When we founded Creek & Pine, we made sure that helping organizations which have positive environmental or social impact was one of our pillars. Our company was just a couple of months old when we traveled to Split to attend Green Future Conference – and there we met Tijmen Sissing, The Trashpacker, a guy who organizes beach cleanups all over the world. He had a new idea: to cut plastic pollution at its source.

The environmental cost of doing nothing

An average 150-room holiday hotel in Europe consumes over a half of million plastic items every year. During the summer, there is a 40% increase in marine litter in Mediterranean sea (WWF, Out of the Plastic Trap, 2018). 700 marine species are threatened by plastics (Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2020).

Tourism Tackles Trash wanted to encourage hotels to join the movement and swap their single-use toiletries for refillable and reusable containers. On top of reducing plastic pollution, hotels could have more benefits:

• build a loyal and sustainable customer base and increase positive reviews
• save money by purchasing fewer products and putting more time efficient systems into place
• comply with legislation, avoid fines or penalties
• be recognised as a frontrunner and inspire other hotels to be a part of the positive change.

The initiative needed a website that would serve as a motivation and sign-up platform. Creek & Pine offered to build it for free, as our pro-bono project of 2023.

A vibrant visual identity

Our design team used ocean as an inspiration to create a beautiful single-page journey that presents the problem, proposes the way to fix that problem, and calls the hotels to join. The vibrant visual identity embodies the initiatives’s mission and culture, while hopeful and cheerful tone of voice invites stakeholders to be a part of the solution. You can check it out here: tourismtacklestrash.org.

Beyond business

Our work goes beyond just business. Once a year, Creek & Pine commits to building a free digital solution for an organization we believe is making a positive impact. In 2023, supporting Tourism Tackles Trash was our way of contributing to reducing pollution and saving the oceans.

We’re proud to continue this tradition and look forward to partnering with more organizations that make a difference.