On September 22nd, 2019, Healthy Seas was presented with the award for Circular Economy at the 3rd Annual Green Carpet Fashion Awards that closed Milan Fashion Week at the historic Teatro alla Scala.

Veronika Mikos, Healthy Seas project coordinator, accepted the award from Prada’s Lorenzo Bertelli, on behalf of the initiative and the over 120 volunteer divers cooperating with Healthy Seas. Ghost Fishing divers and the core team of Healthy Seas shared the stage with her. Like some of the celebrities who attended the event, Veronika took part in the #GreenCarpetChallenge and wore a beautiful ECONYL® dress made by A-LAB Milano.

The award is dedicated to all the volunteer divers who since 2013 have worked tirelessly to clean up ghost nets from the North, Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas, and most recently New Zealand, in order to create a healthier marine environment and rescue marine life from lost and deadly fishing gear. Healthy Seas makes sure the nylon nets don’t end up in a landfill but through cooperating with Aquafil, are regenerated, together with other nylon waste, into ECONYL® yarn.

Carlo Capasa and Livia Firth said, “The Healthy Seas Initiative deserves to be celebrated for its selfless work to help clean up our oceans, through a dedicated team of volunteers. Importantly, we are championing the collaboration of non-profit and for-profit organizations, to help move us towards this essential goal. The Circular Economy is a topic of growing significance, and the need to preserve our environment through waste recovery and regeneration is pressing. By working with Aquafil, they are helping to close the loop on the urgent waste crisis that we are facing. We honor the fact that such a committed group of people is playing a part in this essential task.