” She also encourages everyone to always plan beach trips with a conscience by enjoying the beauty of the ocean without leaving a trace. 

Here in the Philippines, Reef continued to promote responsible travel and environmental conservation in Free the Sea Movement 2, a fun-filled three day event and coastal clean-up in Baler done in partnership with WWF Philippines. 

Reef pledges to support efforts to preserve and restore beaches so that everyone has the opportunity to Beach Freely. 

Embrace the spirit of fun, freedom and the beach with Reef – for more updates on Beach Freely and Reef’s products and activities, follow www.facebook.com/reefphils/. 

ABOUT REEF®

REEF is the global brand that encourages people everywhere to Beach Freely. United by the spirit of the beach since 1984, REEF designs innovative and comfort-driven products to celebrate the freedom and fun of the beach lifestyle.

REEF® and Reef Beach Freely™ are trademarks of South Cone, Inc.

Responsible travel and surfing highlighted at Reef‘s Free the Sea Movement 2

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Reef promotes responsible travel through “Free the Sea Movement 2” held in Nalu Surf Camp in Baler, Aurora, Quezon Province. 

Reef, a surf and lifestyle brand known worldwide in partnership with WWF Philippines as it hosts Free the Sea Movement 2 this September 29 until October 1 , 2017 as it continues promoting responsible travel and environmental conservation.

Baler, Aurora is one of the country’s top hotspots for surfing. Aurora is a paradise for surfers, with its long coastline exposed to the Pacific Ocean.

The exciting three-day event treated guests to a slew of fun activities that had them riding the waves while helping to preserve the beauty of Sabang Beach. 

Free the Sea 2 opened with a coastal clean-up and talk from WWF Philippines on sustainable tourism, a cause near and dear to Reef’s heart as it is in line with Reef’s global humanitarian outreach campaign “We Heart.” 

“As travelers, we may be just passing through other beaches and cities but through our We Heart campaign, we want to educate people on the importance of leaving a positive impact on the local communities we visit,” 

“With more and more travelers discovering the beauty of our islands and with the rise of local tourism, now is a good time for us to educate people on the environmental impact tourism has and how we all need to work together maintain our beaches so people can continue to enjoy them for years to come,” Marnelli Gaerlan, Marketing Head for Reef, shared. 

Together with WWF, Surfari Philippines and volunteers, Reef spearheaded the coastal clean-up that aims to restore and preserve the beauty of Sabang Beach. 

Afterwards, guests then got to enjoy what Sabang Beach was famous for – amazing waves and surfing! 

Volunteers got the chance to reconnect with nature and learn how to surf with free surfing lessons conducted by Nalu Surf Camp. 

In the evening, they were also treated to laid-back beachside music with performances from Soundcloud Philippines’ Ann Clerigo, the soulful music of Banna Harbera, and an open mic show which include the turnover of Reef’s donation to WWF, amounting to P30,000, which would go towards WWF’s environmental programs.

The next day opened with even more to offer surfing enthusiasts, as they witness the Surfari Beginners’ Competition, followed by a festive After Party which capped the weekend. 

Aside from receiving their well-earned awards, surfers alongside the volunteers jammed to the sound of indie rapper Eazyhead, party-starter remixes and originals from DJ Doms Badwolf & DJ CC – the perfect end to a beautiful beach day in Baler!

“We are really excited for this year’s Free the Sea Movement. Baler is the perfect setting for us to promote responsible travel and environmental conservation, while at the same time, giving everyone a taste of what they can enjoy if we remember to care of our beaches – which is delicious local food and music, white beaches, clear water and of course, gigantic waves and surfing like no other!” Gaerlan said.

Reef’s ‘Free the Sea Movement: Baler” was sponsored by Juan Light Studio, Bike King’s Kitchen, Madison’s Cafe Baler, La Patricia Hotel, Baler and The Shack, Baler with music partners Ann Clerigo, Banna Harbera, Eazyhead, DJ Domes Badwolf and DJ CC.