Removing ocean bound plastics
A cleaner ocean and a slightly better world with every placed order and donation.
With your support, we are helping remove ocean-bound plastic and protect marine life. This project, made possible by The Good API in collaboration with Plastic Bank, empowers coastal communities to collect and recycle plastic before it reaches the sea.
skip to plastic removal productFor every order from RUM, you help prevent plastic from entering our oceans. We partner with GoodAPI (in collaboration with Plastic Bank) to remove “ocean-bound” plastics, waste collected within 50 kilometres of waterways and coastlines, before it reaches the sea. This initiative supports marine ecosystems, strengthens local community livelihoods and advances a more circular future.
Plastic pollution remains one of the gravest environmental challenges of our time: in regions where formal waste-management infrastructure is lacking, plastics enter rivers and streams, flowing into the ocean and damaging marine life and coastal communities alike. With your support, RUM is helping to intercept and recycle this material, turning discarded plastic into feedstock for new products, thereby reducing reliance on virgin plastic and lowering CO₂ emissions across the supply chain.
Every order you place becomes part of a meaningful impact: local collection members exchange plastic for income and social benefits such as grocery vouchers, health insurance and fintech access. Each kilogram of plastic diverted helps protect habitats, support human communities and contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (notably SDG 1, 12 & 14). We believe in a wardrobe filled with timeless items of quality, and in a planet worth preserving for every wearer.
We invite you to read on and discover how our partnership works, what the process looks like, and how we measure our impact together.
How it works
Our supply-chain partner identifies collection zones in coastal communities where plastic waste is at high risk of entering the ocean. Through local branches of Plastic Bank, collection members, often informal waste-pickers, gather plastic from beaches, riversides, neighbourhoods, businesses and schools. Using the PlasticBank® app, each exchange is recorded and traceable through blockchain-secured logs. The plastic is then sent to local processors, converted into recycled feedstock and reintroduced into manufacturing in a circular economy model.
By purchasing at RUM, you are enabling this chain: your order triggers a payment to GoodAPI, which supports the collection and recycling of the equivalent plastic waste. This helps reduce ocean-bound plastic, limits greenhouse gas emissions and supports communities in gaining additional income and social security. It’s a connection between our wardrobe choices and real-world positive change.
Why it matters
• Marine biodiversity: Ocean-bound plastic threatens fish, coral, birds and marine mammals; intercepting it within the catchment area helps protect those ecosystems.
• Circular economy: When plastic is reused rather than discarded, we reduce dependency on new plastic production and lower CO₂ emissions during extraction and manufacture.
• Socio-economic benefits: In many collection communities, income opportunities from plastic collection offer tangible support, healthcare cover, digital connectivity and access to education.
• Alignment with design values: At RUM, we believe in quality, authenticity and longevity. Our partnership complements that by investing in quality of life and preserving natural environments in the long run.
Our commitments
• We commit that for each order placed, we fund the removal of a set quantity of ocean-bound plastic via GoodAPI & Plastic Bank.
• We guarantee that the full amount from every plastic-removal product purchase goes straight to the ocean-bound plastic removal initiative via GoodAPI and Plastic Bank.
• We publish cumulative impact figures on our social and website pages (e.g., bottles removed) and update them periodically.
• We support transparency: collection and recycling data is furnished by GoodAPI/Plastic Bank and traceable through their platform.
• We also take care in our own operations: packaging optimisation, shipping consolidation and mindful product selection remain part of our broader sustainability agenda.
Get involved
Want to dive deeper? Head to Plastic Bank’s website to read about all their operations in Indonesia, the Philippines, Brazil and other regions, and feel free to share your contribution to the cause on socials. Every little bit helps!
Together, we are choosing garments and make an impact that last longer.
With this purchase, you enable the collection and recycling of the equivalent of 25 discarded plastic bottles from within 50 km of a coastal waterway. By intercepting this waste before it reaches the sea, you help protect marine life, support local collection communities and foster a circular economy for plastic.
Impact of this item:
• 25 bottles prevented from entering the ocean
• supporting community income and social benefits
• enabling transparent, traceable recycling
• reducing demand for virgin plastic
• contributing to long-term environmental and social progress
UN Sustainable Development Goals
These are the UN Sustainable Development Goals being targeted by the ocean-bound plastic removal project.
1. No poverty
Eradicating extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030. Currently, this is the case for 1 in 10 people worldwide.
8. Decent work and economic growth
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
12. Responsible consumption and production
Ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, which is key to sustaining the livelihoods of current and future generations
14. Life below water
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
17. Partnerships for the goals
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development