Netflix heartthrob ‘bares all’ for Greenpeace anti-plastic campaign

Cape Town, 14 December 2020 — Greenpeace Africa has partnered with local actor and Netflix newcomer Ryle De Morny in a cheeky Instagram takeover to expose the true extent of the plastic industry’s exploits. The aim is to raise awareness ahead of this year’s festive consumer rush. De Morny will takeover Greenpeace Africa’s Instagram channel this week.

De Morny, also known as Natureboy_ct by his 40 000 Instagram followers, gained international acclaim for his role in Netflix’s original South African series Blood & Water. He is determined to use his newfound influence to raise awareness of the threats to the natural world he so treasures. 

“I’m truly blessed to play in such beautiful places. But, this consumer culture being forced down our throats is killing my world. Our world. A world of unimaginable natural beauty and wonder,” the Blood & Water actor said. 

“Destroyed by greedy corporations. Our hunger to consume and discard. From what we purchase to what we wear, plastic is in almost everything we do.”

According to a 2018 United Nations assessment, the plastic industry has generated more plastic objects in the last 10 years than during the entire 20th century [1]. The global decline in demand for oil and gas has prompted the petrochemical industry to channel their focus on another lucrative market: plastic [2]. 

However, as De Morny notes, the impact has not gone unnoticed: 

“I used to run through these hills as a kid, young, wild, free. I would sit here and dream the craziest dreams not knowing that half of them would come to life. Now this beautiful place has become nothing but the graveyard of our bad choices. Now merely a hill void of dreams, void of beauty and lacking the magic that makes you believe. Suffocated by plastic,” he said. 

A recent Greenpeace Africa campaign exposed how the petrochemical industry is actively lobbying to derail steps that African governments have taken to counter the continent’s plastic pollution crisis [3]. There has never been a more important time to tackle single-use plastic, since many governments are reviewing their plastic policies, including De Morny’s home country, South Africa. 

Greenpeace Africa Plastic Lead Angelo Louw said, “We truly hope that this collaboration will help people understand the extent of the problem, as well as what is fueling this sudden surge of plastic in our lives.”

“It’s not that consumers are not aware – in fact, think about how many times you’ve asked yourself when opening goods: was it really necessary to wrap this in plastic? Corporations are working with each other to make profits at the expense of our environment, our only defense against climate change. They are suffocating us in plastic – quite literally – and we want to show people the extent.”

Follow @greenpeaceafrica on Instagram for uploads on their anti-plastics collaboration.

ENDS

Note to Editors – 

[1] United Nations Environment Programme Single-Use Plastics: A Roadmap for Sustainability Report, Page 5. 

[2] “Africa’s Exploding Plastic Nightmare” by Sharon Lerner, originally published by The Intercept.

[3] For more information on Greenpeace Africa’s campaign against the American Chemistry Council, check out our press release.

[4] Photographs of De Morny are available upon request.  

[5] Feel free to embed the Instagram teaser video in your online articles. 

Contact Details –  Chris Vlavianos, Greenpeace Africa Communications Officer, +2779 883 7036, [email protected]