La Mer, Oceans Retreat
Earlier in the year, La Mer got in touch with Matt to invite him to become a brand ambassador, and welcome him to their Oceans Retreat in Devon. This intimate gathering of influencers and makeup artists was organised to celebrate World Oceans Day 2019; inspired by Matt’s work with Ocean Culture Life and his underwater imagery, La Mer wanted to invite him as a guest and photographer, to relax at the Gara Rock Hotel, known for their easy-going and laid back approach to coastal living.
We were intrigued by such an investment in World Oceans Day, and after some research, we discovered that the brand put a lot of time and effort into preserving and restoring oceans around the world as part of their Blue Heart Foundation. Their award-winning products are globally renowned, with only the highest-quality, specialist ingredients being grown in specific places with extreme care - each year, the brand releases a special limited-edition range of products, enveloped in a beautiful deep blue, to raise awareness of WOD and the efforts they put into looking after their kelp farms around the world.
‘Through awareness-raising initiatives and charitable donations by the La Mer Blue Heart Oceans Fund in support of ocean conservation projects, we strive to ensure a future with flourishing seas for generations to come.’
The Oceans Retreat featured environmental activities like nurdle hunting for microplastics, and a beach clean, which highlighted the difference that simple activities like this can make. We can get involved in cleaning up our beautiful spaces that we want to preserve and honour so easily, and make it a part of our lives by the coast. It also proved the effectiveness of something like a beach clean - whether it’s with a group of friends, a whole community, with your family or just you picking up 5 pieces of litter as you walk along the beach.
The guests, Matt included, wrote pledges of what they will be doing in the future to help protect our oceans and restore health to the environment around the world. Sharing this positivity is essential to what we, Ocean Culture Life, stand for; our team of storytellers and content creators tell positive stories, and believe that these are essential to sharing what we believe in. They are how we learn, engage and communicate, and positive storytelling makes such a difference in creating a cleaner and brighter future.
We have previously focused on creating content for organisations and individuals who lack the resources to capture and share their own story. However, La Mer shows how we can also work bigger brands with a mutual philosophy, to do their part in protecting the environment and using their social positioning to leverage environmental messages even further to their supporters, customers and clients around the world. The luxury industry has the capability to drive innovations and to make positive changes which will eventually influence consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions.
La Mer is the perfect example of the type of brand that OCL, the Studio_M and Studio_M for Change would like to create content for and work with, to create a sustainable and ecologically-conscious future. We hope to excite, inspire and educate people around the world who will engage with this content, to show that there is a more environmentally friendly future out there, and there are choices we can make to support brands, characters and organisations who work towards this goal.
