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 ocean.
4ocean Foundation is driven by a relentless commitment to cleaning and restoring the ocean, rivers, and coastlines. Through global operations, full-time cleanup crews, and a dedicated community of supporters, the nonprofit takes direct action to remove harmful plastic and debris that threaten marine ecosystems, endanger wildlife, and impact coastal communities.
As the nonprofit extension of 4ocean Public Benefit and Certified B Corporation, 4ocean Foundation works in close partnership with the public benefit corporation (PBC) to expand cleanup capacity in high-impact regions. While 4ocean PBC funds its mission through product sales and corporate partnerships, the Foundation unlocks philanthropic opportunities that allow donors and partners to accelerate impact through tax-deductible giving and mission-aligned collaboration. Together, they form a powerful and complementary force for a cleaner ocean and have removed 42 million+ pounds of plastic and trash to date.
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 the largest professional cleanup crews stationed in Florida, USA and Bali and Java, Indonesia.
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 Foundation 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 our 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.
