Dune Ives is the CEO of Lonely Whale, an incubator for courageous ideas that drive impactful, market-based change on behalf of our ocean. An experienced leader and trusted advisor in the fields of corporate sustainability and global philanthropy, Dune brings 20+ years of expertise and a thoughtful and optimistic approach to the marine conservation industry. Under Dune’s leadership, Lonely Whale’s NextWave Plastics and Ocean Heroes Bootcamp initiatives and campaigns, including “For A Strawless Ocean” and “Question How You Hydrate”, have helped to resolve challenges for our environment to ensure a healthier planet. This year, Lonely Whale is collaborating with Tom Ford for the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize to offer a prize to innovators who can create a replacement for thin film plastic.

Under your leadership, Lonely Whale’s efforts to reduce ocean-bound plastic have earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas. Can you share more about your vision for Lonely Whale today and your vision for the organization’s future?

At Lonely Whale, our mission is to spark deep, lasting behavior change through solutions-focused, engaging, and thoughtful campaigns.

When we began our quest to address plastic waste, it wasn’t because plastic waste was the number one most important issue to address. The unfortunate truth is that it is one of several most important issues to address. We felt that plastic waste gave us the opportunity to provoke a different conversation among individuals, one that felt tangible and attainable.

We constantly tested our approach, challenging ourselves to learn quickly from our campaigns, pivot and continue to test new concepts to see what really worked to grab and hold people’s attention. Five years later, we see that our collaborative campaigns have shifted behavior norms in meaningful and impactful ways.

Without judgment or shame, when we promote solutions that address systemic issues and do so in a way that honors individuals and corporations wherever they might be on their journey, we inspire individuals and corporations to change tides from within, resulting in empathy and lasting action for ocean health. The plastic waste crisis isn’t yet under control but with initiatives like the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize we’re well on our way. You’ll see more of this from Lonely Whale in the future!

For many designers and brands, packaging is a challenge within the fashion supply chain. What advice would you give small-medium sized brands when starting off on their journey of finding plastic substitutes / alternatives? How can these brands navigate system gaps?

There are more options out there than you think! Following the applications closing for the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize, we were so excited to see the amount and reach of the innovations; ending up with 64 applications from 26 countries. However, one of the biggest reasons why we launched the Prize is that while there are thin-film plastics out there, they are not always easy to find or affordable. The Prize is working to create the scale needed so that these solutions work for all.

The advice I would offer has three parts to it –

First, look at ways you can eliminate packaging and have a conversation with your own suppliers about packaging types. The more they know your preferences and priorities the more they can work with you to find the right alternatives.

Second, take advantage of being part of the CFDA by accessing the very valuable tools and membership for advice and guidance. Let them know what questions you have, what information you find valuable and your learnings as well.

Lastly, know that you don’t have to be perfect right away. This is a journey and everything you try, everything you do is a step in the right direction and we’re here to champion your efforts and learn from your experience!

The Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize launched this month. Can you tell us more about the initiative and how your collaboration came about?

The TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize was born out of inspiration from the first luxury brand watch made from ocean plastic introduced by TOM FORD in November 2020.

At Lonely Whale, we are always looking for brand partners that align with our values and had been researching thin film plastic for the better part of a year and a half before meeting Tom and his team. What I realized right from the start was that we shared a passion for elimination of plastic waste both in our personal lives and then in our professional endeavors. Both of our teams also had a shared commitment to challenging ourselves to dream bigger and have more impact. That’s when the Plastic Innovation Prize came to life.

With the Prize, we endeavored to help make the invisibility of thin film plastic – a plastic that touches all of our lives, wrapping our groceries, lunch and clothing – become more visible. Many people do not know that thin-film plastic is not recyclable, it contributes to an estimated 46% of plastic in the ocean and there is not currently a scalable biologically degradable alternative in the market to replace it.

Both of our organizations are really optimistic about what will come from the Prize!

“Address the system, not the symptoms” is a core pillar of Lonely Whale. Can you tell us more about how the organization implements this and steps designers/brands can make to integrate this ethos into their brands as well?

Sometimes it can be very difficult to know whether your actions are making a difference, and if it doesn’t make a difference over the long run it can be deflating and frustrating. At Lonely Whale, we work to overcome this by beginning with understanding the root cause of the issue that we are working on before we determine our desired outcome or actions we need to take to achieve that outcome.

