The Ocean Cleanup was founded in 2013 in the Netherlands by Boyan Slat, and is now the world’s largest cleanup initiatives. Approximately 100 volunteer scientists and engineers have contributed to this project, which will use long floating barriers to let the ocean current concentrate the plastic itself. They project that a 62 mile cleanup array, deployed for 10 years, will remove 42% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, or 155,029,063 pounds of plastic.

And speaking of plastic, since 2007, Matt & Nat has been committed to only using linings made out of 100% recycled plastic bottles; approximately 21 plastic bottles are recycled for every bag they produce. 100% of the purchase price of this cool (vegan) Matt & Nat cross-body bag goes to the charity of your choice, including The Ocean Cleanup.