Gravity Wave
Basic information
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Full project title
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Project Description
We are a company of social impact, circular economy and environmental awareness that cleans plastic from the bottom of the sea and turns it into furniture as a way to give it a second life and a high sustainable value. We achieve all this thanks to the collaboration of companies, organizations and individuals who finance the cleaning of plastic from the sea, to the more than 2000 fishermen who help us in the plastic collection along the Mediterranean and to our recycling and revaluation partners
Geographical Scope
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Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
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Description of the project
Summary
Gravity Wave is a social and environmental company founded by Amaia and Julen Rodríguez, two siblings who at the end of 2019 joined their passion for entrepreneurship and their desire to generate a positive impact on the environment to fight for a common goal: to achieve plastic-free seas and oceans.
Every year, between 8 and 12 million tons of plastic are dumped into our seas and oceans. Without going any further, the Mediterranean Sea alone receives 200,000 tons per year, which is equivalent to more than 500 shipping containers per day, making it the most polluted sea on the planet. Starting from such a tangible global problem, Gravity Wave was born. A project that aims to: clean plastic waste from seas and oceans; prevent, through the collection of plastic on coasts and rivers, that more waste reaches the waters; and give a second life to plastic waste extracted from the sea in furniture and products of high sustainable value and long life.
We collect all types of plastic from the depths of the sea, but in the revaluation process we focus on finding a solution for fishing nets, since until today there was no one who could recycle and revalue this waste precisely because of its physiognomy.
Through a collaborative economy model and with the help of more than 2000 artisanal fishermen, we help companies, entities and individuals to increase their commitment to sustainability and environmental care, through the following lines of action:
* Plastic cleaning of seas and oceans on their behalf .
* Compensation of its plastic footprint.
* Manufacture and revaluation of products made from fishing nets.
In this way we innovate in a completely new and particular business model, as it feeds back; we innovate through a unique material in the world for its finish and resistance, and because we are one of the first companies in the Spanish market specialized in the production of plastic nets.
Key objectives for sustainability
In terms of sustainability, our project aims to reconcile human life with marine life. Our purpose is to generate impact on companies, society and the environment.
In 2021 we closed the year with 35,000 kilograms of plastic extracted from the seabed. This year we aim to collect 150,000 kilograms by the end of 2022. By 2024 we aim to reach 1 million plastic revalued from the sea.
On the other hand, we want to reach more ports in the Mediterranean to have a greater number of partnerships with artisanal fishermen, whom we pay per kilo, to help us catch the amount we are targeting.
In terms of circular economy, we want to consolidate our position as a leading company in this sector, revaluing the largest amount of plastic from the sea and closing the circle of production with designer furniture, to furnish the future.
Through our objectives we want to contribute to:
Companies, individuals and entities can be part of the solution to plastic pollution and combat the different challenges of the SDGs (12, 13, 14 and 17), through actionable and innovative solutions.
Supporting the work of artisanal fishermen, rewarding them for catching every kilo of plastic and also thanks to ENALEIA, educating and teaching them more sustainable fishing methods, bringing them closer to a new perspective of relationship with the sea compatible with the maintenance of artisanal employment and care for the environment.
And finally to counteract the collapse of plastic pollution that is altering the balance of ecosystems and killing marine life. Through our cleaning of plastic waste from the seabed we seek to recover and conserve marine species to prevent microplastics from ending up in the bodies of fish and consequently also in ours.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
Plastic discarded in the sea has the potential to meet some human needs in an infinitely recyclable way.
Hence our interest in turning a problem into an opportunity through forms that can furnish cities, homes, businesses and, ultimately, any space.
In terms of aesthetics and quality, we aim to create unique design furniture adapted to each space with the added value of bringing the experience of reconnecting with the sea and evoking the importance of its care through its color and finish.
In addition to being a unique finish in the world for its colors, its resistance properties and durability of up to 10 years, it has a story behind it.
We want our furniture to be valued for its high sustainable value and for the experiential part it adds to each space and for being furniture that tells stories.
We have already manufactured first furniture, chairs, tables, letters, among others examples, with a standard and functional design and we want to follow the path of functionality but creating differentiating designs, with Gravity Wave's own style.
