Sofía Mulanovich and her revolutionary way of helping to preserve the ocean

The sea is the second home of Sophia Mulanovich, our two-time world champion surfer. ‘Sofi’ brought Peru to the fore with her talent, perseverance and a board, her faithful companion to this day. However, the blue that paints the planet today is cruelly overshadowed by the enormous tons of plastic waste that damage its ecosystem year after year. The situation is so worrying that, according to the World Economic ForumIn 2050 there would be more plastic than fish in the ocean.

For this reason, the national surfer took the first step and in a revolutionary way began to do her bit to generate recycling awareness in people and companies. It teamed up with Corona beer to launch an exclusive collection of surf-related items made from PET plastics (recycled material from the ocean) called ‘Corona by Sophia Mulanovich‘. , and is for sale on the BackusYa.pe platform and Wong stores.

“Every year thousands of tons of plastic are thrown into the sea creating irreparable damage to the marine ecosystem and I find it incredible that a brand like Corona has a worldwide initiative to raise awareness about the care and protection of the environment”the surfer said excitedly.

“We have worked for several months looking at the designs and materials to come up with products that are not only beautiful, but also super useful. And the coolest thing is that they are made with natural and recycled materials,” he adds.

What is PET plastic?

The pet plastic It is number 2 of 7 that exist in the world. It is made of polyethylene terephthalate and is basically used for the production of disposable containers, for textiles of all kinds and also for machinery. It is the most used plastic because it has a lot of hardness and rigidity. It is transparent, non-toxic and fully recyclable. The problem is that not everything that companies produce is recycled.

According to Recicla LATAM, until December 2021 the total recycling rate for all solid waste was 1.9%, while for plastic it was around 35%. In other words, there is approximately 65% ​​of plastic waste that ends up in the oceans, in informal dumps or in the street. Also, if we refer to the PET plasticsalmost 40% is recycled in Peru, but ideally it should be an even higher percentage.

“What he is doing Sofia It is super good to raise awareness in the population, to set off an alarm to entrepreneurs and companies so that they go down that path and promote sustainable development in Peru”tells us Daniela Tagle, co-founder of Recicla LATAM and specialist in Sustainable Development at SIPA, Columbia University.

On the other hand, and with what was done by Sophia Mulanovich With Corona beer, the trend is maintained that brands continue to look for athletes to be the image of their different projects in order to have a greater impact or reach the public.

“History began to change with the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. That helped a lot because the Peruvian fan had the opportunity to learn about what lies beyond soccer. And what he found was wonderful. He found sports like surfing, tennis or badminton (among others) that had had very little support, very little visibility”explains Eduardo Flores, director of Toque Fino/Marketing Deportivo.

As expected, this generated a lot of interest in social networks and brands understood that there was a great opportunity to connect with the public. “There has always been a before and after the Pan American Games,” adds Eduardo.

The expectation is that a positive reaction will be generated not only in people, but also in companies so that they bet without fear on caring for the environment. One more time ‘Sophie‘ took the wave, came out standing and with his arms raised.

DATA

• About 75% of the plastic generated by the COVID-19 pandemic such as masks, gloves and bottles of hand sanitizer will become waste that arrives to landfills and seas, with a serious cost for the environment and the world economy, according to the UN.
• In Peru, more than 1,800 recyclers and 500,000 people nationwide depend economically on recycling, according to Recicla LATAM.
• There are more than 1,800 informal dumpers and just over 70 landfills in Peru, according to Recicla Latam.
• In Metropolitan Lima and Callao, 886 tons of plastic waste are generated per day, representing 46% of said waste at the national level, according to the Ministry of the Environment.