The early morning sun slowly peaked over the horizon, the waves breaking over the beach in a rhythmic serenade that echoed the moment's solitude walking through the surf.
As the sun slowly rose, the stick silhouettes of the oil rigs planted firmly in the distant ocean cast a long shadow upon the water as the beach slowly brightened into a golden hue, reflecting the sunlight off the million grains of sand. Still, there was something odd about the sunlight reflecting off the beach. A million beams of light shimmered like a disco ball bouncing brightly in all directions through the clump of seaweed; it was surreal, alien in fact.
As the sun rose higher, clearing away dusk to dawn, the evidence of the light anomaly quickly identified itself. Hundreds, thousands of plastic bottles were embedded in the seaweed that had washed ashore overnight. The tides of the Gulf of Mexico along the Texas shoreline tend to deposit the debris from high tide to low tide regularly. However, last week's tropical storm dredged and churned the depths of the Gulf and amassed its nonorganic waste upon the sandy beaches we were standing on. Littered in front of us as far down the coast as we could see were thousands of plastic bottles, broken fishing nets, and the assorted remnants of discarded shoes, pieces of clothing, deflated plastic beach balls, and the like.
As the predawn sunlight grew even more intense, an army of blue-clad volunteers with "Save The Beaches" emblazoned on their shirts approached us in a line abreast. They stabbed and grabbed everything they could catch with pronged instruments and stuffed it into an endless collection of garbage bags.
It was sad to see this pristine stretch of beach littered with the debris of thousands of discarded plastic bottles and trash we take for granted. It is a shame we inherit a world with little regard for the ecological damage we cause to our planet. Many of my generations feel hopeless and helpless about the future of our planet. We at Trevean do not feel as though this is a hopeless cause. As citizens of this rich and wonderful planet and a burgeoning small business, we see ourselves called to action to engage in environmental activism to make a difference. At Trevean, we dedicate our energies to growing and educating ourselves and others about environmental awareness through actions and deeds and creating a grassroots culture by changing consumer behaviors from mindless consumption to conscious, sustainable collectivism.
Sustainable is a widely used term with a broad, subjective definition depending on whom you ask. We define it as the ability to lead a life that contributes to the long-term growth of healthy communities worldwide without further compromising Mother Nature or citizens around the world. It's time to awaken my friends! Think back to your morning routine. Contemplate how you spend the day. Are you contributing to sustainability, even in a small way? Each of us can contribute to this power of change by making minor adjustments to our daily actions, choosing fair trade coffee cooperatives or local coffee shops with far more character and charm than those national chains, and using reusable shopping bags instead of plastic produce bags so conveniently available. Support your neighbor and their small business. If we shop locally, your town grows, more jobs are created, and people will have more money to spend. The quality of life will increase in your city! We can build passionate and sustainable communities if we choose to get out of our cars a little more often. Decide to walk instead of drive. Cycle to work and pack your lunch instead of driving through the drive-thru. We are passionate about adding color to our city walls as we build our culture around sustainability. Change your perception, your actions, and take a leap of faith towards the satisfaction of your soul. We wish to teach you to adapt, build, create, and find value in small accomplishments along the way. Together we will make a difference. We hope this is the start of the beautiful journey you will share with us. Our product lines will evolve and grow, but so will our movement to create a better world.
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