Sainsbury's and Co-op supporting wine brand's ocean clean-up mission

Sainsbury's and Co-op have become the first UK retailers to stock wine brand The Hidden Sea and support its mission to clean up the world's oceans.

The Australian wine brand, in conjunction with ReSea Project, is aiming to remove one billion plastic boottles from the ocean by 2030. For every case of The Hidden Sea sold globally, one kilogram of plastic - the equivalent of 60 plastic bottles - is removed from the ocean and recycled.

Kingsland Drinks, exclusive UK distributor of The Hidden Sea's portfolio of wines, launched a search for retail partners to support the initiative in 2020. 

In response to the call, Sainsbury's will stock The Hidden Sea Sauvignon Blanc from February and its Rosé from March, and Co-op will stock The Hidden Sea Chardonnay from this month.

The two supermarkets have already made public pledges to reduce their environmental footprint; Sainsbury's has committed to reducing plastic packaging across its branded and own-brand lines by 50 per cent by 2025, while Co-op is aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.

Justin Moran, co-founder of The Hidden Sea, said: "Collaborating with two of the UK's biggest and most respected retailers means we're able to make hefty strides towards our goal with the ReSea Project. Critically, it gives us the national footprint needed to galvanise support from UK shoppers, and recruit even more people to our movement. 

"As I look ahead, I'm hopeful the partnerships will increase much-needed consumer awareness of plastic waste in our oceans and encourage them to get behind a brand that will make a real, tangible difference."

ReSea Project is a Danish organisation focused on removing plastic from the ocean and recycling it, while also supporting communities directly affected by ocean waste and educating on waste handling. It currently operates in Southeast Asia, a major recipient of plastic waste from countries around the world.

17 February 2021 - Bethany Whymark