Every year on 23 July, World Whale and Dolphin Day asks us to stop for a moment and think about the animals that make the ocean what it is. Not as a backdrop. Not as a tourist attraction. As living, breathing parts of an ecosystem that the health of every ocean depends on.
For us at Will and Wind, this day is not abstract. The photographs on our towels were taken in Australian waters by Australian photographers who have spent years in the ocean with these animals. The Bottlenose Dolphin and Calf design came from a moment during a free dive at Ningaloo when a mother dolphin and her calf approached photographer Brooke Pyke with what she describes as gentle curiosity. She did not expect the encounter. It is one of her most significant images. It is also one of our most loved designs. This week, buying it means something extra.
Why 23 July?
World Whale and Dolphin Day is observed annually on 23 July. It was established in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission to mark the fourth anniversary of the IWC's 1982 vote to implement a moratorium on commercial whaling, a decision that is widely credited with preventing the extinction of several great whale species.
The day commemorates that vote and honours the ongoing work of conservationists, scientists and advocates who fought for it. It also serves as a reminder that the threats facing whales and dolphins did not end with the whaling ban. They shifted.
The threats have changed, not gone away
Commercial whaling at industrial scale is no longer the primary threat to whale and dolphin populations. But the animals are not safe. The threats they face today are different, more diffuse and in some ways harder to address than a single industry.
Ocean plastic and chemical pollution. Plastic debris and chemical runoff alter and destroy the marine habitats whales and dolphins depend on. Ingestion of plastic is documented across multiple cetacean species. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the most famous example but the problem is not isolated. Plastic accumulates throughout Australian waters, including on the Ningaloo coast and along the Great Barrier Reef.
Noise pollution. Whales and dolphins navigate, communicate, find mates and locate food using sound. Industrial and naval noise from shipping, seismic surveys and sonar disrupts all of these behaviours. For species like the humpback whale, whose migration songs are one of the most complex forms of non-human communication known, acoustic pollution is an ongoing welfare and population concern.
Climate change and habitat loss. Ocean warming and acidification alter the prey species and ecosystems that whales and dolphins depend on. Humpback whales migrate from Antarctic feeding grounds where krill populations are under pressure from warming waters. Blue whales, the largest animals on earth, feed almost exclusively on krill. Disruption at that level of the food chain has direct flow-on effects to the megafauna that depend on it.
Entanglement and bycatch. Fishing gear entanglement remains one of the leading causes of injury and death for cetaceans in Australian waters. AMCS campaigns directly on sustainable fishing practices as a core part of its ocean conservation work.
Illegal hunting, drive hunts and live capture. While Australia does not conduct commercial whaling, illegal hunts, drive hunts in other countries and the live capture trade for marine parks remain ongoing threats to dolphin populations globally.
Why AMCS?
The Australian Marine Conservation Society is Australia's leading independent ocean conservation organisation, founded in 1965. It is independent of government and industry funding, which means its positions are determined by science and advocacy rather than commercial or political pressure.
AMCS campaigns specifically on the threats listed above. Its reef protection work, shark conservation campaigns, sustainable seafood guide and ocean plastic advocacy address the real ongoing threats to Australian marine mammals and the ecosystems they depend on.
Will and Wind has been an AMCS partner since we launched the Bottlenose Dolphin and Calf collection. That partnership is not a one-off donation. It is an ongoing commitment that connects our products to the conservation of the places and animals we photograph. For the full story of that partnership, see our marine conservation guide.
The qualifying designs
Purchase any of the following designs on 23 or 24 July and 15% of proceeds go directly to AMCS.
Bottlenose Dolphin and Calf Travel Towel
Photographed by award-winning underwater photographer Brooke Pyke during a free dive at Ningaloo Reef. A mother bottlenose dolphin and her calf, approaching with curious, unhurried ease. This is the design that started our formal AMCS partnership. Each towel is 160cm x 80cm, 200 GSM rPET microfibre, made from 16 recycled plastic bottles.
Bottlenose Dolphin and Calf Tea Towel
The same Brooke Pyke photograph in tea towel format. 75cm x 50cm, same rPET microfibre construction, same AMCS partnership on the back label. For kitchens that deserve something better than a generic tea towel.
Whale Tail Travel Towel
A humpback whale tail breaking the surface, photographed by Blue Crust Productions. The humpback migration runs along the Queensland coast from June to November each year, one of the most accessible whale watching experiences in the world, and one of the great wildlife recovery stories of the last half century. 160cm x 80cm, 200 GSM rPET microfibre.
Whale Tail Tea Towel
The whale tail design in tea towel format. 75cm x 50cm rPET microfibre. Made from 11 recycled plastic bottles. Proceeds this week go to AMCS.
Blue Whales Travel Towel
Blue whales are the largest animals to have ever lived on earth. They feed almost exclusively on krill and can eat up to four tonnes of it in a single day during feeding season. Photographed by Blue Crust Productions in Australian waters. 160cm x 80cm, 200 GSM rPET microfibre, 16 recycled plastic bottles.
Blue Whales Tea Towel
The blue whales design in tea towel format. 75cm x 50cm. 11 recycled plastic bottles. A design that belongs on a kitchen wall as much as a towel rail.
Humpback Whales Travel Towel
A humpback whale in Australian waters, photographed with the clarity that comes from years of diving and patience. Humpbacks were hunted to near-extinction in Australian waters in the twentieth century. Their recovery to approximately 40,000 animals on the east coast migration corridor is one of the most significant conservation wins in Australian history, and one that required sustained international effort to achieve. 160cm x 80cm, 200 GSM rPET microfibre, 16 recycled plastic bottles.
The wider story behind these designs
Will and Wind was built around the idea that the products you use every day can be directly connected to the environments that inspire them. Every design in the range comes from a specific place, photographed by a named Australian photographer. The Bottlenose Dolphin was Brooke Pyke at Ningaloo. The humpback whales were photographed on the Queensland migration corridor. The blue whales are from Australian waters where these animals remain vulnerable despite international protection.
When you buy a Will and Wind towel, 16 recycled plastic bottles are diverted from landfill or ocean environments. When you buy one of this week's qualifying designs, an additional 15% of the purchase price goes to AMCS to fund the conservation work that protects the animals in the photographs.
The two-day window is short. Thursday and Friday only. If you have been thinking about any of the designs above, this is the week to do it.
For the story of the mother and calf photograph specifically, see A Mother, A Calf, A Community That Cares for the Ocean. For our marine conservation partnership in full, see Marine Conservation in Australia: Why We Care and What You Can Do. For the photographers behind every Will and Wind design, see the Our Photographers page.
Shop the qualifying designs: 23 and 24 July 2026 only
Bottlenose Dolphin and Calf Travel Towel | Bottlenose Dolphin and Calf Tea Towel
Whale Tail Travel Towel | Whale Tail Tea Towel