Meeting with Clean My Calanques
(1)
Can you introduce yourself ?
Julia : My name is Julia, I have been responsible for public relations for the Clean my Calanques association for 2 years now. And, I was a volunteer before!
Céline : And my name is Céline, I have been communications manager for Clean my Calanques for 6 years. Since the creation of the association in 2017. Éric Akopian, the president and co-founder of the association, is our best friend.
(2)
Can you present Clean my Calanques?
Julia : Clean my Calanques is a Marseille association created in 2017, which campaigns for the preservation of the environment and which aims to raise awareness of environmental issues among the entire population . Once or twice a month, we organize pollution clean- ups on the coast, to which we invite as many people as possible. Beyond bringing people together to clean up, we try to make it a fun and friendly moment. We also organize awareness campaigns on environmental protection and territorial issues in companies and in educational establishments , from kindergarten to universities.
(3)
How did the idea of Clean my Calanques come about?
Céline : The idea came from Eric. At the time, he did a lot of jogging in the Calanques and in steep areas because he was in the military. He was shocked by the contrast between the beauty of the landscapes and the filth found there. One day, he finally told himself that this situation was no longer acceptable. And, that we could not remain idle. He told us “ We’re young, we have energy, we’re a group of friends, come on, let’s do something!” » . This is how the cleanups began! We walked around, we did almost classic hikes. The only difference ? We took with us a bag and a pair of gloves. And we picked up everything we found on our way. Thanks to this, we helped make Marseille cleaner . Gradually, it developed into the association that exists today.
(4)
What are the highlights of the Clean my Calanques association?
Céline : The first highlight of the association was in October 2017, 6 months after our launch. We launched our first rap parody: a clip in the creeks, where we covered PNL. We called it LPN, Planet Nickel . It was a cover with green lyrics. It made the buzz: the local media spoke about it and the clip spread on social networks. It gave us a first good visibility. It's thanks to that that we went, from the next decontamination, from around ten friends to around fifty people with volunteers we didn't know. 2 years later, we decided to redo a clip by covering Organized Band for Organized Cleaner . Once again, it gave us a lot of visibility.
In addition to the clips, we did a lot of operations with influencers like Michou or Enjoy Phoenix . We have also launched events, such as the Clean my Calanques festival last May, which was a huge step forward for us.
(5)
What are your projects ?
Julia : We are continuing with the cleanups and awareness raising of course! But we also have other great projects in progress, notably a partnership contract with Olympique de Marseille since last year. For which, we try to raise awareness among supporters about the preservation of the territory, of Marseille and the surroundings of the stadium.
We are also working on the “ Green Brigades ” . This project was created for the many people who wanted to get involved. Without, however, taking the time to come to decontamination on Sundays. The idea of these “ Green Brigades ” is to create neighborhood groups that clean up their streets . Concretely, we connect them on WhatsApp, we provide them with pliers, gloves and bags so that they can decontaminate their neighborhood independently and also create links between them.
To reach different targets and not just seasoned environmentalists, we also produced awareness videos with athletes . They feature them in their discipline with waste to show that we can adopt simple actions. We are also present at festivals in the region (Marsatac, Delta Festival, etc.) and we will broadcast the videos there. We want to reach as many people, social, ecological and professional castes as possible .
(6)
Why a collaboration with Nénés?
Céline : The collaboration with Nénés is important for us because we are concerned about the impact beyond waste because ecology is much broader . At Clean my Calanques, for example, we decided to stop producing Clean my Calanques t-shirts: we preferred to flock existing t-shirts already in our wardrobes rather than produce new ones.
Nénés pays close attention to its production and its value chain . The brand pays attention to all the little details that aren't details: how the fabric is worked, where it comes from, where and how the product is made. For all these reasons, and because we share common values , we found it very cool to work together. We know that people will continue to dress themselves, so we might as well buy from brands that care about their impact on the environment!
In addition, the shirt is very beautiful but also, and above all, made of linen ! It is a local material that consumes very little water and does not need pesticides to grow. Not to mention that all Nénés swimsuits are made from recycled fibers obtained from waste collected in the oceans so ultimately, Nénés' commitments really contribute to the mission of Clean my Calanques !
(7)
What will the funds raised be used for?
Julia : The donation from Nénés will allow us to raise awareness in schools for free, but also to finance part of our depollution . For example, during our clean-ups, we offer food and drink to volunteers, we bring in DJs, we organize sports lessons to make this moment even more convivial, and all that has a cost.
(8)
The final word ?
Céline : What is also very important for us is to give people the opportunity to question themselves little by little . The perfect eco-friendly does not exist, the important thing is to question ourselves and become aware of our actions and their impacts: how I move, what I eat, how I dress … Little by little, we can improve all that. The goal is not to change completely, overnight.
With Nénés, we want to show that everyone has the power to improve their consumption and have a more positive impact on the environment .
If you want to know more about our association, you can find us right here on our site.
