A Q&A With Plastiki Adventurer David de Rothschild On The WHOLE WORLD Water Campaign

by Jessica Marati on

Three years ago, adventurer, entrepreneur and activist David de Rothschild sailed from San Francisco to Sydney on a catamaran made of 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles.

His goal with the Plastiki project was to bring awareness to environmental issues like global warming and plastic pollution, and he has continued to stay active in the environmental movement. Most recently, de Rothschild signed on as an advisor to WHOLE WORLD Water, a three-year campaign that aims to unite the hospitality and tourism industry to combat global clean water issues.

Launched on March 22 to coincide with World Water Day, WHOLE WORLD Water uses a social enterprise model to generate funds for the clean water movement. The process of signing on is relatively simple. First, hotels and restaurants sign on to the WHOLE WORLD Water campaign for a nominal per-property fee. Then, they use the suggested Vivreau water filtration system to filter, bottle and sell their own water to guests. Finally, they donate 10 percent of the proceeds to the WHOLE WORLD Water fund, which benefits safe, sustainable clean water projects in the places that need it most.

Founders Karena Albers and Jenifer Willig estimate that if the world’s three largest hotel groups joined the campaign and sold just one bottle of water per day, the campaign could raise up to $1 billion for its mission, while contributing up to 25 percent toward the company’s bottom line. The campaign has already signed on a number of well-known hotel groups, including Virgin, Dusit and Banyan Tree, along with a number of restaurants, nightclubs and Ritz Carlton properties. Advisors include high-profile names like Virgin mogul Sir Richard Branson, designer Yves Behar, actor and filmmaker Edward Norton and de Rothschild.

In an email exchange, de Rothschild shared with Gadling what sailing the Plastiki taught him about the world’s water supply, why he decided to sign onto the WHOLE WORLD Water campaign and what travelers can do to get on board.

What did sailing the Plastiki teach you about the world’s water supply?

What the Plastiki taught me is sometimes it’s just as important to unlearn as it is to learn. We had to unlearn that it wasn’t all plastic that was the issue, but rather dumb uses of the material. And more importantly it was about redefining the story we tell ourselves about the value of the material – moving it away from valueless to valuable. That in turn will then have an influence over how we use and reuse. I believe the same applies to water issues; we all have to start to leave behind the concept that we have an endless supply of water, if we are to have any chance of creating a future.

Why did you decide to sign on to the WHOLE WORLD Water Campaign?

I can’t see any reason not to! I have been working for a while now to ban plastic straws across the world of hospitality so this seems like an easy and logical extension.

Why tackle hospitality of all industries?

Has to be a whole system approach to have an impact!

What will the WHOLE WORLD Water campaign achieve that other water campaigns haven’t?

That’s yet to be seen, but I have no doubt with such a great team behind the campaign it will produce something positive!

What can travelers do to support the efforts of the WHOLE WORLD Water Campaign?

Just say no to plastic water bottles! And encourage establishments that you come into contact with who haven’t engaged to sign up!

[Photo Credit: WHOLE WORLD Water]

5 Phnom Penh restaurants where you can eat ethically

by Jessica Marati on

In Cambodia, Phnom Penh is known for its great restaurants. And since many of the city’s eateries are run by NGOs or function as social enterprises – companies that operate for profit while providing a social benefit – it’s easy to combine social responsibility with sustenance. Here, a sampling of Phnom Penh restaurants that allow you to eat ethically.

Friends Restaurant
As the name implies, Friends is a popular, cheerful café run by local non-profit Mith Samlanh, in partnership with international NGO Friends International. Street children and other marginalized youth are trained in every aspect of running a restaurant in Phnom Penh, from cooking to serving to management. Many move on to higher-paying hospitality jobs, or start small enterprises of their own.
Try: Delicious fresh fruit shakes in off-beat combinations.
#215, Street 13Café Living Room
Of the Phnom Penh restaurants, Café Living Room is one of the most popular for ex-pats, serving up a mix of Western and Cambodian dishes using fresh and imported ingredients. The owners employ and pay a fair living wage to graduates of programs that work with vulnerable and at-risk groups.
Try: Substantial western-style breakfasts with fresh preserves.
#9, Street 306

Lotus Blanc
Lotus Blanc is a training restaurant run by Pour un Sourire d’Enfant, a French NGO that tackles hunger and poverty by providing education and skills training to children on the street. All of the restaurant’s servers are enrolled in PSE’s hospitality school, which means the service is impeccable, if sometimes over-the-top.
Try: Deep-fried prawns in tamarind sauce.
#61B, Street 51

Romdeng
Another Mith Samlanh/Friends restaurant, Romdeng provides upscale dining in a beautiful colonial mansion and garden in the heart of Phnom Penh. The restaurant’s interior is outfitted with locally produced furniture and décor, including silk from Mith Samlanh’s sewing vocational school and paintings from the art classes at their training center.
Try: Romdang’s famous fish amok, a spicy fish curry served in a banana leaf with a side of jasmine rice. The adventurous can also try one of Cambodia’s most popular children’s snacks: fried tarantula.

Sugar ‘n Spice Café at Daughters Cambodia
For the best brownie in Phnom Penh, head to Sugar ‘n Spice Café, a restaurant on the second floor of the Daughters Cambodia visitor center. A Christian organization that works with women who have been trafficked, Daughters also sells fairly produced goods, operates a small salon, and provides an informational exhibit on trafficking in Cambodia.
Try: The brownie with ice cream, washed down with an iced Khmer coffee.

Versalette convertible travel garment will revolutionize your packing list

by Jessica Marati on
When you’re living out of a suitcase, the less items of clothing you have to pack, the better. That’s the thinking behind The Versalette, a convertible garment from {r}evolution apparel that easily goes from a shirt to a skirt to a dress to… well, basically anything you can imagine. For a female traveler with a packing list of basic white tees and khaki cargo pants, it’s a dream travel piece. Plus, it’s ethically and sustainably developed.

The Versalette launched as a project on Kickstarter in mid-November, and within 14 days it was fully funded. As of Monday morning, $38,120 had been pledged from 470 backers, and the project still has another two weeks to go.

{r}evolution founders Kristin Glenn and Shannon Whitehead are travelers themselves, and they met while living and working in Australia. After several months of friendship, they separated and embarked on their own adventures, traversing five continents independently. But they kept in touch, and in mid-2010 they reunited in the United States to pursue an idea: a minimalist clothing line for female travelers.

Kristin and Shannon traveled to Central America with the goal of working sustainably and ethically to bring their line to life. There, they came face to face with the challenges of incorporating sustainability into a fashion item’s supply chain. But one year, many lessons, and lots of determination later, they’re closer to launching the line, and their story has resonated with travelers and style-setters across the web.

Their goal has also evolved to encompass something much larger than what they initially set out to accomplish: to create nothing short of a revolution toward minimalism and sustainability in the fashion industry.

The Versalette is currently in production and will be made in the USA using 100 percent recycled fabric. Kristin and Shannon have identified 15 different ways to style the item, including as a dress, shirt, skirt, scarf, purse, hood, and more. Really, what more does a female traveler need?


[images via {r}evolution apparel]