Take, for instance, plastic waste. When we started our campaign work in 2017 with #StopSucking we knew that single-use plastic straws were not the most significant issue related to plastic. We also knew that even if we saw the elimination of every single plastic straw around the world it would not end plastic production or plastic pollution.

Our goal for that campaign was to begin to shift cultural norms about how we engage with single-use plastics. Before the end of the three year campaign we saw a dramatic shift in use of single-use plastic straws and it started to become culturally unacceptable to have a straw with your coffee drink, water or cocktail.

On one hand, you could say that we addressed the systems issue of being disconnected with what we were purchasing and consuming and our role in increased levels of plastic waste. On the other hand, it is also fair to say that we only treated the symptom – presence of non-recyclable, single-use plastic straws – rather than the system – increased production of virgin plastic polymers at extremely low prices.

The most important thing is to constantly challenge yourself on the impact you are having. It may not be apparent at first if you are creating real, lasting systemic change, but the simple act of questioning your efforts will get you that much closer to the change we all seek.

Fashion, technology, and science have never been more intersected. What innovations do you hope to see in the future, when it comes to how the fashion industry impacts our oceans and planet?

It’s a really exciting time to be in this industry! Really, the sky’s the limit on how we positively impact the ocean and the planet.

While there is so much more to be done, there are countless brands and organizations who are taking responsibility for their role in accomplishing a true systems change. The fashion industry’s continued focus on resource reduction across the board is critical. As a significant user of natural resources it can have an outsized impact on the ocean and the planet. Importantly, the fashion industry reaches every consumer segment and its efforts can have immeasurable influences on how individuals think about their own role in having a positive impact on the environment – and on people.

Equally as important is for brands to confidently communicate about their impact and their learnings. Consumers are expecting increased transparency in a brand’s impact and progress towards a stated objective. They are also increasingly weary about brands that make commitments too far into the future for when they will begin to implement the work.

Importantly in this journey is to be intentional about  your efforts and to continue to challenge yourself on whether you’re addressing symptoms or systems.

With reports that we are not on track to meet climate commitments and goals, how do you stay positive, and where do you find inspiration?

It’s hard to stay positive with all the negative news coming out – the recent landmark UN report declared climate change a “code red for humanity.” That’s a tough pill to swallow. We have witnessed the continued decline of our environment and increased negative impact on our communities that are hardest hit by plastic pollution, extractive industries, and the results of a warming climate. Climate change is a human problem, one that needs to be treated with urgency, respect and action.

While it’s easy to focus on the negative and quote many facts about how bad it is, I stay positive by firmly believing that by taking a solutions-focused approach to Lonely Whale’s programs and campaigns, we can both raise awareness and inspire lasting, positive action and behavior change. While we may not have all of the exact answers to the problems facing our Earth, at Lonely Whale and with all of our initiatives, we do think we are onto something that just might help us all show up, relentlessly, every single day for our planet and for each other.

And, truthfully, I don’t have time to not be inspired and positive about our future. I have two children and even though this work can be really hard some days, I love that they can see me working on these issues every single day.

The reality is that we are changing the world today for children to have a sustainable future. It’s them who should drive us forward, because at the end of the day, we are leaving our youth this planet…shouldn’t we do everything in our power to protect it?

With the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) currently taking place, what sort of changes do you hope to see come from the summit?

COP26 is a chance for our global leaders to take necessary action against climate change and provide actionable steps for our governments, corporations and communities to accomplish it. We hope to see real, measurable action – not just talk about what we could do, what we would do, or will do. We, as citizens of this planet, deserve to know and see the specific action our world leaders take right now to support us in this fight. Clearly, the need for action on climate change is immediate and desperate. Further delays will be absolutely catastrophic. I hope that our leaders understand what needs to happen in order for our planet to continue providing us life.

In particular, the oil, gas and petrochemical industries need to evolve most significantly, and we hope COP26 provides new strategies for the significant gaps in solving for plastic pollution caused by companies upstream – oil, gas and petrochemical companies that profit significantly from the continued production of virgin plastic resins. These are the same companies that are causing the continued rise in greenhouse gas emissions that has fueled a youth, corporate and NGO movement that simply cannot be stopped.

As an industry, fashion can call for greater action from governments by demonstrating its own commitments and actions. To address climate change as quickly and at the scale we need it will take us all – citizens, policy makers, and industry leaders!