Plastic is deeply ingrained in human civilisation and serves its many purposes. However, 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, by 2050, there could be more plastic by weight in oceans than fish. Marine species could suffer from severe injuries and deaths due to discarded plastics while floating plastics also contribute to the spread of invasive marine organisms and bacteria.

Another concern in the ocean is ghost fishing nets. These are nets that have been left or lost in the ocean by fishermen, and approximately 640,000 tonnes of them end up in the ocean every year, representing 10% of marine litter. It takes over 600 years for ghost fishing nets to decompose, and during these 600 years, they pose huge threats to the marine ecosystem. The nets could entangle marine species, such as turtles, sharks, whales, and dolphins, restricting their movements and could lead to suffocation and death. According to the National Marine Fisheries Services, an average of 11 large whales are entangled in such nets each year along the United States' west coast from 2000 to 2012.

ECOALF introduced Upcycling the Oceans project with three key goals: 

'to remove litter that damages marine ecosystems from our seas; giving a second life to recovered waste with a circular economy view, and raising awareness about the global issue that marine litter presents.' 

To do so, they asked fishermen to separate marine litter when pulling in the nets during fishing. The marine litter, which could include plastic materials such as bottles and nets, would then be given to ECOALF and used as the primary material of their collections for garments such as jackets, waistcoats, handbags, and shoes. They then carefully categorise each type of litter into groups suitable for their end purpose. For example, PET plastic bottles collected are transformed into flakes and pellets to produce a high-quality, 100% polyester recycled filament. Meanwhile, fishing nets collected are used to make regenerated nylon yarn.

With the help of over 3000 fishermen presented in 54 ports, more than 700 tonnes of plastic have been removed from the bottom of the ocean and used to make ECOALF's collections. Approximately 70 plastic bottles and 135 grams of fishing nets can create one meter of fabric. According to ECOALF, using recycled PET saved 20% in water usage, 50% in energy, and over 60% in greenhouse emissions compared with using conventional polyester. Using recycled fishing nets has saved over 25% of natural resources and 28% in greenhouse gas emissions while minimising the detrimental consequences of marine pollution.

- ECOALF aims to reach more than 10,000 fishermen by 2025 and recover at least 1000 tonnes of trash from the Mediterranean Sea each year. It also aspires to expand the project globally, transforming ocean trash to produce top quality yarn.

- According to ECOALF, as the project is highly ambitious, it is also challenging and complex. Hence, investment in research and development is crucial to attaining quality in line with its standards.

- Apart from the Upcycling the Oceans project, ECOALF also uses recycled materials from numerous other sources, including; recycled polyester from garments (post-industrial and post-consumer waste), regenerated nylon yarn from scrapped carpeting and pre-consumer nylon waste, and post-consumer coffee grounds waste.