Starbucks is selling recycled plastic bottles made with ocean debris, they are partnering with two companies to grow awareness of the oceanic pollution by reusing plastic waste that’s been washed ashore.

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A recent study showed that the infamous Pacific Garbage Patch is now more than three times the size of France, it’s time to do something, it’s time to move, to chin up and to face our problems. We all know that we need international cooperation of the highest levels of government in order to find a meaningful solution, and as we are not getting there soon a new collaboration between the water bottle company Soma and nonprofit Parley show us how sustainable design might be able to help.

These bottles are available exclusively at Starbucks locations, the 500ml BPA-free glass bottle is wrapped in a neoprene sleeve made from the equivalent of two polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles that have washed up on the shores of islands or coastal communities around the globe. This bottles found at the ocean are harvested by Parley for the Oceans, a nonprofit network of individuals, brands, NGOs and governments concerned with protecting the planet’s aquatic ecosystems. Recycled plastic bottles can be the step forward we needed to create awareness.

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To reuse the waste, chunks of PET bottles are compressed into pellets these pellets are then melted into a filament that ultimately turns into neoprene, which is woven into the final sleeve shape. The end result is a sleeved glass bottle that not only finds a new use for waste, but at the same time helps our planet by cutting down the amount of plastic that is present ir our oceans, that’s the true meaning of recycling.

We all are aware of the tackling climate change, and this climate change will require big and small steps (small but meaningful) to change consumer behavior and a project like this will certainly qualify as a step in the right direction.