Multi-year partnership combats single-use plastic pollution and unites communities in the fight for a cleaner planet
Hydro Flask, the award-winning leader in high-performance, insulated stainless steel flasks and soft good innovations and a Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ: HELE) company, is forging a new multi-year partnership with Ocean Conservancy, serving as the Team Ocean Platinum Champion for the conservation organization’s Protect Where We Play initiative. Together, the brands will co-create programming that unites the sports and entertainment industry in mobilizing fans to take action to protect the ocean as our greatest natural resource.
Addressing the Global Ocean Plastic Crisis
Ocean Conservancy estimates that close to 200 million metrics tons of plastic are circulating in our ocean, with an estimated additional 11 million metrics tons added each year—equivalent to more than a garbage truck of plastic entering the ocean each minute.1
“The ocean is our planet’s life-support system. Every other breath taken by an athlete on the field, a singer on the stage, or a fan in the stands comes from the ocean,” said Jenna DiPaolo Colley, chief brand and communications officer at Ocean Conservancy. “Protect Where We Play is on a mission to leverage athletes, artists, teams, events and venues to mobilize millions of fans worldwide in protecting this vital resource, and that includes curbing single-use plastics.”
Helen of Troy Home & Outdoor Division President Larry Witt adds, “At Hydro Flask, we hold a foundational value to protect the waters and lands where we recreate. Our new relationship with Ocean Conservancy’s Protect Where We Play initiative builds upon our history of community-focused giving and single-use plastic reduction programs, allowing us to have greater global impact in encouraging public action to replace plastic products and preserve our planet for future generations.”
Hydro Flask & Protect Where We Play Partnership
Through the multi-year Protect Where We Play partnership, Hydro Flask and Ocean Conservancy will co-create activations focused on reducing or removing single-use plastics at stadiums and venues to help safeguard marine ecosystems:
- Protect Where We Play Community Events: From stages to stadiums, these interactive programs will engage athletes, artists and fans to collectively take action in reducing and eliminating plastic waste.
- Education and Awareness Campaigns: Expansive digital and on-the-ground outreach efforts will share practical ways fans can reduce single-use plastics, inspiring lasting change.
- National Beach and River Cleanups: Organized in collaboration with Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup® program, these volunteer-driven events will remove trash and debris from coastlines and waterways, collecting valuable data to inform future solutions.
- Impact Measurement: Hydro Flask will tap into Ocean Conservancy’s Clean Swell App and related tools to measure impacts around plastic reduction at activations.
In this first year of partnership, Hydro Flask will activate around two premier sports events to engage fans at scale. Protect Where We Play will support EcoAthletes Collegiate Cup, engaging college athletes and campuses nationwide. Hydro Flask is proud to present Protect Where We Play’s spotlights of EcoAthlete Champions monthly for the year. Momentum will continue in June and July around the FIFA World Cup, as the two brands meet in Miami to host on-site fan activations underscoring the connection between global sport, plastic reduction and ocean health.
Learn more about the Protect Where We Play movement at protectwhereweplay.com, and for additional information about Hydro Flask’s comprehensive corporate responsibility initiatives visit hydroflask.com/brand-values.