Rachel Labbe Bellas, part of the eXXpedition Amazon team, is featured as a Changemaker for Awear World! Check out the blog here:
Rachel has an adventurous spirit that literally emanates from her. A research assistant at Scripps Institution of Oceanography UCSD, she has also worked as the development coordinator for the ocean conservation non-profit, Sylvia Earle Alliance Mission Blue.
After growing up in Montreal, Canada, Rachel earned her biology degree from McGill University and a Master’s in ecology degree from Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil. She’s a quadrilingual and has lived in Panama, Barbados, Italy, Philippines, and Brazil, volunteering and studying tropical ecology. She’s about to embark on the journey of a lifetime, as she shares with us:
“In December of 2015, 13 adventurous women from around the globe and I will sail for 19 days to make the unseen seen, from the toxics in our bodies to the toxics in our seas. Our mission is to explore the issue of plastics, chemicals, endocrine disruptors and carcinogens in our personal and global environment that can cause disease. We aim to engage women in scientific narratives relating to the consumer choices they make, and their long-term health impacts on themselves and our environment.”
To learn more about the eXXpedition project, and to help support Rachel in her upcoming adventure from Ascension Island to Brazil, take a look at her campaign on Instrumentl >
Bikini (by Odina Surf, made of 85% recycled plastic bottles)
Cement Backpack (by PureThai Designs)
Insulated Reusable Bottle (by Klean Kanteen)
Food Canister with Lid (by Klean Kanteen)
Bamboo Straw (by Brush with Bamboo)
Sunscreen (by Badger Balm)
photos by Drew McGill
