Jewelry made from recycled ocean plastic — 101 Ways to Save The Planet

Jewelry made from ocean plastic serves to help clean our oceans, yes, but it also becomes a powerful, wearable symbol of the problem that inspires others to become a part of the solution. It’s the perfect item to add to your wardrobe this #PlasticFreeJuly!

If you can’t stand seeing photos of sea turtles choking on plastic straws, a whale dead from too much plastic in its belly, or a seal strangled by fishing net, consider using your dollars to support one of these six amazing businesses, all of which create beautiful and unique jewelry made from plastic trash salvaged from the ocean.

Bead the Change makes bracelets from recycled plastic water bottles and glass bottles. The organization is dedicated to bringing awareness to different environmental and humanitarian causes. Their bracelets are handmade in Ghana by local bead-makers and artisans, and each one of their beads is individually handcrafted. You can watch this video of their bead-making process. Bead the Change is also a company that practices zero waste and they ship all of their bracelets in 100% recycled packaging.

4Ocean Bracelets - Each 4Ocean bracelet made from ocean plastic helps remove 1lb of trash from the ocean. After traveling to Bali for a surf trip, co-founders Alex and Andrew were horrified to find once-pristine water and beaches littered in plastic. They asked locals why no one was cleaning it up, and were informed the beaches are cleaned every day…but more kept coming. 4Ocean works to create demand for ocean plastic by making bracelets made from salvaged debris, and paying local fisherman, who weren’t making money catching fish, to fish for plastic instead. This not only helped incentivize clean-up, but helped stimulate the local economy. I have bracelets in orange and blue and wear them every day!

Ocean Kind HI - This Etsy shop sells beautiful, colorful jewelry from up-cycled ocean plastic collected from the shores of Hawaii and repurposed into handmade earrings, necklaces and bracelets. In addition, each one-of-a-kind piece uses sustainably sourced and bio based materials to lessen their overall carbon footprint.

La Garza Bermuda - This Bermudan-born and raised artist creates bold, colorful jewelry made from sea plastics coated in bio resin to create a quality that shimmers like a stone. The upcycled plastic jewelry helps remove plastic from the ocean and the colorful, attention-grabbing designs bring awareness to this global crisis.

Ocean Plastics Jewelry - Every piece of plastic has a past. Ocean Plastics Jewelry is making sure it can also have a future, one that isn’t harmful to our planet and marine life. They even offer a form on the website to help visitors send in their own collected microplastics in exchange for a piece of custom jewelry!

Nurdle in the Rough - In addition to creating her one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces from ocean plastics and recycled sterling silver, Nurdle in the Rough Founder Kat Crabhill regularly participates in solo and community beach clean-ups and donates 10% of proceeds to the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, an organization that has removed 400,000 pounds of plastic from the ocean to date.

Plastic Oceanic - Plastic Oceanic’s jewelry made from ocean trash was also created by surfers and ocean lovers as a way to help mitigate the plastic pollution problem. Their shimmery, stained-glass-looking jewelry pieces, like this stunning necklace and pendant, are made from ocean plastic.
(Updated June 2023)

Emma Burton Designs - Having attained a degree, in Landscape Architecture, Emma has worked professionally in private practice for many years combining her passion for nature and landscape with her innate love of art and design. Her architectural talent and design skill allow her to combine organic shape within strong line creating a simple and dramatic style of unique jewellery. The jewellery designs use sea glass, seashells and plastic pieces all individually hand collected by her.

Where to Find Jewelry Made From Recycled Ocean Plastics