Growing up in Montenegro on the beautiful Adriatic Sea, Ivan Martinetti spent much of his early life in and around those waters. He moved to the United States in 1996 and as he was developing his career and businesses in the land of opportunity he became aware of the growing pollution problem oceans all over the World were facing. In the early 2000’s, as he was developing and manufacturing his own squid fishing jigs, he learned about toxic properties of PVC and problem with over packaging. To deal with this problem, based on false information he found on the Internet about PET being more expensive but environmentally friendly, Ivan decided for his products to be made out of the PET. He also came up with a clever invention of reusable packaging which was later copied by various companies worldwide. The business was very successful and in less than a year, Martinetti Squid Jigs became a recognizable brand in the United States and a dozen of other countries.

Not long after the first squid jigs were manufactured and distributed, he learned that actually all plastics, including PET, are toxic to the environment. Ivan recalls: “Most people would have been very happy about this kind of business success but for me it was a painful conflict between money and wrong”. After many unsuccessful attempts to eliminate plastic from his products he decided to sell the company and use the money to start something else, something that would reflect his deeper values.

At around that same time he became aware of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or the Island of Trash in the North Pacific Ocean. Realizing the real magnitude of this problem he decided to get involved so he started searching for any organization that had at least some kind of plan that could lead to a solution. “More I was searching more I was realizing that such organization did not exist”, Ivan said. In 2006, for the first time in 10 years, Ivan went back to Montenegro and was shocked to see the level of pollution present in the bay where he grew up. He said: “When I left 10 years ago, those waters were pristine. If this happened in just 10 years what is going to happen in the next 20”?

Returning to the US, Ivan was determined to create a business that would make an impact on this growing problem. In 2005 he began researching different opportunities and decided to create a business that would bring people together where they could learn about this problem, learn ways to take actions that are sustainable and impactful while generating revenue that can fund research and education in this area. In 2008 he joined with serial entrepreneur Ron Fouts when they formed Blue Turtle LLC (BlueTurtle) and BlueTurtle.com. BlueTurtle is designed to be the primal site where any and all cause related problems, issues and projects can be presented. The revenue model designates that a minimum of 50% of the profits be granted to non-profit organizations as well as deserving individuals in order that their work can continue. Slowly Making the Difference has become the call to action, no matter where, no matter what size the effort.