OceanWise® started with a bold idea: a bag made entirely of material derived from post-consumer recycled plastic recovered from areas in and around oceans and coastal waterways.
The stats can feel as big as the ocean itself--predictions say there will be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050, with an estimated 8-10 million metric tons of plastic waste entering the ocean each year. And unlike organic matter, plastic never decomposes, but breaks down slowly into harmful microplastics that contaminate everything from natural environments to our food and water supply.
This Earth Day--and everyday--you can make a difference and steer the course of history towards cleaner oceans and coastal environments. That's why we're celebrating Earth Month with the new OceanWise® tote, giving new life to plastic waste while providing jobs for individuals living in communities with inadequate waste management infrastructure.
A recent sourcing trip to Asia offered our Product Development team powerful insights about ocean-bound material. This batch of production was made from discarded fishing nets collected from local communities around southern Vietnam, in compliance with the Global Recycling Standard (GRS) and the OBP Recycling Subprogram. These ocean-bound (OBP) pellets go through many rounds of cleaning to get to their natural light beige color, all without sacrificing durability. We chose a translucent watercolor design that allowed the un-dyed color to peek through the background as a salute to the material's journey.
A true carry-all, this tote offers extra-large capacity, extended handles, and a serene wave print that flows effortlessly between grocery and retail environments, and well beyond Earth Day with its timeless design.
