GoodPop and 4ocean announce that GoodPop will join the clean ocean movement, making history as the first food brand to receive its Plastic Neutral Product Certification. GoodPop is the leading frozen treat brand that exists to do good in the world, offering cleaned-up, dairy-free alternatives to classics like Orange n’ Cream, Cherry n’ Lemonade and Chocolate Vanilla Sandwiches. The two-year agreement with the frozen treat maker and the country’s premier ocean cleanup company will offset more than half a million pounds of plastic from packaging and fund ocean, river, and coastline cleanup efforts around the world.
GoodPop and 4ocean’s ocean-positive sustainability partnership kicked off with a shoreline cleanup in Boca Raton on Good Deeds Day, April 16, with 120 lbs of trash and plastic recovered in a single day. Over the next two years, GoodPop will offset its plastic footprint by purchasing one 4ocean Plastic Offset Credit for every pound of plastic used in its packaging. 4ocean will then remove one pound of plastic waste from the ocean for each credit purchased by GoodPop. Together, they will pull 500,000 pounds of plastic from the ocean based on GoodPop’s offset.
“Nurturing a healthy environment is a key area of focus for GoodPop and Pledge Good Foundation, and this plastic-neutral certification is a huge step forward in our sustainability efforts that align our product with our mission,” said Daniel Goetz, CEO and founder, GoodPop. “We’re proud to be part of the impactful work 4ocean is doing to protect our oceans and we hope our involvement inspires other brands to join this cause. Together, we can make a difference in keeping our oceans clean.”
About 40 million metric tons of plastic waste is produced each year, according to the UN Environmental Programme, with global production of primary plastic forecasted to reach 1,100 million metric tons by 2050. Approximately 36% of all plastics produced are used in packaging, including single-use plastic products for food and beverage containers—85% of which ends up in landfills or as unregulated waste.
4ocean is a premier ocean cleanup company dedicated to ending the ocean plastic crisis. Since 2017, its professional, full-time captains and crews have removed more than 28 million pounds of plastic waste and other man-made debris from the world’s oceans, rivers, and coastlines.
“Cleaning the ocean mitigates the worst impacts of plastic pollution, but it’s only half the battle. We must work together to address the root cause of the ocean plastic crisis and stop plastic pollution at its source,” said Alex Schulze, co-founder and CEO, of 4ocean. “Transitioning to the circular economy and designing waste out of the product life cycle is the most effective way to address the ocean plastic crisis and as we work towards that, we must do what we can with the resources we have now.”
4ocean launched its corporate partnership program in 2022 to help forward-thinking brands transition to the circular economy—a regenerative economic system designed to minimize waste, maximize resource efficiency, and promote sustainability by designing products, processes, and business models that make it possible for brands to use their resources in a continuous loop without degradation or loss of value. The organization helps brands calculate the total amount of plastic they produce as a business or for a specific product or product line. The brand then purchases 4ocean Plastic Credits to fund the removal of an equal or greater amount of plastic waste from the world’s oceans, rivers, and coastlines.
“Plastic neutrality is the future of business, and 4ocean Plastic Offsets are an interim solution that allows brands to take accountability for the plastics they currently produce while they implement their long-term sustainability plan. It’s not the final answer to plastic pollution, but a critical stepping stone on the path to a more sustainable future,” said Schulze. “I hope our partnership with GoodPop inspires other companies to step up and get involved. Together, we can create lasting change that protects our oceans for generations to come.”
By partnering with 4ocean to support the clean ocean movement, GoodPop joins other top brands such as John Frieda, Mount Gay Rum, Nature Gnaws, and U.S. Polo Assn. Together, 4ocean and its Plastic Neutral Partners will remove millions of pounds of plastic from waterways all around the world and create a framework for sustainability that other brands can follow.
