Zero Plastic Merch Ideas for Company Beach Cleanups

Safeguarding the world's waterways is a critical part of making sure life on this planet continues. Whether it's oceans, lakes, or rivers, the water in them is essential to life, both directly (because we all need to drink water) and indirectly (because life in the water produces the oxygen we breathe, among many other things.)

Unfortunately, centuries of uncaring exploitation have polluted the water all around the globe. Microplastics have been found in deep, inaccessible caverns and formerly-pristine groundwater, and more obvious garbage litters the coasts. That doesn't even get to more obvious problems like the so-called "great Pacific garbage patch," where trash accumulates due to the flow of oceanic currents.

While most of us can't even dream of being able to clean up the oceans, we can have an impact on more local waterways.

Enter the beach cleanup.

What is a Beach Cleanup?

A beach cleanup is just what it sounds like: an event where you and your employees – and any volunteers who want to join in – gather and clean up a local beach. While these are most often done on oceanic beaches, they can be done anywhere a beach can be found and trash can accumulate. Local lakes, rivers, and even smaller waterways are all possible targets for a beach cleanup.

As an organized event, your job as the sponsor is to plan and execute the event properly. That means setting up support, marketing the event, and having a plan for the trash your team collects. You can also commemorate the event with merchandise, both to promote the event and awareness of the problem and to attach your branding to the good deed you've done.

It is, however, critical that you manage your beach cleanup properly. That means making sure that you aren't doing more harm than good and that the merchandise you hand out isn't just going to become more waste.

So, let's talk about how to plan and execute a beach cleanup and what kind of merch you can attach to the event.

How to Plan a Zero Plastic Beach Cleanup

Putting together a beach cleanup can be a lot of work, but the rewards are well worth it.

Pick a Beach

The first thing you should do is pick a beach. While you might think just picking the local waterway is good enough, there's more to it than that.

• How easy is it to get to?
• How much parking is there for the people you're bringing in?
• Do you need permission from the local or state government to do a cleanup event?
• Is there enough debris on the beach that you can clean up to make an impact?

Depending on how eco-friendly your locality is and how many people are active, it's entirely possible that all of the nearby beaches have already been hit by cleanup efforts and are in fairly good condition.

You also need to make sure you aren't potentially causing harm with your efforts. Waterways aren't just for our use, after all! You don't want to plan a beach cleanup and accidentally destroy the nesting grounds of an endangered bird, for example, right?

A lot of logistics can go into this, and you might have to pay for a permit or other access fees, work with local DNR resources, or do other planning tasks.

Plan the Event

Planning the event itself isn't necessarily too difficult, but there are a lot of details that can slip through the cracks.

Start by planning the scope of the cleanup. How much of the beach do you plan to clean up? Do you have a backup if more than the expected number of people show up, where overflow cleanup can occur? Conversely, do you have a plan if there are fewer than the expected number of people and you can't cover your whole planned area?

Figure out where your entry point and check-in will be. This will be your base station, where people showing up to help can be given orientation, handed tools and supplies, and instructed on what to do – and what not to do. This is also where someone with decision-making power should be stationed and where things like water should be available for attendees.

Tip: You'll probably need a canopy or two, along with tables, chairs, and other supplies. Some beaches have facilities you can use, but for others, you'll need to bring in your own. Scope out the area and see what's available.

You'll also need to determine what supplies you'll need.

• Containers, trash bags, reusable buckets, and other storage for the trash removed from the beach. Burlap feed sacks can be a good option to plastic trash bags.
• Gloves, so the people working protect their hands.
• Grabbers for the people who can't or don't want to bend over.
• Coolers with plenty of water and possibly snacks (optional: consider working with a food truck or two!)
• Protective supplies for attendees, including bug spray, sunscreen, a first aid kit, and more.
• A container for sharps, from broken glass to syringes and needles. Likewise, something for other hazardous materials.
• A banner or two, which allows you to set up large, visible "check in here" and other event-related messaging.

You should also plan a safety briefing. Instruct people on what to do and what not to do, what they can do if they locate something dangerous like local dangerous wildlife or poisonous plants, any local hazards like power lines, and the like. Instruct everyone on the signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke and what to do if they experience it.

Tip: Bring a scale of some kind so you can measure the amount of trash cleaned up!

Finally, have a plan for where the trash will end up. Consider actively separating trash from recyclables as it's cleaned up, if possible. Depending on the scale of the trash cleaned up, a rented U-Haul or other box truck can help you transport it.

