Header: Courtesy of Prada
Prada has decided to continue its collaboration with National Geographic CreativeWorks, marking the third partnership between the two that focuses on the origins and impact of Prada’s Re-Nylon initiative. The result is a series of four documentary films that will soon be released, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, Sadie Sink, SEA BEYOND ambassadors Valentina Gottlieb and Giovanni Chimienti, and local National Geographic experts.
The docuseries examines the philosophy and process behind Prada Re-Nylon, a material created by regenerating plastic waste collected from oceans and landfills. The episodes take us through Europe and Central America, allowing us to explore the environmental challenges linked to marine ecosystems and learn the initiatives striving to preserve them. Directed by Johnny Langenheim, with cinematography by Keidrych Wasley and creative direction from Richard Phillips, the episodes share one thing: the intersection of sustainability, fashion, and environmental advocacy.
In the first episode, Benedict Cumberbatch travels to the Lofoten Archipelago in Norway, a region within the Arctic Circle, to investigate the effects of plastic pollution in the Arctic Ocean. Joined by Valentina Gottlieb and local expert Carl Höjman, the actor explores the problem of ghost nets, which are discarded or abandoned fishing nets that contribute to the destruction of marine life and ecosystems. These nets and many other forms of plastic pollution represent the unsustainable fishing practices that have been adding significant amounts of waste to the world’s oceans—change is imperative.
Behind the scenes, the Re-Nylon Collection is made of ECONYL, a regenerated nylon yarn made from discarded plastic collected from landfill sites and oceans across the whole planet that can be recycled indefinitely without affecting the quality of the material. The fabric is created through several steps, such as depolymerization, purification, and polymer transformation, and adopted to ensure that the new product has the quality everyone expects of Prada without relying on virgin resources.
Get to know SEA BEYOND
The SEA BEYOND initiative was created by Prada in 2019, the same year the Re-Nylon Collection was launched, and officially partnered with UNESCO in 2021. While the luxury giant appears to be the initiative’s primary financial backer, there is little transparency regarding its finances. It is known that 1% of the Re-Nylon Collection’s proceeds are directed to this environmental program; however, the exact value of this contribution has not been disclosed.
But what exactly does SEA BEYOND do, and how does Prada contribute? Well, the program’s first project was launched in 2020 and engaged secondary school students worldwide in a four-month initiative focused on ocean awareness, plastic pollution, and sustainable fashion practices. The result was an animated short film chosen from various student proposals, with the winning school receiving a €5,000 donation from Prada for educational materials. Since then, it seems that SEA BEYOND has expanded into a two-year program that claims to support scientific research and humanitarian projects, but, as of now, no news has been put forward regarding the impact of the initiative in the scientific community, only in the education sphere.
Opaque
Despite the nature of the initiative, there is little to no information regarding its funding and investments, as said above. Prada has not released financial statements about its contributions, and it seems like the only piece of information regarding these is Lorenzo Bertelli’s comments: the head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Prada described the company’s total investment in SEA BEYOND as “quite a lot of millions.” But where are the concrete figures and their allocations?
Regarding the total proceeds of Prada’s Re-Nylon Collection, no official figures have been disclosed, making it difficult to determine the exact contributions to SEA BEYOND. With net profits nearing 700 billion euros in 2023 (while official results for 2024 are yet to be released), one would expect Prada to uphold its commitment to investing in the future. However, greater transparency would be welcome, as key financial details remain unclear.
