Marisol Esparza

Peruvian social entrepreneur creating sustainable fashion from recycled ocean plastics

Marisol Esparza is a Peruvian innovator transforming marine waste into luxury fashion, leading global efforts to combat ocean pollution through design. As founder of Marea Collective, she has pioneered a circular economy model that converts plastic debris from the Pacific Ocean into high-end apparel and accessories. Growing up near Peru's coast, Marisol witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems, inspiring her to merge environmental activism with fashion innovation.

Her breakthrough came in 2018 with the development of OceanWeave™, a patented material made from 100% post-consumer plastics collected from beaches and coastal communities. The fabric's unique properties - comparable to premium leather but biodegradable - have been featured in collaborations with brands like Versace and Stella McCartney. Each product comes with a QR code tracing the plastic's journey from collection to production, emphasizing transparency.

Marea Collective's Blue Mile initiative employs 1,200+ coastal residents in Peru, Chile, and Ecuador as waste collectors, providing income while cleaning 250+ miles of coastline annually. The company's impact tracker shows over 12 million pounds of plastic diverted from oceans since 2019. Marisol's TED Talk "Wearing the Ocean" has become a case study in sustainable business models.

Her recent venture, Plastica Blockchain, uses IoT sensors to track waste collection and processing in real-time, ensuring ethical practices. Marisol advises the UN's Environment Programme on circular economy frameworks and sits on the board of Greenpeace Peru. In 2022, she launched the EcoStyle Academy, training artisans in 15 coastal communities to create upcycled fashion.