The emerging field of Planetary Health recognizes a simple but profound reality: human wellbeing depends on the health of the natural systems that sustain us. Plastic pollution is one of the defining challenges we face.
As one of Earth’s most important life-support systems, the ocean regulates climate, supports biodiversity, sustains global food systems, and underpins the wellbeing of billions of people. Yet it faces mounting pressures, including plastic pollution. Since the 1950s, plastic production has grown exponentially, bringing undeniable benefits to modern life while also creating a persistent waste challenge. Today, an estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year, where larger debris fragments into microplastics and nanoplastics that disperse throughout the marine environment.
What was once viewed primarily as a waste and pollution issue is increasingly understood as a challenge with implications far beyond the ocean. Microplastics have been detected from coastal waters to the deep sea, as well as in the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and increasingly, within human tissues. Understanding how these particles move through environmental and biological systems, how people are exposed, and what they may mean for long-term human health is one of the most important scientific questions emerging today.
At Tranquillion, we seek opportunities that bridge disciplines, translate knowledge into action, and advance the systems change required to improve outcomes for people and the planet. Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and human health are still too often studied, addressed, and funded in isolation. We are drawn to partners working at the confluence of these challenges and this is what drew us to Dr. Dimitri Deheyn and his team at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Dimitri’s work sits at the intersection of oceanography, environmental science, toxicology, technology development, and public health. His research investigates how microplastics and microfibers move through marine and biological systems, where they originate, how they interact with living organisms, and what they may mean for long-term ecological and human health. His laboratory is also advancing research on emerging sources of pollution, including synthetic textile microfibers, while exploring the relationship between plastics and greenhouse gas emissions. Together, this work strengthens our understanding of the links between pollution, climate, oceans, and human health.
Beyond the laboratory, Dimitri is building **CPR for the Planet**, an interdisciplinary institute designed to bring together scientists, engineers, technologists, and health experts to better understand and respond to complex environmental challenges. This systems-oriented approach aligns closely with Tranquillion’s philosophy that many of the most impactful solutions emerge at the nexus of disciplines, where environmental stewardship, science, technology, and human health intersect.
One recent example of the work we have supported is a publication examining microplastic and microfiber pollution surrounding Kantamanto Market in Accra, Ghana, the world’s largest secondhand clothing market. Using a citizen science methodology, the study traced how discarded textiles from global fast fashion brands generate airborne and waterborne microplastic contamination at concentrations far exceeding those reported in other major cities, with clear evidence linking the pollution to the market’s waste stream and the adjacent Korle Lagoon. The paper highlights the need for stronger regulatory frameworks to address textile waste and underscores the environmental burden borne by the Global South communities that receive discarded garments from wealthier nations.
Our partnership with Dimitri represents one pillar of Tranquillion’s emerging Ocean Health portfolio. Alongside this work, we have partnered with a pooled fund directing capital toward plastic pollution solutions across the value chain and the Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance to support complementary efforts spanning scientific research, systems change, collaboration, and advocacy. Together, these partnerships reflect our conviction that addressing plastic pollution requires action across the entire continuum, from advancing scientific understanding to supporting upstream solutions that prevent pollution before it enters the environment. As this portfolio grows, we are exploring research on the human health implications of plastic pollution, improving measurement and monitoring, understanding major sources of pollution such as synthetic textiles and microfibers, and supporting practical interventions across supply chains and consumer systems.
Through our partnership with Dimitri Deheyn and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, we are investing not only in scientific discovery, but also in the collaborative infrastructure needed to better understand and respond to one of the defining Planetary Health challenges of our time.
