Keep Britain Tidy is a leading independent environmental charity that works to inspire, educate and enable everyone in this country to value the environment on their doorstep. This means more to them than just picking up litter.
Through national campaigns, programmes, research and innovations, Keep Britain Tidy aim to support and galvanise communities to reduce resource use, waste, litter and live more sustainably, as well as improve the quality of public spaces.
The charity do this through programmes – including Eco-Schools, the Green Flag Award for parks and green spaces and the Blue Flag/Seaside Awards for beaches – and annual campaigns, which include the Great British Spring Clean and Buy Nothing New Month.
Carbon Creative was commissioned by Keep Britain Tidy to develop the creative direction for a public awareness campaign addressing marine litter. The campaign aimed to encourage behaviour change around coastal pollution, particularly litter left on beaches, and to remind visitors of their role in protecting marine environments. The objectives were to:
Through clear messaging and thoughtful design, the campaign set out to reduce litter and promote long-term care for our seas and shorelines.
Our approach focused on creating a clear, consistent, and engaging visual identity that worked across multiple touchpoints, including outdoor signage, floor stickers, and social media. Designed for diverse settings – from busy coastal areas to digital platforms – the visuals were eye-catching and accessible to a wide audience. We balanced attention-grabbing design with clear, relatable messaging and using bold art direction to encourage immediate action and raise lasting awareness about marine litter.
Alongside the on-site assets, we created a series of social media graphics and animations that extended the campaign’s reach online. These were designed to spark engagement and reinforce the “Bin it or Take it home” message across Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter). We also produced editable templates to allow local authorities and partner organisations to localise the content and share it with their own audiences.
The result was a clear and impactful campaign that raised awareness of marine litter’s harm and encouraged responsible behaviour from beach visitors both onsite and online.
Through strong visuals and practical messaging, it reached a wide audience, fostering personal responsibility and promoting lasting positive change for our coasts.
