TOMS Blog

Carlos Carneiro grew up in a beach town in Portugal, where he always idolized surf culture but never got on actually got on a board.

It was there that a friend introduced him to French film and that was it. Carlos fell in love with film, and inspired by the works of Wenders, Lynch and Godard, he enrolled in Film School and 12 years later, here he is: Winner of the TOMS X Dazed and Confused documentary film contest.

On a trip to Cornwall, Carlos heard about this group of surfers that came together in the 90’s because they were simply ‘sick of getting sick’ from the toxic British waters. Amazed at their passion for surfing and the ocean, he decided he would be the one to tell the SAS story through film.  It was then that he saw the TOMS + Dazed & Confused project searching for an individual or collective that has ‘started something that matters’ in the UK and thought this was the perfect opportunity to raise awareness for SAS and shoot a beautiful film that also embraces TOMS culture.

Upon arriving in Cornwall, Carlos what shocked to find that there are 31,000 Combined Sewer Overflows around the UK. These CSO’s act as emergency discharge units when sewage stations cannot cope with the amount of sewage or rainfall, are being used to regularly dispose of raw sewage. In theory, CSOs should only discharge a maximum of three times per bathing season (May – September) however many discharge far more frequently than this.

Gross!

SAS came up with Sewage Alert Service which gives you free real-time alerts whenever sewage discharges happen. It’s a vital service that allows you to avoid any sewage pollution incidents so you can make that informed decision of, “Ok, I know ist disgusting but I’m still going to the beach” or “unbelievable.. kids, sorry no beach today!” 

An informed decision at least.  

“This little stream (picture attached) that mouths on the beach? Where little kids play? That’s what carries the raw sewage to the sea.”

“This is one story that completely shocked me.” –Carlos Carniero

Congratulations to Carlos for winning the Dazed and Confused x TOMS short film contest. And we applaud Surfers Against Sewage in Cornwall, England for their service to the community, and starting something that matters.