Dedicated x Sea Shepherd

Our love for planet Earth and all its living creatures sees no limits and is always considered in the production of our clothes. Therefore, disclosing our collaboration with Sea Shepherd brings us much joy. Sea Shepherd is an international, non-profit marine conservation organization that engages in direct action campaigns to defend wildlife and conserve and protect the world’s oceans from illegal exploitation and environmental destruction. An immensely important mission.

DEDICATED x Sea Shepherd is a collaboration dedicated to marine life, a collection of unique styles made of organic cotton and hemp.

See the full collection here.

Dedicated x Sea Shepherd – Interview

We asked Sea Shepherd to tell us more in-depth about their work, their main focus, and what made them want to collaborate with us.

What would you say is the most urgent matter concerning marine life today?
Overfishing is one of the most urgent threats to marine life today, driven by a complex mix of factors that make it widespread and increasingly difficult to control. The growing global demand for fish has fueled an insatiable appetite, pushing fishing activities far beyond sustainable levels. Modern fishing technologies, such as large-scale nets, advanced sonar, and GPS, enable vessels to extract massive quantities of fish from the ocean with unprecedented efficiency, intensifying the strain on marine populations. Compounding this issue is the challenge of effectively monitoring and enforcing fishing and conservation laws in vast, often remote ocean areas, allowing overfishing to persist unchecked in many regions. This crisis also leads to significant collateral damage, including the bycatch of unintended species—many of which are endangered—habitat destruction caused by destructive and even illegal fishing methods, and the disruption of ecological food chains. If left unchecked, these disruptions could cascade into broader ecosystem collapse, threatening the overall health of our oceans and the biodiversity they support.

Why collaborate with Dedicated?
Sea Shepherd is constantly on the lookout to engage with new audiences to discuss the topics we feel matter - and need to be addressed urgently. Sea Shepherd and DEDICATED align based on moral principles to act in a time of unprecedented climate change and loss of biodiversity. We like their no-nonsense approach. Sea Shepherd appreciates the financial impact this collab is making for our org, so we can do more campaigns at sea. At the same time, this collection pushes the agenda for a drastic reduction of synthetics in garments, as this is not only threatening the health of the ocean (via micro shedding) but also the health of the human population.

What's your biggest achievement?
Sea Shepherd's greatest achievement is the successful pursuit and arrest of the toothfish poacher Thunder in 2015 after a dramatic 110-day chase through rough seas. This victory helped launch our campaigns against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2016 with our first partnership in Gabon for Operation Albacore. Today our IUU campaigns span eight countries in Africa and the Pacific, helping our partners with the arrest of nearly 100 illegal operators.

What's your most important mission right now?
Sea Shepherd's most important mission right now is to help countries combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, a key driver of the overfishing crisis. The key to stopping IUU fishing lies in effective monitoring, control, and surveillance—especially the enforcement of existing laws and regulations that protect marine wildlife, people, and the environment. However, many African coastal and island states lack the offshore patrol vessels necessary to cover the entirety of their waters, making it difficult to enforce these crucial protections. Sea Shepherd addresses this gap by providing civilian offshore patrol vessels with trained crew and volunteers, helping authorities from eight partner countries to enforce fisheries and conservation laws within their sovereign waters. By assisting with the fight against IUU fishing, Sea Shepherd plays a critical role in reducing overfishing, safeguarding fish populations, and preserving the biodiversity and ecological balance of our oceans.

What can people do to help?
To support Sea Shepherd's fight against overfishing and Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, individuals can take several impactful actions. First, help raise awareness about the problems caused by overfishing and the work Sea Shepherd is doing to stop it. Second, consider removing or reducing fish from your diet to lessen the global demand. Third, consider volunteering locally if there's a Sea Shepherd chapter near you or joining one of our campaigns at sea. Finally, donate to help support our crucial missions, including patrolling marine protected areas and combating IUU fishing. What can companies do? We do not receive governmental funding, so we rely on the generosity of our supporters to continue our work. Sea Shepherd’s media presence has attracted strategic partners who share our DNA, especially from the apparel industry like DEDICATED. They remain vital for the development of our organization. For the last two years, we explored other ways of collaborating in other branches. In line with UN SDG 17 Sea Shepherd looks to partner with new stakeholders to fulfill common objectives. As we work side-by-side with governments to shut down IUU fishing, so do we also work with brands to create value together.