Parley and the Foundation for New York’s Strongest will work to turn plastic waste and litter into special edition Ocean Bags

Collaboration supports NYC plastic bag ban, and spotlights and removes plastic pollution along city coastlines and waterways

Since our founding in 2012, Parley has grown into a global movement. We’ve worked to expand our network and bring our mission to coastlines and communities affected by plastic pollution around the globe, in collaboration with creators, thinkers and leaders who share our vision for a protected ocean.

Beginning this summer, a new alliance and initiative will bring our projects closer to home and spotlight the issue of marine plastic pollution in the urban ecosystem surrounding our headquarters, the cultural epicenter that is New York City.

In collaboration with the Foundation for New York’s Strongest, the official non-profit of the New York City Department of Sanitation, we will bring attention to the trash that ends up in the city’s waterways and empower New Yorkers to take action in support of the plastic bag ban.

Together, we’ll work to remove litter from beaches and waterways across the city. After the cleanup events, some of the collected plastic items will be cleaned, processed and turned into Ocean Plastic® which we’ll use to make a special edition of our Parley Ocean Bag with the iconic logo ‘I LOVE NY’ to promote visits to beaches, parks, and other amazing attractions across New York State.

The bags will be available in March 2020, when New York State's ban on single-use plastic bags takes effect.

Globally, roughly five trillion plastic bags are used each year. New Yorkers alone use and discard a staggering 10 billion single-use plastic bags annually, and 23 billion statewide. The New York City Department of Sanitation currently estimates that it collects an average of 1,700 tons of plastic bags per week, costing $12.5 million per year in collection and disposal expenses.

“Plastic bags are used on average just 12 minutes before being trashed, yet last hundreds or thousands of years in a landfill. While it's best to use reusable first, through our work with Parley, we hope to not only help clean up the city's waterways, but turn litter that was clogging up our beaches into a ‘forever item’ that’s reusable, useful, and helps keep additional single-use bags from the waste stream.”

– Julie Raskin, Executive Director of the Foundation for New York’s Strongest

“Every day, New Yorkers generate unimaginable quantities of trash. And every day, the men and women of the world's largest sanitation department work to remove this trash and keep the city safe and clean. It is an honor to announce our partnership with this special force, this last frontier in the battle against waste. Together, we will clean up New York’s beaches, upcycle collected materials and create a series of Parley Ocean Bags that empower New Yorkers to rethink their choices and be part of the solution. For the Oceans.”

– Cyrill Gutsch, founder and CEO of Parley for the Oceans

From bags to single-use water bottles, much of the plastic pollution that ends up on city beaches and in our waterways starts off as street litter. Debris is swept down storm drains during and after it rains, ultimately causing harm to the environment and threatening wildlife.

The Foundation for New York’s Strongest will receive 20 percent of the profits from this special edition collection of Parley Ocean Bags. The funds will be used for projects and programming that lead New Yorkers to embrace environmentalism; forge creative partnerships that highlight Sanitation Workers' important role in protecting citizens’ quality of life; and to host special events such as the Food Waste Fair, which worked to help business owners improve the sustainability of their operations.

Additionally, every Parley Ocean Bag sale funds the removal of more plastic waste by the Parley Global Cleanup currently network active in 28 countries.