Another tip: consider reaching out to local businesses and asking for ways they can contribute. Local coffee shops could donate their coffee bean sacks as storage bags in exchange for partner messaging. A local laundromat or other cleaning facility can contribute by cleaning gloves and other reusable items. There are a lot of options if you think outside the box!

Invite Attendees

Sometimes, a beach cleanup is effectively a corporate team-building enterprise. Other times, it becomes a whole event with friends and family. Sometimes, it's something larger and open to the public, where you rally as many people for the cause as you can.

Who you want to attend will help determine when you host the event; on a weekend, in the morning, or even during the workweek if you can give your employees the day off.

It's important to have some kind of RSVP system set up. You shouldn't try to charge admission, but you want an idea of how many people are attending so you know how much merchandise to produce, how many supplies to bring, and other quantity-based details. This is also why you should be planning this well in advance because merchandise and supplies take time to order and gather.

Design and Order Merch

One of the best parts about a beach cleanup is that you can benefit a lot from organizing and running it. You can add your branding to it in various ways, from banners to promotional advertising before the event to adding it to a "our impact" page afterward. It's a very tangible way to "put your money where your mouth is" when it comes to a beneficial local environmental impact.

Merchandise plays a key role here. You'll want something you can hand out to attendees to commemorate the event. But you don't want to just be adding to the problem; giving people a packet of cheap plastic junk while you're out there cleaning up past generations of cheap plastic junk isn't going to do anyone any favors.

What kinds of merchandise ideas work best for a beach cleanup?

• Steel or aluminum water bottles. A reusable water bottle can be branded and can last for a very long time while providing recurring value to your attendees and reminding them of the good they did.
• Canvas tote bags. A durable, reusable tote is also a great option and helps remove more plastic from the environment as people shift to these totes rather than plastic bags from grocery stores and the like.
• T-shirts or other apparel, like hats. Apparel, especially if it's made locally using eco-friendly fabrics like sustainable cotton or recycled fabrics, can be incredibly good options. Not only do they fit the bill as useful and valuable merch, but they also serve as walking billboards for the value you've brought to the community.
• Beach towels. After all, you're cleaning up a beach, so why not help promote spending time on it when you're done?

Alternatively, if you want to make your beach cleanups a recurring event, you can do something like collectible keychains; a small, sustainable item that people won't feel bad getting more than one of as they attend multiple events.

Make sure to order your merchandise in appropriate quantities well enough in advance that it's available when your event is scheduled to happen. Don't forget to leave enough leeway for back-and-forth to refine a design if need be.

Promote Your Event

Promoting the beach cleanup is an important part of making sure it goes off without a hitch.

There are a lot of different channels you can use to promote.

• Company social media. Create a Facebook event page, too!
• Local radio and television stations for interviews or press releases.
• Sharing with environmentalist networks.
• Your company email newsletter.
• Outreach to local travel bloggers and other blogs.
• Signs posted at the beach itself with information.

Don't forget to take plenty of before-and-after photos to use in your marketing, not just this time, but for next time as well!

Run the Beach Cleanup Event

Successful planning gets you most of the way there, but you do still need to run the event.

Arrive early on the day of the event and make sure everything is set up. Hack backup plans in case anything falls through. If you're using an app to track people and refuse, make sure it's configured and working; if you're using paper, get that set up.

As people show up, check them in. The initial wave should be gathered, given orientation all at once, and let loose to do the job. Later, attendees can be given orientation as they arrive.

Consider whether you're going to hand out your merchandise upon arrival or when people leave. If you give them items they can't immediately use, they may need to go put them in their cars before cleaning, which can be a hassle; on the other hand, people who leave early might miss their items. It's a trade-off you need to consider.

Some organizations use apps to track not just the event but the specific trash down to the bottle cap that is recovered and removed from the environment. It's up to you if you want to be that granular with tracking, and it can depend on the size of the beach, the number of people, and the amount of trash to track. The more of a burden it is, the less likely people are going to want to do it, so keep that in mind.

Throughout the day, there will be unforeseen occurrences and issues that crop up. Make sure you have someone available who can make decisions, seek help as necessary, solve problems, and even use some of a budget to fix problems as they arise.

If all goes well, you'll have a pristine beach, a great story, fodder for marketing, and a lot of engaged people willing to come back and do it all again next year or hit another beach in another month or two. It's the kind of tangible, visible contribution that makes everyone feel good and has a notable positive impact.