Currently, we have the R&D objective to innovate in furniture product design and to test additional all the characteristics of our material.
Key objectives for inclusion
Our objectives in terms of inclusion are broad, as they involve different agents of society and the circular economy factor:
- Traditional fishermen: when they go out to fish they "fish" plastic in their nets and Gravity Wave pays them per kilo. We already have more than 2000 traditional fishermen who are part of the Plastic Free Oceans Movement and who are located along the Mediterranean Sea.
- Companies and public entities: They finance the collection of plastic from the sea on their behalf and we manufacture tailor-made products for them. They get an added value either in their products or in their image, as we help them to increase their commitment to sustainability. We study their plastic footprint, reduce it and implement compensation plans. Today we work with more than 50 companies in projects such as sea cleaning or manufacturing of furniture for their offices, or pieces to promote their products, etc.
- Individuals: join the #PlasticFreeOceans community with digital subscription plans to clean plastic from the sea on their behalf. They receive discounts and bonuses from collaborating companies and entities and invitations to exclusive Gravity events such as beach cleanups with influencers.
- Consumers: they acquire healthier and more sustainable products for themselves and for the planet, which are purchased from many of the companies that collaborate with us. Regarding us, although for the moment the furniture and design pieces are not open to a B2C final public, we hope to make the manufacture of furniture affordable for everyone.
- Circular Seas: from Gravity Wave we address a problem that directly influences climate change, threatens marine species and endangers human life. We promote the restoration of marine environments, through the cleaning of plastic from the seabed, prevention and transformation of such waste. We create circular products with high positive impact and durability and generate an awareness movement in society.
Results in relation to category
We measure the impact generated in kilograms of plastic collected from the seabed and in kilograms of plastic revalued in products.
We have removed 50,000 kilograms of fishing nets from the sea and 20,000 kilograms are revalued in products.
In addition, we collaborate with more than 2000 fishermen, and we have presence in ports in Italy, Greece, Spain and Egypt.
At the financial level, at the end of 2020, we closed a seed round of 100.000 € with business angels and we also got a
credit from the Spanish Government of 67.000 €. Months ago, we won the young entrepreneurship championship in Spain, and will get 20.000€ as the prize and another prize from FedEx which we got 10,000€.
We closed the year 2021 with more than 250,000 euros of turnover and this year we have set ourselves the goal of reaching 1M€.
Gravity Wave has the capacity to generate recurring revenues in the three main lines of business we have been operating in the last two years, but specifically in the product line with big furniture companies that incorporate our materials in their collections.
How Citizens benefit
The value proposition for civil society is a business focused on generating a high positive impact on our environment and planet, with a scalable and versatile business model that can give rise to many other business lines.
The society's agents participate in the implementation of the project, getting involved in the cleaning of plastic from the sea and in the purchase of furniture made with fishing nets.
Apart from that, the more than 2000 fishermen we count on are part of the implementation, without them it would not be possible to collect the plastic from the sea, and our partners CMPlastik that helps us with the revalorization of plastic products and ENALEIA that is an NGO that helps us to promote our work and educate fishermen to make more sustainable forms of fishing.
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
We innovate in the following main points:
- First of all, Gravity Wave innovate in a social way since create an awareness movement that pretend to move society agent to take action.
- We innovate in our business model. Gravity Wave is characterized by having a self-sustaining business model, with a circular supply chain.
- We involve all the society agents (companies, entities and particulars) on the mission of solving the most tangible and big enviromental problem for humanity.
- As a solution of giving a second life to the plastic obtained from the seabed, we innovate with an unique finish material in the world for its colour, resistance and sustainable value durability.
- We are one of the firsts and main companies in the Spanish Market specializing in the ocean cleaning, that only do this labor, but also closes the circular production cycle and add value in each step.
Learning transferred to other parties
Our project and experience in ocean cleanup is perfectly executable to other areas of the world. In fact, we are already doing it. Plastic pollution and the collapse of waste in the sea is a problem that affects not only the Mediterranean but the whole world. Understanding that furnishing the future with plastic from the sea is the key will help to improve our future and restore the balance of the oceans and the environment.
