We partnered with Surfrider Foundation earlier this year and it continues to be one of the coolest things Fresh Clean Tees has ever done. Through our partnership, better known as Fresh Clean Tees for Fresh Clean Seas, we ensure that a percentage of every single sale goes to the nonprofit in order to help protect U.S. coastlines, reduce plastic's impact on marine life, defend our ocean ecosystems, and support clean water initiatives.
Surfrider Foundation recently sent along their mid-year impact update with several awesome highlights, at both the national and local levels, achieved in part thanks to Fresh Clean Tees customers like you!
How Surfrider Is Saving Our Beaches
Surfrider Foundation is continually working to protect all 12,000 miles of the U.S. coastline, and those efforts are comprehensive and multi-dimensional, as the organization works diligently on all fronts across the country.
- 62,068 pounds of trash and recycling has been removed from U.S. beaches and waterways through Surfrider’s national Beach Cleanup program.
- 4,439 water quality tests have been conducted to identify and address sources of pollution at the local level through Surfrider’s national Blue Water Task Force.
- 672 restaurants (and counting) are currently registered as “ocean friendly” through Surfrider’s Ocean Friendly Restaurants criteria.
National Campaign Highlights
Surfrider is currently working on 153 active campaigns throughout the country, collecting and leveraging data to advise and advocate for policies and legislation that will protect our natural world.
These are just two recent (HUGE) accomplishments:
- The EPA BEACH Act has been funded, after Surfrider volunteers met with 125 congressional offices to advocate.
- The landmark bill to fund clean water and stop plastic pellet pollution has passed, after thousands of community members contacted their representatives to support HR 3684 (the INVEST in America Act)
Surfrider’s San Diego County Chapter
Surfrider’s San Diego County chapter has done a great deal so far this year.
- 40+ Strike Team beach cleanups have been hosted between March to July of this year while pandemic-related restrictions prevented larger public cleanups.
- 300+ local water quality samples have been tested and reported by the San Diego Chapter’s Blue Water Task Force.
- 4,000+ pounds of trash has been removed from San Diego beaches since the start of the year.
San Diego County's Campaign Highlights
As San Diego residents and local beach-goers, we are forever grateful for the unbelievable work of the Surfrider team and its extraordinary band of volunteers. Below are a few incredible accomplishments just this year!
- The Clean Border Water Now Campaign prompted San Diego County to declare a public health crisis in the Tijuana River Valley, using results from the chapter’s month-long water quality testing campaign as evidence.
- Vista became the first non-coastal city in San Diego to pass a single-use plastic reduction ordinance.
- The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) committed to moving a vulnerable railway off a coastal bluff in Del Mar to prevent permanent beach loss.
- Regulatory action from the Coastal Commission saw the review of Oceanside’s issuing of emergency permit waivers for riprap repair along its public beach.
- Diligent work has gone into preventing harmful shoreline armoring of North County’s bluffs as well as the expansion of sites for surf monitoring related to a major beach nourishment project.
To learn more about Surfrider Foundation and even get involved, check out their site or their San Diego County Chapter site. It has all the good stuff you need. They're dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans, waves, and beaches — for all people.
— Jake Kilroy
