Frozen treat brand GoodPop is the first food company to receive Plastic Neutral Product Certification from 4ocean, an ocean cleanup corporation that annually recovers millions of pounds of plastic and other debris from the world’s waterways. The two companies have also forged a two-year “ocean-positive sustainability partnership” that will further 4ocean’s global waterway cleanup work to help end the ocean plastic crisis. 

As part of the partnership, 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. 4ocean estimates the partnership will pull an estimated 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,” says 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.”

Plastic neutral credits offset BOPP film wrap while brand seeks “better eco-friendly option”.

The brand informs us that the treats are individually wrapped in biaxially oriented polypropylene film.

“We use BOPP film for the wrappers around our frozen pops to maintain quality and freshness from in-store to a customer’s freezer," says Clara Tomlin, director of social impact. "Our goal is to transition from BOPP to an even better eco-friendly option in the future as we continue to research what works best for a frozen product.”

4ocean’s alliance with GoodPop is part of 4ocean’s corporate partnership program, which was launched in 2022 to help forward-thinking brands transition to a circular economy system. 4ocean helps brands calculate the total amount of plastic they produce as a business or for a specific product or product line. Brands then purchase 4ocean Plastic Credits, which help 4ocean fund the removal of an equal or greater amount of plastic waste from the world’s oceans, rivers, and coastlines.

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. Since 2017, 4ocean’s 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.

Plastic neutral Plan A is to stop ocean and waterway plastic pollution at the source.

“Cleaning the ocean mitigates the worst impacts of plastic pollution, but it’s only half the battle,” says Alex Schulze, co-founder and CEO, 4ocean. “We must work together to address the root cause of the ocean plastic crisis and stop plastic pollution at its source. 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.”

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 US Polo Association. 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.

“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,” Schulze says. “It’s not the final answer to plastic pollution, but a critical steppingstone on the path to a more sustainable future,” “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.”

The brand will add the 4ocean logo to the packaging as it cycles through current supplies.