we’re sea hugger and WE COMBAT THE PLASTIC TIDE THROUGH EDUCATION AND ACTIOn

Sea Hugger® is a nonprofit organization focused on protecting and healing the marine environment from plastic pollution through action and education to drive systemic change that addresses the root cause of the issue.

take part in OUR WORK!

We have lots of ways for anyone to join the cause, including:

There are plenty of ways for anyone to get involved in Sea Hugger's mission: beach cleanups, tabling events, school events, grant writing, policy work, and marketing efforts are just some to name!

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OUR STORY

Sea Hugger's Founder, Shell Cleave, at one of the first Sea Hugger events with Junior Lifeguards in 2018 — Our Founder, Shell Cleave, with the Junior Lifeguards at one of Sea Hugger’s first events in 2018.

Sea Hugger® was founded in 2018 by ocean enthusiast, Shell Cleave. Through her travels over the years leading up to starting the organization, she was noticing more and more plastic all over the ocean. During one of her family’s surf trips to Mexico, they made friends with the locals who told them the beautiful coastal region - where the surf break was at the mouth of a river - used to be covered in plastic. There was no government-sponsored recycling program there, so the community started their own. Shell was so impressed with the community coming together like this to create their own solutions that when she returned from the trip, she shutdown her lucrative tech business and started Sea Hugger® in Half Moon Bay, California!

Since 2018, Sea Hugger® has grown and now has multiple programs, such as a cigarette butt recycling program, beach cleanups, youth education and more. We have big plans for the future to reach even more people and help them transition from a linear, wasteful lifestyle to a circular lifestyle thus preserving our oceans and planet for many generations to come!

OUr impact

Earth is 70% ocean! Protecting the ocean helps mitigate the negative impacts of climate change.

The problem with plastic

Roughly two-thirds of plastic ever produced has been released into the environment.

Plastic does not go “away”. It breaks down and becomes microplastics in the ocean and nanoparticles in the air and soil, all of which are ingested by animals, plants, and humans.