Charitable Partner Spotlight: 4ocean Foundation
A Partnership with Purpose
Plastic pollution is one of the most urgent environmental challenges of our time. Every year, an estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean, threatening marine life, damaging ecosystems, and impacting coastal communities around the world. This crisis calls for collective action—and a solution that addresses both cleanup and prevention.
At Fill it Forward, we believe meaningful change starts with small, everyday actions—like choosing to reuse. We’re proud to introduce 4ocean Foundation as our newest core charitable partner, uniting us in a shared mission to protect and restore our oceans.
4ocean Foundation is an international nonprofit committed to ending the ocean plastic crisis. Through global cleanup operations, plastic recovery programs, and strategic partnerships, they are dedicated to removing plastic waste, restoring marine ecosystems, and preventing plastic from entering waterways in the first place.
With full-time cleanup crews, global operations, and a powerful community of supporters, they’re taking direct action to remove plastic waste from oceans, rivers, and coastlines—while working to stop it at the source.
Since its founding, 4ocean has been driven by one simple promise: for every product purchased or pound funded, they’ll remove one pound of trash from the ocean. This promise has already resulted in over 33 million pounds of waste removed—and they’re just getting started.
Impact to Date
Every time someone reuses their bottle and scans their Fill it Forward Tag, they help unlock a donation to a giving project, now including ocean cleanup initiatives with 4ocean Foundation. With the support of our community, we’re helping fund cleanup operations that directly tackle plastic pollution and protect fragile marine ecosystems.
4ocean’s impact reaches across the globe, with professional cleanup crews stationed in:
- Florida, USA
- Bali, Indonesia
- Guatemala
- Dominican Republic
These crews work tirelessly to collect, sort, and responsibly process plastic waste, while also creating sustainable jobs in coastal communities most affected by the crisis. Beyond cleanups, 4ocean is actively raising awareness and inspiring global action through educational campaigns and advocacy for circular economy solutions.
Through our partnership, Fill it Forward aims to support 4ocean in scaling their efforts, advancing plastic pollution prevention, and empowering communities to protect their local waterways.
“Thank you so much for supporting our captains and crews around the world. Without people like you, we would not be able to remove millions of pounds of plastic from the ocean, rivers, and coastlines. We have a lot of work to do, but we are not going to stop until the ocean is clean. Together, we can end the ocean plastic crisis.“
Alex Schulze
Co-Founder and CEO, 4ocean Foundation
To date, 4ocean’s work has removed plastic waste equivalent to over 660 million single-use plastic bottles from the environment. Their efforts highlight the power of combining hands-on cleanup with community engagement and sustainable business practices.
4ocean Foundation is an international nonprofit organization with a clear mission: to end the ocean plastic crisis. Through global cleanup operations, plastic recovery programs, and strategic partnerships, they are dedicated to removing plastic waste, restoring marine ecosystems, and preventing plastic from entering waterways in the first place. 4ocean has grown into a global movement for change. Their impact extends beyond cleanup to include education, advocacy, and scalable solutions that drive systemic change in the fight against plastic pollution.
