As of today, Planet Deep Blue has removed 2,255 pounds of ocean plastic from the world's oceans, rivers, and coastlines. That number is verified in real time through our Ecodrive impact portal and physically pulled by our ocean cleanup partner, 4ocean.
Every pound represents a real order. A real person who chose to buy differently. And real hands — 4ocean's professional crews — removing plastic from places it never should have been.
This is our transparency report. No fluff, no greenwashing. Just the numbers, exactly how they're verified, and what they mean.
HOW MUCH OCEAN PLASTIC HAS DEEP BLUE REMOVED?
2,255 pounds. That's our running total as of today, April 10th, 2026.
To put that in perspective: our community has collectively prevented the equivalent of roughly 45,100 plastic bottles, 225,500 plastic forks, and 2,255,000 plastic straws from circulating in marine environments.
Every time someone orders from Deep Blue — a hoodie, a crewneck, sweatpants — one more pound is added to that count. The number you see on our live dashboard is not an estimate or a projection. It's a pound-for-pound record of real cleanup work, tied directly to real purchases.
→ View our live impact dashboard — the number updates in real time as orders come in.
HOW IS OUR OCEAN PLASTIC REMOVAL ACTUALLY VERIFIED?
This is the question that matters most. "We remove ocean plastic" is easy to say. Proving it is something else.
Here's how the verification works, from your purchase all the way to a documented pound pulled from the ocean.
The Ecodrive impact portal
Ecodrive is a third-party impact tracking platform that connects brands' sales data to real environmental outcomes. Our public dashboard is live and accessible to anyone — customers, press, skeptics, all welcome. Every pound logged there is tied to an actual transaction, not an estimate.
We publish the dashboard link on our website because we want you to see it for yourself.
That's what accountability looks like.
How 4ocean documents every pound
4ocean isn't just processing a credit — their crews are physically in the water. Every single cleanup is documented with:
- The date and location of the cleanup
- The crew members involved
- The weight of every sack of recovered debris
- Geo-tagged photos taken before, during, and after
All of that data is reviewed by a location manager before it's uploaded to 4ocean's proprietary TrashTracker database. If the documentation is incomplete or photos don't meet their standards, those pounds don't get counted.
4ocean's operations are independently audited by the Better Business Bureau and the accounting firm A A Garg & Co. They're also a Certified B Corp, which means they're held to a significantly higher legal and ethical standard than a typical company. You can read their full verification process at 4ocean.com.
HOW DOES ONE PURCHASE ACTUALLY REMOVE ONE POUND OF OCEAN PLASTIC?
The mechanism is simpler than it sounds, and that simplicity is the point.
Deep Blue participates in 4ocean's Pull-A-Pound program. Every item we sell triggers a corresponding 1 lb cleanup funded by the sale. When you buy a Deep Blue hoodie, we fund the removal of exactly one pound of plastic — not a credit, not an offset, not a donation to a general fund. A specific, documented, physically-removed pound.
Here's the full chain:
You place an order → Deep Blue funds 1 lb of cleanup through 4ocean → 4ocean's crew physically removes 1 lb from an ocean, river, or coastline → Removal is documented with geo-tagged photos and logged in TrashTracker → Your pound is counted and reflected live on our Ecodrive dashboard
4ocean operates with what they call a "no trash left behind" mentality — they're not cherry-picking high-value plastics. They remove what's there: bottles, bags, nets, film, debris of all kinds. The recovered material is then sorted and either recycled, upcycled into new products, or responsibly disposed of in compliance with environmental standards.
WHY DOES WHAT YOUR CLOTHES ARE MADE OF MATTER FOR THE OCEAN?
The cleanup matters. But what your clothes shed in the wash matters too — and this is a part of the ocean plastic conversation that doesn't get enough attention.
Synthetic fabrics — polyester, nylon, acrylic — shed microplastic fibers with every single wash. Studies estimate that a single laundry cycle can release hundreds of thousands of plastic fibers into wastewater. Most water treatment systems can't fully filter them. They end up in rivers, in the ocean, in fish, and eventually in us.
Every Deep Blue garment is made from 100% natural cotton — no synthetic fibers, no microplastic shedding. Cotton fibers that do shed from washing are naturally biodegradable and don't accumulate in marine ecosystems. Our fabric is also GOTS certified, which means no toxic dyes or chemical finishes that rinse off into waterways during manufacturing.
We're not just cleaning up the ocean on the back end. We're not adding to the problem on the front end either.
Our garments are also built to last — heavyweight, garment-dyed, made in Los Angeles by skilled craftspeople using American-grown cotton. A hoodie that lasts a decade is a hoodie that doesn't end up in a landfill or incinerator in two years. Longevity is sustainability.
WHAT COMES NEXT.
2,255 pounds is a number we're proud of. It's also a number that keeps moving.
Every order placed adds to it. Every person who shares Deep Blue with a friend multiplies it. The goal isn't to hit a milestone and stop — it's to build a brand where impact is built into the product, not bolted on as an afterthought.
You can check the live count anytime at our Ecodrive impact dashboard. We'll update this post each time the number crosses a meaningful threshold.
"I started Deep Blue because of a solo trip to Bali that changed the way I saw the ocean. That number on the dashboard is the whole reason this brand exists. Every single pound matters." — Brooke, Founder
If you've already ordered from us: thank you. Your pound is in there.
If you haven't yet — here's where to start.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How much ocean plastic has Planet Deep Blue removed?
As of the date of this post, Planet Deep Blue has removed 2,255 pounds of ocean plastic from the world's oceans, rivers, and coastlines. This number is tracked in real time on our public Ecodrive impact dashboard and increases with every order placed.
Is Deep Blue's ocean plastic removal actually verified?
Yes. Our impact is tracked through Ecodrive, an independent third-party impact monitoring platform, and physically executed by 4ocean — a Certified B Corp whose cleanup operations are documented with geo-tagged photos and crew logs, and independently audited by the BBB and A A Garg & Co. Every pound counted is a pound physically removed from the environment.
How does buying a Deep Blue hoodie remove ocean plastic?
Every Deep Blue purchase funds the removal of 1 pound of ocean plastic through our Pull-A-Pound partnership with 4ocean. Their professional crews physically remove the plastic from oceans, rivers, and coastlines. It is not an offset or a carbon credit — it is hands-on, documented cleanup.
Does cotton clothing contribute to ocean plastic pollution?
No. Unlike polyester and synthetic fleece, 100% natural cotton does not shed microplastic fibers when washed. Deep Blue garments are made entirely from cotton, which is naturally biodegradable and safe for marine ecosystems.
Where can I see Deep Blue's live impact number?
Our real-time ocean plastic removal total is publicly available at our Ecodrive impact dashboard. The number updates as orders are placed.
What does 4ocean do with the plastic after it's removed?
4ocean sorts all recovered plastic and prioritizes recycling, upcycling, or repurposing into new products. In cases where recycling isn't possible, they use responsible disposal methods compliant with environmental standards. Their goal is zero re-entry of recovered material into the environment.
Every hoodie you buy adds another pound to that number.
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