As a preteen, my friends and I would spend a lot of time at the mall. And if you’re 11 years old, you’re not showing up with lots of money, so most of our time would be spent looking through the plastic jewelry at Claire’s or Ardene’s. I remember a friend derisively picking up a stack of bracelets with recycling signs and smiling planet Earths. “All these companies think recycling is a cool fashion trend,” she complained.
Oftentimes, it can be. ‘Fast fashion,’ the kind associated with stores like these, tend to be “incredibly cheap and have been associated with overproduction, waste, deplorable working conditions and terrible environmental impact.” Sadly, some companies slap some green coloring on a product and call it a day.
But not all fashion companies do that. More and more places are putting their money where their mouths are. 4ocean is one. (1)
4ocean Plastic Bracelets
The bracelets 4ocean sells aren’t cheap–each one retails at $20. But Andrew Cooper, one of the cofounders of 4ocean, believes it’s worth the price. “When someone purchases a 4ocean product, they are not only helping to strengthen our international cleanup operations and the removal of plastic from the oceans and coastlines,” he says, but “they are also funding our ability to develop innovative technologies and new sustainable products like reusable water bottles, shopping bags and apparel.” With each bracelet–or other product–you buy from the company, they pledge to remove one pound of plastic waste from the ocean. Their revenue goes to research and development, marketing, purchasing new equipment, funding nonprofits, and salaries.
Right now, although the materials which make their products are 100% recycled materials, 4ocean only provides about 5% of the plastic themselves, a number they hope to improve on in the future. (2, 3)
The Ocean Plastic Removal Process
“We know the ocean plastic crisis won’t be solved by one person, one company, or one organization,” says 4ocean’s website. But 4ocean does their part. By January 29th, 2020, 4ocean had removed more than 7.7 million pounds of plastic from the oceans around Bali, Indonesia; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Puerto Barrios, Guatemala; and South Florida. As of July 28th, 2020, that number had increased to 9.7 million lbs. “The best way to recover plastic,” they say, “is by using our own two hands”–and they believe “people can’t be part of the solution until they’re aware of the problem.” That’s why they “help people understand the causes of the ocean plastic crisis and empower them to act . . . from lesson plans for educators to regional beach cleanups and events.” The recovered plastic is “sorted by type, color, and condition before it’s sent to our recycling partners for flaking, washing, and pelletizing.” (3)
What Happens To Poor-Quality Plastic?
Not every piece of recovered plastic can end up as a bracelet. Some are “too contaminated, deteriorated, or economically not feasible to recycle in certain countries.” Disposal options for these unsuitable plastics usually results in “thermal treatment, which is the conversion of trash to electricity, or by responsibly landfilling the materials.” (3)
