Volvo & Grey Fight For Ocean's Future Through Children's Book

Volvo Car UK is continuing to safeguard the ocean’s future with a new children’s book created by Grey London in partnership with award-winning illustrator, Jago Silver.

The Day the Ocean Went Away is a fictitious tale about a little boy called Jack, who loves the ocean but wakes up one morning to discover that it has completely disappeared. Trying to discover where and why it has gone, he journeys across the dry seabed to find out why, meeting all sorts of beleaguered ocean creatures along the way, from a plastic bag-filled blue whale to a mermaid caught up in plastic fishing nets.

At the back of the book, young readers are encouraged to make a promise about what they’ll do to make a difference - and then, much like a New Year’s resolution, write down what their pledge is in an attempt to help them stick to it. 

“This book really was a labour of love," explains Silver. "Each page was crafted to reflect the rugged beauty of the Cornish coast, which is very dear to me, and an almost dystopic vision of a world with no oceans. It had to be awe-inspiring, terrifying, but also hopeful, so that children will take its message to heart, even if they’ve never seen ocean with their own eyes. How can a child love and protect something they have no connection to? Every time someone buys this book, we’re another step closer to creating another much-needed ocean guardian.”

The book, which is printed entirely from FSC recycled stock, follows on from Volvo’s latest Sky Atlantic docu-short, The Unseen Ocean, which tells the true story of primary school teacher Tom Franklin and his not-for-profit social enterprise, City Kids Surfing, which teaches children to swim and surf while educating them about the environment – often introducing inner city kids to the sea for the first time. All proceeds from the book, which is now available on Amazon priced £7.99, will go towards City Kids Surfing.

Both projects support Volvo Cars’ global initiative to fight plastic pollution and improve sustainability practices, both in its cars and in the wider world. By 2025, it aims for at least 25% of the plastics in its newly launched cars to be made from recycled materials, and to make its global manufacturing operations climate-neutral. Volvo also aims to eliminate single-use plastic from its offices and events by the end of 2019. 

In September 2018, Volvo also became the first and only carmaker to endorse the G7 Ocean Plastics Charter, which commits governments to take concrete steps towards addressing the issue of ocean plastics pollution.  

“At Volvo, we recognise the impact our products have on the environment," says Georgina Williams, head of marketing, Volvo Car UK. "It’s why we have one of the most ambitious sustainability programmes in the industry, spearheaded by our aim for at least 25% of the plastics in newly launched Volvos from 2025 to be made from recycled material. The hope is that this book will find its way into the hands of children who may never have seen the ocean and that it will help them understand its fragility as well as introducing them to the basic concept of sustainability.”

To find out more, visit the Unseen Ocean microsite.