Princess Yachts has pledged its support to the all-female environmental mission eXXpedition North Pacific 2018, which aims to investigate the crisis of plastics in our oceans, focusing on micro-plastics and links to environmental and human health.

Led by British skipper and ocean advocate Emily Penn, the sailing expedition and scientific research mission will start in Hawaii on 23^rd June and end in Seattle via Vancouver this summer.

Kiran Haslam, marketing director for Princess Yachts, said, "I am really pleased to confirm Princess' commitment to pushing for change in the consumption of plastics, and to limit the impact we have as the world's leading luxury yacht manufacturer in this regard. At all of our events we will stamp out the use of plastic straws, bags and wrappers, and we are now committed to bringing about the same change within our global network. We will be asking all of our global distribution and dealer points, which exceeds 100 offices globally, to be following our lead over the coming months.”

She added, “We are delighted to be sponsoring eXXpedition, and wish the team a successful voyage. The Princess community, both professionally as well as personally, are united in seeing the ladies tackle toxicants via education and research, to bring about significant change in how mankind behaves going forward, and we will follow their journey closely."

Aiming to raise awareness of the devastating impact of single-use plastic and toxics in the world's oceans, eXXpedition celebrates women in science and leadership, creating a community of inspiring female ambassadors to contribute to innovative scientific research and tackle the crisis.

This voyage will be their 10th expedition and the first one in the North Pacific Gyre. During that month, the crew will make daily trawls for plastics and pollutants, and collect data for scientific research studies. The crew consists of scientists, students, artists, filmmakers, business women, psychologists, actors, ocean activists and sustainability professionals, and novice as well as experienced sailors. 

In addition to this project, Princess Yachts also continues to support the Marine Conservation Society, for whom campaigning to reduce plastic waste is a top priority.

According to the Marine Conservation Society, the equivalent of one entire truck of plastic (8 tonnes) is dumped in the sea every minute and, if the situation doesn’t improve, by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish (by weight) in the sea.

For more information, visit Princess Yachts.