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Every April, Earth Month gives us a chance to pause and ask a simple question: are the brands we support actually walking the walk when it comes to sustainability? As divers, we have a front-row seat to the state of our oceans and what we see underwater makes the answer to that question matter a whole lot more.
That's why Mares stands out. While a lot of companies slap a green logo on their products and call it a day, Mares has committed to cutting unnecessary plastic use across their entire operation by 70%. That's not a marketing tagline, it's a measurable, structural change that touches everything from how their products are packaged to how they run their headquarters.
Here's a breakdown of what they're actually doing, and why it matters.
Most of us don't think twice about the plastic film that wraps a product box, but Mares did. They asked a simple question: do we actually need this? The answer was no, so they eliminated it. Same story with PVC packaging stickers, they switched to paper. These might sound like small wins, but multiply them across millions of products shipped globally, and you're talking about a meaningful reduction in plastic waste.
This one's genuinely impressive. Mares developed a mask box made from sugar cane pulp, a byproduct of sugar production, that biodegrades in soil in just 90 days. Compare that to a traditional plastic box, which can linger in a landfill for centuries. As a bonus, these boxes require less water and generate less pollution to produce than conventional packaging. Mares is rolling this change out across their full mask lineup.
When it comes to shipping products to retailers, Mares replaced conventional plastic polybags with bio-plastic bags made from ethanol extracted from sugar cane. They perform just as well as standard plastic but with a dramatically smaller carbon footprint. For wetsuits specifically, they use corn-based, biodegradable, plastic-free bags. And inside the boxes? They've cut out bubble wrap and plastic air cushions entirely choosing paper-based alternatives instead.
Beyond their own walls, Mares supports the Blue Oceans project, an initiative founded by SSI (Scuba Schools International) that focuses on ocean protection and plastic reduction. The program actively involves divers in cleanup efforts and awareness campaigns meaning if you're a Mares customer, you're connected to a broader community of people working to protect the underwater world we all love.
Sustainability in the dive industry isn't always glamorous it's mesh bags and mask boxes and shipping materials. But Mares proves that meaningful change happens in exactly those mundane details. By rethinking every layer of how their products are packaged and shipped, they're demonstrating what responsible manufacturing can look like for a global brand.
If you're in the market for new dive gear, knowing that a company is putting this kind of effort into reducing its environmental impact is a pretty good reason to give them a closer look.
