How a Beach Walk and a Cup of Coffee Sparked a Movement

 

It’s often in life’s quietest rituals that our biggest ideas arrive.

Each morning, after a brisk walk along the Jersey shoreline - a time that never fails to reconnect me with nature - I stop at Coopers for my daily coffee. It’s my pause before the day begins, my moment of stillness. But every day, without fail, I’m left in awe of the ocean’s raw majesty and, heartbreakingly, the creeping damage inflicted upon it.

That’s where the seed for Sip Sea Change was planted.

At HartiSWIM, sustainability isn’t a marketing strapline - it’s our foundation. From the new-generation fibre we use in every swimsuit (made from certified recycled ocean plastic bottles), to our biodegradable packaging and careful scrutiny of our supply chain’s carbon footprint, every decision we make has one eye on the sea.

Over the last five years, I’ve immersed myself in ocean conservation. I’ve spoken with marine biologists, joined clean-up teams, and read every credible report I could get my hands on. It’s simple: the more I learned, the more I knew that change must start at home. And for me, home is Jersey, a place I’m incredibly proud to see taking bold steps on marine protection and environmental leadership. But we can’t rest on local policy alone. Real change starts in the house, in the kitchen, in the everyday. In how we shop, how we parent, how we commute, and yes, in how we drink our coffee.

Which brings me to the cup.

In the UK alone, we use around seven million single-use coffee cups every single day. Most are discarded within minutes, with only a fraction being properly recycled. They’re convenient, yes - but also symbolic of a disposable culture we desperately need to shift. So many organisations proudly shout about going "plastic-free", but how much meaningful change can we make if we don’t tackle one of the everyday culprits head-on?

So I approached David Warr at Coopers.

I knew he shared my passion for sustainability - he’s been embedding ethical practices into his business for years. I pitched him the idea: an art-led awareness campaign that turned something as habitual - and as harmful - as a coffee cup into a symbol of change. And to his great credit, he didn’t just agree. He leaned in. He said yes.

That bold decision is what makes this campaign truly disruptive. Because let’s face it, how many businesses are really willing to challenge their own customer habits? It’s easy to talk about sustainability from the sidelines. It’s another thing entirely to say: “Here’s the cup we serve you every day - let’s rethink it together.”

The result is Sip Sea Change - a collaboration between HartiSWIM and Cooper & Co. We’ve created a limited series of coffee cups featuring original artwork by Harti (my husband Sascha, co-founder of HartiSWIM and our in-house artist). These cups aren’t just beautiful. They’re conversation starters. They’re tiny ambassadors of a much bigger message: that small daily acts, shared publicly, can snowball into global awareness. Lets face you were buying that coffee regardless, but now with our messaging, we hope you will think twice about your cup.

And there’s action behind the art. Customers who fill out four Harti x Coopers loyalty cards receive a reusable cup - completely free. Because we know that while we might not be able to change coffee culture overnight, we can start nudging it in the right direction. One cup. One habit. One person at a time.

We’re inviting everyone - whether you live on a windswept British coastline or in the heart of a city - to share their eco actions. Clean a beach. Volunteer with a conservation group. Walk instead of drive. Teach your kids to recycle. Just do something. Then post it on Instagram, tag us @hartiswim and @coopersjersey, and use the hashtag #SipSeaChange. And yes, wherever you are in the world, you could win one of our fabulous HartiSWIM pieces - because this is about global impact, not geography.

Our recent debut at Miami Swim Week The Shows was a turning point for me. Miami-Dade County’s commitment to ocean preservation and their plastic-free initiatives were inspiring. It reminded me that fashion isn’t just about aesthetics - it’s about platform, influence, and responsibility.

Here in the British Isles, the statistics are sobering. The UK alone produces an estimated five million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with around eight million pieces of plastic entering the ocean every single day. Bottom trawling and microplastic pollution are threatening over 90% of our marine protected areas, and according to a recent Marine Conservation Society report, over 70% of UK beaches surveyed were polluted with plastic.

We can’t afford to wait.

So here it is: Art on your cup. Change in your hand.
A daily ritual turned into a daily reminder.

Because the tides are turning - but only if we push.

Join us. Take action. Share your eco moments.
Tag @hartiswim and @coopersjersey. Use #SipSeaChange.
Let’s make sustainability not just stylish - but unstoppable.

By Tessa Hartmann CBE, Founder & Creative Director, HartiSWIM