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In 1994, Charles Moore founded the Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF) in order to research the reasons for the disappearing giant kelp forests in the Pacific ocean and to improve the water quality through the preservation and re-construction of wetlands along the California coast.

In 1997, while returning to California from Hawaii aboard his catamaran, named the Alguita, he chose to chart a course through the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. This area of the Pacific is a circulating rotation of ocean currents and is normally avoided by sailors due to its light winds.

In the eastern portion of the Gyre, he encountered a substantial amount of plastic trash for the first time. These days, the Gyre is commonly referred to as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is a vast plastic soup, from the surface down through the water column, containing everything every kind of plastic trash imaginable from plastic bags to plastic bottles, bottle caps, toothbrushes, containers, and milk containers.

This plastic trash never completely biodegrades, but breaks down into tiny particles of plastic that have been reduced from larger pieces by salt water and sunlight. More and more plastic continues to float into the Gyre, thus constantly increasing it’s size.

Charles Moore has created a short video on his travels titled “Sailing the Great Pacific Garbage Patch”, which we are sharing with you. Custom Grocery Bags believes that after viewing Charles’ video, you will be more motivated than ever to use eco friendly reusable bags made of 100% biodegradable material such as Jute or Bamboo to shop with, rather than accepting plastic bags at the check out counters of retail stores. You may also be more motivated to fill stainless steel water bottles with water, rather than purchasing new plastic bottles of water: