---
title: "This Nonprofit Is Making Sunglasses Out of Recovered Ocean Waste"
description: "The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit that's cleaning up the plastic in the Pacific, is planning to sell the plastic it collected in the form of sunglasses."
date: "2020-10-29"
modified: "2020-10-29"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ocean-cleanup-plastic-sunglasses"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "great pacific garbage patch"
  - "ocean cleanup"
  - "the digest"
  - "the ocean cleanup"
---

# This Nonprofit Is Making Sunglasses Out of Recovered Ocean Waste

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/the-ocean-cleanup-plastic-sunglasses.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: The Ocean Cleanup\</em\>*

## Ocean Cleanup

The Ocean Cleanup project, a nonprofit that's attempting to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch using specialized floating equipment, is planning to sell the plastic it's collected [in the form of stylish sunglasses](<https://theoceancleanup.com/updates/turning-trash-into-treasure-the-ocean-cleanup-sunglasses/>).

The shades are designed from the ground up to be easily recyclable themselves. They cost a steep $199 each, but the benefits will go straight back into the organization's efforts to keep cleaning up our oceans.

"We estimate that the proceeds from just one pair of sunglasses will allow us to clean an area of 24 football fields worth of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch," the nonprofit said in a statement.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/the-ocean-cleanup-plastic-sunglasses2.jpg>)

## Garbage Patch

In 2018, the organization [started](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/ocean-plastic-cleanup-boom>) its attempts to scoop up material from a gigantic patch of plastic in the Pacific.

The Ocean Cleanup estimates the patch [covers about 1.6 million square kilometers](<https://theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/>), or about twice the area of Texas, with 100 kilograms of plastic per square kilometer towards the center of the patch.

To tackle it, the organization came up with floating systems that take advantage of ocean currents to capture plastic. It encountered [several engineering problems](<https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/9/18175940/ocean-cleanup-breaks-plastic-pollution-silicon-valley-boyan-slat-wilson>) since starting with its [first plastic-collecting floating system in 2018](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/ocean-plastic-cleanup-boom>), requiring several iterations to properly contain the plastic.

## Fashion Forward

Now, though, the system seems to be working better. In October 2019, the [organization announced](<https://theoceancleanup.com/updates/the-ocean-cleanup-successfully-catches-plastic-in-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch/>) that its System 001/B was finally successfully capturing and collecting debris after a year of testing.

If the sunglasses all sell out, The Ocean Cleanup claims it can clean 500,000 football fields worth of plastic.

"That means we can use this trash to clean more trash: going full circle, over and over, until we have achieved our mission of clean oceans," the nonprofit said.

**READ MORE:** [Ocean Cleanup debuts its first sunglasses made from plastic waste](<https://newatlas.com/environment/ocean-cleanup-sunglasses-plastic-waste/>) \[*New Atlas*\]

**More on The Ocean Cleanup:** *[A Huge Trap Is Ready to Start Gobbling Up Ocean Plastic](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/ocean-plastic-cleanup-boom>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)