VOA标准英语2012--Clothing Company Ties Sales to Ocean Cleanup

 

Clothing Company Ties Sales to Ocean Cleanup

Volunteers and company employees keep that promise by descending¹ upon temporary garbage dumps that contain just about everything you’d find in a typical landfill. But instead of the trash being properly disposed of, it had been a part of the six billion kilos of waste that pollute the ocean each year.

“The potential for that getting into the food chain and that polluting fish and ultimately us for eating fish is a big issue,” says Brian Linton, who has always been passionate² about the ocean.

When he founded United By Blue in 2010, he decided³ his clothing company would make clean water its focus. For every item sold, he has pledged to remove a pound of trash - half a kilo - from rivers, oceans and other waterways.

“Doing something that matters is going to make our business successful and the environmental initiatives that we have successful,” he says.

United By Blue makes a statement about both fashion and the environment. Linton believes the world is connected by the oceans and his company lives up to its name by holding one or two cleanups every week each summer, using employees and recruiting volunteers. 

“I think these cleanups can make a big change, and if you have enough of them, then it can make a big difference to people,” says Ally Canestri, a cleanup volunteer.

That’s true for Nick Tannahill, who’s on his second cleanup with his college fraternity and they plan to keep coming back.

“With any cleanup, really, it’s just hanging out with my brothers," Tannahill says. "Because we’re not at school, we don’t have to worry about work, we’re just doing something that we know is right, helping⁴ the community.”

The 60 cleanups United By Blue held last summer removed more than 36,000 kilos of trash.

“It’s really important for us to clean the waterways, the riverbanks and the shores that are close to where we live because it’s that last chance we have to grab that trash before it makes its way up to the ocean,” says employee Alli Blum, who believes protecting the ocean is a community responsibility.

United By Blue spends between $2,000 and $5,000 on each clean-up, which includes salaries for employees, food and beverage⁵ for all the helpers and disposal costs for the trash they collect.

Jaine Lucas, who heads the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute at Temple University, says the cleanups add value to United By Blue clothing.

“A lot of people will do that type of thing simply as a marketing⁶ ploy," she says. "And where Brian has been very successful is that his passion for oceans and water conservation has been sincere and very authentic⁷ to him.”

And to Linton, that means being more than another company that sells T-shirts.

1 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

2 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 beverage   

n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料

参考例句：

• The beverage is often colored with caramel.这种饮料常用焦糖染色。
• Beer is a beverage of the remotest time.啤酒是一种最古老的饮料。

6 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

7 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。