The Ocean Cleanup sunglasses: our first ever product made using plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
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End of February 2022, we reached our goal of funding the cleanup of half a million football fields’ worth of the ocean with our first ocean plastic product. Every one of The Ocean Cleanup Sunglasses has found its owner. As a non-profit, we direct all of the proceeds into our ongoing cleanup operations in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). This achievement marks the proof of concept that we can create value from the ocean plastic catch: the material can be recycled into high-quality consumer products, giving people a tangible way to support us and help raise funds for the mission.

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Video: How You Funded 500,000 Football Fields' Worth of Ocean Cleaning

REPURPOSING OUR FIRST OCEAN CATCH

In 2019, we tested System 001/B, a modular ocean system, to learn what type of configuration could catch and retain plastic. Our first ocean system, System 001, had shown us that we needed to be able to make quicker iterations at sea to reach proof of concept. During the System 001/B test campaign, we successfully captured our first ocean plastic in a wide size range. In addition to the system catch, our crew also opportunistically retrieved derelict fishing nets, or “ghost nets”, drifting close by the system. The nets were used in our first item, The Ocean Cleanup Sunglasses.

Bag filled with plastic caught by System 001/B being lifted onboard the support vessel
Bag filled with plastic caught by System 001/B being lifted onboard the support vessel
Container with big bags of plastic on the vessel in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, during System 001/B mission 2019
Container with big bags of plastic on the vessel in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, during System 001/B mission 2019
Granulate created from the catch from System 001/B. The plastic was later turned into sunglasses.
Granulate created from the catch from System 001/B.
The Ocean Cleanup team developing the sunglasses with Safilo
The Ocean Cleanup team developing the sunglasses with Safilo
The Ocean Cleanup sunglasses with case and pouch, made with recycled materials
The Ocean Cleanup® Sunglasses with case and pouch, made with recycled materials

During the creation of The Ocean Cleanup Sunglasses, we teamed with experts to develop a high-quality and desirable product. Independent certification body DNV developed a public standard and audited that we repurposed our catch accordingly. In adhering to the DNV standard, we raise the bar on transparency about the use of ocean plastic in products. Consumers could rest assured that the origin of plastics was traceable all the way back to the point of ocean extraction.

GOING FORWARD: REPURPOSE WITH PARTNERS

Our mission is to clean the ocean by removing polluting plastics. We also aim to keep this plastic from entering waterways again by creating durable new products or processing it otherwise.

System 002 deployed in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Retention system of System 002 hauled on deck for emptying, 2021
Retention system of System 002 filled with plastic, hauled on deck for emptying, 2021
Crew sorting plastic on deck after System 002 extraction, October 2021
Crew sorting plastic on deck after System 002 extraction, October 2021

As our cleanup operations in oceans are scaling up, we will get more and more plastic. To maintain focus on our core mission — cleaning oceans — we are not looking to make our own product anymore. Instead, we are looking to partner with companies who can use our plastic to make durable products.

We introduced our first full circle product, The Ocean Cleanup sunglasses, on October 24, 2020. In one year and four months, we raised funds for the cleanup of over 500,000 football fields worth of ocean thanks to our supporters. Thank you for helping us in our mission to rid the oceans of plastic.

To learn more about how we process our plastic catches, see these sources: