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Last month, 4ocean, a purpose-driven company with a mission to end the oceans plastic crisis, announced its latest launch: a sterling silver jewelry collection that showcases the artisanal inclusion of plastics extracted from the beaches of Oahu, Hawaii.
This collection includes a pendant necklace and a set of earrings and is designed to celebrate 4ocean’s expansion into Hawaii. The company had existing marine plastic collectors in South Florida, Indonesia, Haiti and Guatemala. The blue plastic flakes used in new jewelry were recovered from the beaches of Oahu earlier this year. Each piece was then handcrafted in Guatemala by Wakami, a social system that connects rural communities with global markets.
The company notes that this new set “Offers ocean lovers a new way to cleanse the ocean and raise awareness of the oceans plastic crisis.” Each purchase helps fund global ocean cleanups and supports the movement to end the world’s reliance on single-use plastic. We recently sat down with the 4ocean team to find out more.
Waste 360: The new offer consists of blue plastic flakes that 4ocean is recovering in Hawaii. Can you explain more about the materials that make up this jewelry?
4ocean: The sterling silver jewelry consists of blue flakes made of recycled plastic that hang in a plant-based epoxy resin and hypoallergenic 925 sterling silver. The blue plastic pieces were recovered by our on-site team members in Oahu, Hawaii, who work every day to remove trash and plastic from the Hawaiian coastline. This reclaimed marine plastic can include items such as fishing gear and household items such as baskets, detergent bottles, hair combs, and bottle caps. Once picked up, the plastic has been washed and peeled off to create the bruises that can be seen in the final product and then sent to our partners and artisans to handcraft the final pieces you see today.
Waste 360: 4ocean undertakes to remove two pounds of plastic waste from the ocean with every purchase of the jewelry set. How specifically will the company do this?
4sea: We fund our cleaning efforts primarily through customer purchases of our products. This supports our full-time local crews who work every day to clean up the sea, rivers and coasts in key locations around the world. 4ocean’s One Pound Promise is that for every product purchased, we will remove a pound of litter from the ocean. In the case of the jewelry set, it includes both a necklace and earrings, so it finances the removal of two pounds (one for each product). Every time 4ocean’s professional cleaning teams go on a mission, they document who is working, where they are going, what the target area looks like before cleaning, what the area looks like after cleaning, how many pounds of rubbish was salvaged in each garbage bag and on what day / at what time it was collected in your 4ocean TrashTracker. This entire process is reviewed by the Better Business Bureau. To date, 4ocean has removed over 15 million pounds of trash from the oceans, rivers and coasts.
Waste 360: How much waste do you hope to generate with this initiative?
4Ocean: Every purchase helps drive this important work forward, and we hope this new product category will resonate with customers so that it can continue to grow and expand our mission to remove and increase as much plastic waste from the oceans as possible work to end this environmental crisis.
Waste 360: Why Is This New Collection Focusing On Plastic Waste In Hawaii?
4sea: We recently expanded our operations in Hawaii and are working with local communities and organizations to find out how best 4ocean can help address the specific problems the plastic crisis is causing in this region, including microplastic pollution, commercial fishing and strong trade winds who have favourited blowing rubbish onto the island of Hawaii’s shores.
Waste 360: Which future projects has 4ocean planned?
4sea: We recently teamed up with Cariuma on a shoe collaboration with recycled RPET and look forward to expanding this partnership further this year. We are always on the lookout for new ways to increase our impact and turn the plastic waste we collect into useful, reusable items.
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