Meet the artisans who hand assemble 4ocean bracelets

EMPOWERMENT

Changing the world for the better

Ocean plastic has a human impact. Plastic pollution contributes to declining fish populations, which in turn drives poverty in coastal communities whose economies and quality of life are dependent on the health of their local fisheries.

By recovering ocean plastic and transforming it into new products, 4ocean is laying the groundwork for a sustainable circular economy that not only supports our global ocean cleanup operation, but also empowers local community members in high-impact areas like Bali, Indonesia.

Pull a Pound + Help Fund Our Cleanups

Pull a Pound + Help Fund Our Cleanups

Women comprise 80% of our artisanal workforce

In Bali, women tend to assume the role of primary caretakers for their families, which means job opportunities can be pretty limited, especially for women in rural communities. These areas may not see a lot of foot traffic from tourists or they may rely heavily on seasonal businesses; many of their husbands are fishermen, farmers, or laborers who must leave for work.

Our bracelet artisans are empowered to work out of their homes and village centers and often split the work as a community. Since they don’t have to go to a factory to work, more women are able to join the workforce and earn an income while continuing to care for their families the way they always have. Right now, our artisanal workforce employs about 200 people and 80% of them are women.

Pull a Pound + Help Fund Our Cleanups

Pull a Pound + Help Fund Our Cleanups

Every 4ocean bracelet is assembled by hand

As soon as our bracelet components reach our main facility in Denpasar, Bali, a crew loads up our transport vehicles and distributes the materials to our team of bracelet artisans who live in remote villages scattered across the island.

Scroll through the slider to see how each and every 4ocean bracelet is assembled by hand.

Bracelet cords are cut to size and tied off at one end.

The cord is threaded through a needle and strung with the exact number of beads needed to make the bracelet.

The bracelet charms are added and the unfinished bracelet is passed to a skilled artisan.

Skilled artisans either spin the cord into the signature twist of our beaded bracelet or the intricate pattern of our braided bracelet.

The artisan ties the bracelet closures, which is the most time-consuming and skilled part of the assembly.

Bracelets are put in groups of 100 before they’re sent to the quality assurance crew who performs an on-site inspection to ensure that each and every bracelet meets our standard.

Final bracelets are packaged and brought back to our main office in Denpasar so it can be shipped to our global distribution center in the U.S.

Meet Khusnul, a 4ocean bracelet artisan

DIVE DEEPER

Uncover the full story of 4ocean Bali

We’re taking the clean ocean movement behind the scenes of our cleanup operation in Bali over the next couple months. Check out the stories we’ve shared so far and scroll down to sign up for email alerts so you never miss a new update!

The birthplace of 4ocean

Our founders grew up in Florida and made their living from the ocean, but Bali is where they truly began to understand the severity of the ocean plastic crisis and its impact not just on marine life, but on the coastal communities that, like them, relied on the health of the ocean to survive. Click the button below to explore the sources of plastic pollution in Indonesia and see the island that inspired the clean ocean movement.

Explore Now

4ocean Bali’s cleanup strategy

We chose to launch our first international cleanup operation on the island of Bali not just because it’s the birthplace of 4ocean, but because it strategically places us in areas where we can have the biggest impact.

Explore Our Strategy

Explore the tools we use to recover ocean plastic in Bali

Let us show you all of the tools and equipment we’ve invested in to keep our crews safe and maximize our impact in Bali. Remember that this is what you make possible every time you shop 4ocean and pull a pound of trash.

Explore Equipment

Discover our main operational base in Denpasar

Denpasar is the gateway to Bali, providing access to virtually all of the island and its plastic-strewn beaches. That’s why, in March 2018, we chose Denpasar as the site of 4ocean’s very first international headquarters. Click the button below to see our Denpasar facility and learn more about our cleanup strategy in this area.

Explore Denpasar Operations

Explore our cleanup operations in Medewi

Medewi is a tiny, remote village on the southern coast of Bali that gives us access to more than 20 beaches impacted by plastic pollution. We expanded operations to Medewi in October 2018. Click the button below to explore our strategy in this area and meet a few members of the crew.

Explore Medewi Operations

Meet the crew that recovers a daily average of 17,000 pounds of trash

Our Jembrana location places us in an area with easy access to the ocean, rivers, and coastlines impacted by plastic pollution, which allows our Jembrana crews to maximize their impact every single day.

Explore Jembrana Operations

See what happens to recovered ocean materials at our Jembrana facility

Whenever 4ocean establishes cleanup operations in a new location, one of our first priorities is to build facilities where we can store and process the materials we recover from the ocean, rivers, and coastlines so they don’t reenter the environment. Let us take you behind the scenes of our Jembrana location to show you what happens to our recovered materials.

Explore Materials Processing

SMALL ACTS ADD UP

Help us reach our goal of 20 million pounds pulled by the end of 2021

Every pound of trash you pull funds our global ocean cleanup operation and advances our mission of ending the ocean plastic crisis. The work we do is only possible because of you.

Meet the artisans who hand assemble 4ocean bracelets

Changing the world for the better

Women comprise 80% of our artisanal workforce

Every 4ocean bracelet is assembled by hand

Meet Khusnul, a 4ocean bracelet artisan

Uncover the full story of 4ocean Bali

Help us reach our goal of 20 million pounds pulled by the end of 2021

Sign up for emails and never miss an update about the clean ocean movement!