Seiko Watch Corporation is partnering with the non-profit public charity PADI AWARE Foundation™ to support global ocean protection. As an official partner of PADI and PADI AWARE Foundation’s Marine Debris Program, Seiko will join in the fight to rid the ocean of marine debris, which is a key element of PADI’s Blueprint for Ocean Action.
More than 250 million tons of plastic are estimated to enter into the ocean by 2025. The environmental damage caused by plastic debris alone is estimated at US$13 billion a year. Divers are often the first to witness human impact on the marine environment and are uniquely positioned to help report, remove and advocate the stop of marine debris at its source.
PADI AWARE Foundation’s flagship citizen-science program, Dive Against Debris®, empowers divers to remove and report marine debris in aquatic environments. This citizen-science movement to combat pollution has now created the largest global underwater marine debris database on the planet. With over 90 percent of marine debris sinking to the ocean floor, this program fills a critical data gap to advocate change and work toward long-term solutions. To date, more than 70,000 divers have removed and reported over 2 million pieces of marine debris and aided over 10,000 entangled marine animals through the program.
As a proud sponsor of the PADI AWARE Foundation marine debris program, Seiko is demonstrating an organizational commitment to the global PADI dive community’s work to clean up and prevent marine debris.
“We applaud the Seiko group’s support and willingness to partner with the PADI AWARE Foundation in making a financial commitment to this important effort to clean and protect the ocean,” says Drew Richardson, President and CEO of PADI Worldwide and PADI AWARE Foundation Chairman of the Board. “It will take all of us working together on a unified front to make the sea change required to restore ocean health and create balance between humanity and the ocean for generations to come.”
Seiko’s support will help fund the PADI AWARE Community Grant Program launching this year to provide much-needed financial resources to enable local ocean-protection initiatives hosted by PADI Dive Centers and Resorts. Seiko’s contributions will further marine debris campaign implementation in key countries that promote conservation measures at the local, national and international level. Additionally, Seiko proudly supports the partnership with the PADI AWARE Foundation by donating a portion of the proceeds from the Prospex Save the Ocean watch collection.
Seiko Watch Corporation offers a series of collections available worldwide that realize the very best of watchmaking. The history of Seiko’s diver’s watches began in 1965 with Japan’s first diver’s watch. Since then, Seiko’s diver’s watches have developed in response to the needs of professional divers, introducing many landmark timepieces with real advances in safety, reliability, legibility and ease of use. Today, this tradition is carried forward in the Prospex collection, which proudly supports global ocean protection.
To learn more about the PADI and PADI AWARE Foundation marine debris program, visit padi.com/aware/marine-debris. Learn more about how you can get involved by joining the community of PADI Torchbearers taking action for the ocean above and below the surface.
