Celebrating #UNLITTER Creative Visionaries: Featuring Henry West (UK)
By Tessa Whitby and Sabina Osman @UNLITTER Team
The #UNLITTER Movement takes great pride in celebrating some of its most committed and talented members who continue to make life choices based on ethical sustainability and work towards inspiring environmental action. One of our most remarkable members is Henry West. West is a passionate environmental advocate from the UK who fully embodies the environmental ideals we emphasize in The #UNLITTER Movement. His devotion to environmental activism as an outstanding creative director combined with his work on innovative, eco-conscious designs is making waves in mainstream media as he brings his sustainable visions to life!
West has performed critical roles working with companies such as Adidas, Sony, Beats by Dre, Vodafone, Parley, Dove, and many more. One of his notable footwear designs for Adidas Skateboarding, harnesses shoes that could actually lower the environmental impact that skateboarding has through footwear.
Henry's design combines the classic stripes and custom colors of Adidas with a modified fit to better hold up to the wear and tear skateboarding does to shoes. Not only does the design offer extra wear-resistance with features that can be replaced once worn, but it also uses materials made from plastic that has been recycled from the ocean. This design was inspired by his love for the ocean and desire to reduce plastic waste in our waters.
His creative visionary work has been shown on multimedia displays in New York and Los Angeles to tens of thousands of people. Amidst his extensive video portfolio as a creative director, his short film project “The Plastic and the Penguin” with Parley for the Oceans, sheds light on the harsh realities we face with microplastics and the negative environmental impacts of our consumer choices. West’s message urging people to “think about where their plastic ends up” rings through loud and clear, and aims to encourage alternate sustainable choices.
West’s creative ambitions have taken him across all seven continents of the Planet. In his travels, he has studied and lived with some of our world’s most majestic creatures and witnessed some of the greatest beauty nature has to offer. Unfortunately, he has also seen first hand the atrocious negative impact human life can have on our planet and its wildlife. The environmental devastation he witnessed throughout the world is what fuels his passion to use his talents to empower sustainable alternatives and mindsets.
The world is beginning to wake up to the catastrophes of climate change and mass pollution that are at our front door. Still, there is a considerable amount of work ahead of us. Sustainable visionaries like Henry West have the power to integrate eco-conscious designs and influence mainstream culture to move in the right direction. We are honored to have such an imaginative individual on our team who upholds the #UNLITTER mission and is taking action through creative authority and innovative design! It is important that we build up and empower individuals devoted to the collective good of the planet.
Be like Henry. Get involved. Get creative. Join the movement. #UNLITTER
