Nautilus Project encourages green consumer habits

The Nautilus Project set up a stall outside the ICC this week to raise awareness of Green Consumer Day, which is observed globally on September 28.

Marine Biologist, Lewis Stagnetto, from TNP, was on hand to answer a variety of questions both children and parents had in relation to products and sea creatures.

“We are here for Green Consumer Day and the whole purpose of this is to promote sustainable products that we have within the community and to try and get people to refocus their habits and to also engage people on it,” said Mr Stagnetto.

He said thinking green when buying products means less impact on the oceans and even on the food we eat.

“It is to do with the after effect of the products,” he said.

“You will notice that there have been a lot of changes especially in the mainstream these days where we have stopped using plastic bags, as an example.”

‘You may think, what is the harm in a plastic bag? Well nothing in itself.”

“But it is what happens when we finish using the plastic bag that causes the problem.”

“Inevitably these items end up in the ocean or they end up in land fill where they can break down and end up in the ocean and what is happening is that is harming our marine life.”

“There have been a number of studies in 2018 that found plastic in human stools for the first time and those studies estimate that on average we are eating about a credit card’s worth of plastic a week.”

“So this shows how our habits are actually coming back to bite us in an odd sort of way.”

“So it is important to engage with these habits and try and show people more sustainable ways of living that don’t impact their health quite as much.”

Some examples of green products are reusable metal straws, bamboo toothbrushes, bamboo cutlery, wooden rulers and reusable drink bottles.

The Nautilus Project has an online shop called EcoTopia which offers many different sustainable items.

In addition, advice can be obtained as to where products that are not available at their store can be bought locally.

“It is not just about promoting Nautilus, it is about promoting sustainable businesses in Gibraltar,” said Mr Stagnetto.