The following letter was written during 2021 and mailed in January of 2022 to MrBeast's PO box for fan mail. It didn't receive a reply.
Image credit: MrBeast and Mark Rober, TeamSeas Initiative
Dear MrBeast:
Thank you very much for your contributions to improving our world. You have inspired countless other YouTubers and influencers to take action to solve important environmental issues with your TeamTrees and TeamSeas initiatives. Leveraging your huge platform for good is admirable and adds to the quality of our lives.
Take TeamSeas, for instance: the $30 million you were able to raise to fund the removal of 30 million pounds of plastic is a tribute to the trust and faith that your followers and fans place in you to do the right thing with their hard-earned money, and the support they have of your environmental endeavors. Congratulations on your success!
The reason I am writing to you is to ask you to also consider other, different angles to help the environment faster and better. You have other tools that are just as good or even BETTER than money at your fingertips and it would cost next to nothing.
We all know that the plastic waste crisis is huge. The earth is like a bathtub that is overflowing with plastic waste, and the tap is still running, dumping more and more plastic waste daily. If we just try to spoon out the water without first turning off the faucet, the constant inflow will quickly cancel out and overcome our efforts, discouraging us from taking action. Cleaning up after the waste already enters the ocean is a Sisyphean task. It will also continue to be very expensive.
But what if YOU could help turn off that running tap and have a true and everlasting impact on the environment with just a few minor tweaks to the #TeamSeas campaign?
If you helped each of your 85 million subscribers to reduce their own plastic waste by even ONE measly pound per year, that would make an impact of 85 million pounds prevented from entering the ocean, which is almost triple the 30 million pounds of waste you are trying to remove through your TeamSeas project - and for you, it could be nearly free to reach out to your followers and fans with this important message. And one pound is just the beginning. With your reach and scale, you could easily influence your fans and help them to reduce even more than one pound per year. You could singlehandedly help cut billions of pounds of plastic waste.
For example, in your videos, you could include a link to zero-waste items in your merch store that replace single-use plastics for your fans and followers. You could make reusable straws, forks, spoons, dishes, bags, etc. stylish and desirable. This would help the environment as well as their health. Studies have proven that chemicals in plastics are toxic, mimic hormones, cause brain damage in children, and cause hyperactivity and ADHD symptoms (for more info, see the post published prior to this one). With your huge audience, you could spread awareness - especially among young people - and give them real alternatives to the endless oceans of plastic.
This approach would have a recurring and lasting impact on the ocean. After two years, you will have prevented at least 170 million pounds of plastic waste from entering the ocean, or even more - your fanbase will have grown, and what if you challenged everyone to cut two pounds of plastic in 2022? Three in 2023? And so on. The effects will compound.
Additionally, as you advocate for the removal of ocean plastics, why not begin with your own merch store and burger chain? (Edit a year later: and now, your chocolate brand) Look to your companies to see if they too could replace single-use plastics with safer and cleaner alternatives.
If you phase out single-use plastics and add zero-waste products in your stores, your followers and fans would be empowered to do the same. I would love to see the Beast logo emblazoned on an organic cotton tote, but it would only work if you first phased out the plastic packaging used in the shop. Plus, you could inspire other businesses to follow suit!
If the tap is turned off, you could be free to direct the money raised to research into better clean-up methods and other plastic alternatives, as well as fund the transition of people and communities to zero-waste lifestyles. You can popularize going plastic-free and inform people about the adverse health and environmental effects of plastics with your huge audience and primarily youth fanbase. That money could also go towards funding lawsuits and pushing legislation that makes single-use plastics illegal.
In summary, there are three steps that I believe would improve the TeamSeas initiative and help the environment more:
Spread awareness to your audience & encourage them to stop using plastics, this would create an instant reduction of waste
Set an example - eliminate disposable plastic use at MrBeast Burger Chain and the MrBeast Merch Store
Popularize going plastic-free - Add zero-waste products to the Merch Store
Note, this doesn’t only apply for MrBeast. Any YouTuber or influential person could utilize the three steps above - spread awareness, set an example, and popularize it. Just like the Reddit community’s pushback of Wall Street, YouTube’s community can fight plastic pollution, one pound at a time.
Sincerely,
A fan & environmental activist
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MAILING ADDRESS
MrBeast
1822-6 South Glenburnie Rd
PMB 397
New Bern, NC 28562
USA
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