By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
Billabong has partnered with Coral Gardeners for a collaborative beachwear collection to raise awareness for ocean conservation.
Founded in 2017 in Mo’orea by Titouan Bernicot, Coral Gardeners is an ocean conservation organization that was created to help restore the world’s rapidly declining coral reef ecosystems by planting climate-resilient coral.
Since its creation, the organization has grown into a global collective of gardeners, scientists, engineers and creators that has planted more than a hundred thousand corals across French Polynesia and Fiji.
Coral Gardeners current goal is to scale up their reef restoration efforts and plant one million climate-resilient corals around the world.
“We are stoked to partner with Billabong and have their support in scaling our reef restoration efforts and spreading awareness about the reef worldwide through this collection,” said Coral Gardeners CEO, Titouan Bernicot. “As surfers and ocean lovers, it is our responsibility to protect our playground and think big for the future of our blue planet.”
The new Billabong x Coral Gardeners collection features an array of apparel products such as bikinis, surf suits, off-duty beach sets, t-shirts, fleece boardshorts, long-sleeve shirts, button-ups, outerwear, and more.
Billabong representatives have stated that an unlisted portion of the proceeds earned from the licensed collection will be donated to Coral Gardeners’ ongoing ocean conservation efforts.
“The ocean plays an integral part of our lives as surfers, and we have a responsibility to protect it and the coral reefs that make surfing possible,” said Liberated Brands head, Brad Lancaster. “Our collaboration with Coral Gardeners is a step towards raising awareness about the importance of ocean conservation and coral restoration within the surf community and beyond.”
As an additional part of the partnership, Billabong enlisted the professional surfers, Aelan Vaast and Brodi Sale, to spend a week propagating coral with Coral Gardeners’ team members in Mo’orea, French Polynesia.
The collection is available for purchase through Billabong’s official e-commerce website, Nordstrom and specialty retailers across the US, Australia and Fiji.
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