The Beauty and the Debris
The first time you step into cold water, your body reacts before your mind has time to process it. A sharp intake of breath. Skin tightening. A rush of adrenaline, waking up every nerve ending. For a few moments, it’s just you and the cold, an almost primal feeling that washes over you as you push through the initial shock. Then, you settle in. Your breathing slows. Your muscles adjust. And suddenly, you feel it—that deep, undeniable connection to the water.
But while the sea is breathtaking, it’s rarely pristine. You don’t have to look far to notice the things that shouldn’t be there. A plastic bottle floating near the rocks. A crisp packet washed up in the shallows. Strands of fishing line tangled in the seaweed. Sometimes, you don’t see the rubbish at all—you feel it. A thin plastic wrapper brushes past your arm mid-stroke, mimicking the sensation of jellyfish. A bottle cap crunches underfoot as you step onto the shore.
It’s an unsettling reminder that we leave more behind than just footprints in the sand.
When the Water Reveals What We’d Rather Ignore
If you spend enough time in the sea, you start to notice patterns. Some beaches are pristine, others are littered with debris. Some mornings, the tide feels clean, other times it delivers an unsettling collection of rubbish. There’s always something, even on the beaches that seem untouched at first glance.
It’s not just the obvious things—plastic bottles, takeaway containers, drinks cans. It’s the forgotten fragments: tiny polystyrene balls lodged between pebbles, fishing gear buried under the sand, elastic bands tangled in seaweed. The smaller the item, the more it goes unnoticed, and yet these microplastics are some of the most harmful pollutants in our oceans.
The sea doesn’t just carry things away—it brings them back. And for those of us who love the water, we see it up close.
Where Does It All Come From?
Some of it is carelessly abandoned—picnic leftovers, discarded wrappers, the remains of beach barbecues left behind. Other rubbish is swept in from further afield, carried by currents and tides from places unknown.
Fishing waste is a big one—nets, ropes, and lines that have been lost or discarded at sea, later washing up on the shore. Then there’s the invisible pollution: microplastics, broken down from larger items, now a near-permanent fixture in the ocean ecosystem. Some of it comes from storm drains, washing the waste of inland cities straight into the sea after heavy rain.
The saddest part? Much of it doesn’t just wash away. It lingers. A plastic bottle could be floating in the ocean for 450 years before breaking down completely. And even when it does, it doesn’t vanish—it just becomes smaller, harder to see, harder to clean up.
The Small Actions That Make a Difference
It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of such a massive problem. But the truth is, the smallest actions add up.
One piece of rubbish picked up might seem insignificant. But imagine if everyone who visited the beach took just one piece away. It doesn’t require an event, a group, or even a dedicated effort—just an awareness. A willingness to leave the beach better than you found it.
Beach cleans don’t have to be grand gestures. Sometimes, they’re just a quiet moment—walking along the shoreline, spotting a fragment of plastic, picking it up, binning it. It’s a ripple effect. The more people see others doing it, the more it becomes normal.
And beyond that, there’s something unexpectedly satisfying about it. A strange kind of mindfulness in scanning the sand, collecting what doesn’t belong, knowing you’ve left the place in a better state than when you arrived. It shifts the relationship between visitor and landscape—you stop seeing the beach as a backdrop and start seeing it as something you’re responsible for.
The Power of Collective Action: Seashell & Neptune’s Pirates
Small, individual efforts make a difference—but when people come together, that’s when real change happens.
That’s why the initiative by Seashell and Neptune’s Pirates is such a brilliant move. They’re not just talking about the problem—they’re doing something about it, organising beach cleans that encourages people to take action on a larger scale.
Even better, Seashell is tying this directly to their products. For every Changing Robe 3.0 sold, they’re donating £1 towards the cause. It’s a simple but powerful connection: the people who benefit most from clean beaches—wild swimmers, surfers, coastal adventurers—are now part of the effort to protect them.
Neptune’s Pirates is already doing great work in engaging communities, and teaming up with a brand like Seashell helps bring that mission to a wider audience. It’s an example of how businesses can have a positive impact—not just through words, but through direct action.
For those of us who rely on the sea—not just for exercise, but for wellbeing, clarity, and escape—this is exactly the kind of project that deserves attention.
Respect the Waters You Love
It’s easy to take the sea for granted. To admire its beauty without thinking about what lies beneath the surface. But as cold water swimmers, we see it. We feel it. We interact with it in a way that many others don’t.
That connection comes with a responsibility. If we want to keep our beaches and waters clean, it has to start with us—not just by avoiding leaving waste behind, but by actively removing what shouldn’t be there.
So next time you’re by the sea, take a moment. Look around. Notice what the tide has carried in. And maybe—just maybe—pick something up.
Because every small action adds up. And when we act together, the impact is undeniable.
Want to Get Involved?
Seashell and Neptune’s Pirates are organising a national beach clean, and it’s easy to take part. Whether you join an event or simply commit to picking up litter during your next visit to the coast, every action matters.
You can also support the cause directly—Seashell is donating £1 from every Changing Robe sale towards beach clean efforts. It’s a simple way to give back while investing in high-quality outdoor gear that keeps you warm post-swim.
