NEW YORK CITY – A unique collaboration that leverages A-list female beauty to conserve the earth’s precious and threatened marine environments is being launched today at upscale cosmetics counters around the world.
The Pew Institute for Ocean Science (http://www.pewoceanscience.org) is pleased to announce that Chantecaille, a luxury cosmetics company, will donate five percent of the proceeds of its gorgeous new “Protected Paradise” Face and Eyes compacts to support vital marine science research and conservation efforts. Specifically, the funds will support the Institute’s Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation program, which provides a $150,000 award to each of five ocean experts around the world annually to develop solutions to critical ocean challenges. The Fellowship is widely considered to be the Nobel Prize of marine conservation.
The heads of both institutions are strong, adventurous, and innovative New Yorkers with an innate appreciation for beauty and a passion to preserve it. Dr. Ellen Pikitch, executive director of the Pew Institute for Ocean Science, is a leading marine biologist who with her research team pursues cutting-edge research used to conserve intricate, valuable, and threatened marine ecosystems. Dr. Pikitch swims with sharks and affixes their fins with satellite tags as part of her research, and has traveled to every continent as part of her scientific exploration. Sylvie Chantecaille, owner and founder of Chantecaille Beauté, was born in France and is a devoted environmentalist and successful international businesswoman. She co-founded the Prescriptives cosmetics line for Estée Lauder and then started her own exclusive brand, which has soared to success and is a popular choice of celebrities and models alike. Her Chantecaille products are sold in high-end retail stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong.
“The partnership between the Pew Institute for Ocean Science and Chantecaille is a natural, since both institutions care deeply about environmental protection,” said Dr. Pikitch. “Although Sylvie grew up in France and I grew up in the United States, both of us started snorkeling when we were kids and our hearts have never left the ocean. Our passion for marine life and our concern over the threats to their environment have impacted the course of both of our lives and I’m thrilled to be working together toward change.
“Through both financial support and a commitment to raising visibility for ocean conservation, the Chantecailles have been incredibly valued partners for us and we are grateful for their contribution," Dr. Pikitch added.
The Pew Institute joined forces with Chantecaille in 2007 when the cosmetics firm created an exquisite, faux-coral-adorned “Coral” compact by acclaimed designer Jay Strongwater. Chantecaille donated five percent of the proceeds of this limited-edition compact to the Pew Institute’s “Reefs of Hope” project, which seeks to understand whether temperature-sensitive corals will adapt to survive climate change. Chantecaille’s newly released “Protected Paradise” Face and Eyes makeup compacts will support the Pew Fellows in Marine Conservation, who work on ocean conservation in 29 countries around the globe. The 2008 Pew Marine Fellows are pursuing projects that are urgently needed to improve coral reef health, sustain fisheries, and enhance the effectiveness of marine protected areas, and are working in the United States, France, China, Australia and Canada. Learn more about the Fellows and their work at http://www.pewoceanscience.org/fellows/2008/.
The Protected Paradise compacts are available for $90 each at Neiman Marcus (neimanmarcus.com), Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys New York, and other select retailers. Each galvanized nickel compact contains brilliantly colored powders in an intricately embossed design that depicts the diverse beauty of an underwater marine ecosystem. The artfully rendered design includes: two fish, representing a host of overfished and endangered species; a school of small “forage” fish that serve as a critical food source for larger marine animals and are at risk from overfishing; a sea horse, which is being heavily exploited globally for use in aquariums and traditional medicines; coral, an integral and threatened part of the marine ecosystem that is being profoundly affected by climate change, pollution, habitat degradation and disease; and a graceful expanse of sea grass, which serves as a crucial source of shelter and nutrition for fish but is being destroyed by threats such as nutrient pollution and siltation.
The mission of the Pew Institute for Ocean Science is to advance ocean conservation through science. Established by a generous multi-year grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Pew Institute is a major program of the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and has offices in Miami and New York. Read more about the collaboration with Chantecaille and how to help protect the oceans, at http://www.pewoceanscience.org/chantecaille/.