Our collected donations
Your Bracenet is your contribution to ocean conservation. And it's a double one: You're helping to put an end to the ghost nets and at the same time you're donating to the oceans and marine animals. We're delighted to announce our first really big milestone: to date, we've donated over a quarter of a million euros together - €250,558. Find out exactly where and for what here!
Milestone: BRACENET has donated over €250,000!
With BRACENET you are making a contribution to marine conservation. To be more precise, a double contribution: With every product you are helping to end the ghost nets and at the same time donating to protect the seas and marine animals. Thank you for fighting with us for the future of our oceans! We are very happy to announce our first really big milestone:
To date, we have donated over a quarter of a million euros together – €250,558!
We are incredibly proud of this number and everything we have achieved with this money. Whether it is recovering hundreds of tons of ghost nets, sponsoring a humpback whale or protecting sharks - we are clearly making a difference in the vastness and depths of the ocean.
How are the donations composed?
The majority of our donations, over €150,000 to date, go to our closest partner organizations, Healthy Seas and Ghost Diving. We have been working together since day one, as these two initiatives recover ghost nets from all over the world's oceans and intercept discarded fishing nets from fisheries so that they don't end up there in the first place. Our regular donations finance things like boat rentals, diving equipment, hazard training and educational work, especially for children.
In addition, we were able to donate more than €90,000 to a variety of different projects that support the oceans, marine animals and people. These include well-known marine and nature conservation organizations such as Sea Shepherd, Mission Earth, Shark Allies and the Norwegian Orca Survey, as well as humanitarian organizations such as Leave No One Behind, Doctors Without Borders and Pink Ribbon.
We want to show you transparently how you have supported and continue to support these projects by purchasing one of our products. That is why we are introducing you to all of our donation projects and the respective donation amounts in this blog. We will regularly expand the list because we will of course continue to collect donations to fight for the green future of our oceans and the world. Some transfers will follow soon: for example to Earth Justice for the Stop Willow Bracenet and ongoing donations to Healthy Seas and Ghost Diving.
Click through the projects to learn more about them!
Donation projects:
Healthy Seas & Ghost Diving – €156,832
Healthy Seas and Ghost Diving have been our main partners for ghost net recovery since our inception. As they work very closely together, our donations benefit both organizations. We use them to finance boat rentals, diving equipment and hazard training for recovery missions and preventive measures, among other things.
Healthy Seas is working tirelessly to rid our seas of ghost nets. The organization works closely with the dedicated diving teams at Ghost Diving to recover these old nets from the oceans and is in contact with fisheries to ensure that their end-of-life nets do not end up in the water in the first place. Under the motto “A Journey from Waste to Wear,” Healthy Seas then passes the nets on to us so that we can breathe new life into them.
Ghost Diving is the world's leading organization for recovering ghost nets. The association of over 250 volunteer divers worldwide works closely with Healthy Seas and recovers nets from wrecks and reefs at depths of up to 50 meters. The initiative is active worldwide and is divided into the following teams: Ghost Diving The Netherlands, Adriatic, Austria, East Med, Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong, Korea, Lake Iseo, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom and USA; since 2021, Ghost Diving Germany has also been diving for ghost nets in the North and Baltic Seas.
More information: Healthy Seas website / Healthy Seas blog / Ghost Diving website / Ghost Diving blog
Everwave / Pacific Garbage Screening – €1,000
Everwave is dedicated to the challenge of using technological innovations to rid oceans and rivers of plastic waste. For example, founder Marcella Hansch has developed a platform that calms currents so that plastic pieces can float to the surface where they are collected. In a fundraiser with Louisa Dellert and a joint Bracenet, we raised €1,000 for the project. Our donation will help advance Everwave's important initiatives.
More information: Organization .
Charles Darwin Foundation – €2,500
The Charles Darwin Foundation is committed to preserving and protecting the unique biodiversity on and around the Galapagos Islands. Through research and educational work, the foundation makes an indispensable contribution to protecting these remarkable ecosystems. In 2020, in cooperation with diver and environmental activist Roberto Ochoa, we raised funds for the organization with the Galapagos Bracenet, as well as in 2021 with Got Bag and our Save The Seas Pack specifically to protect wild turtles on the Galapagos Islands.
More information: Organization .
Doctors Without Borders – €1,877
Doctors Without Borders is an international humanitarian organization that provides medical assistance in crisis regions around the world. Regardless of political or religious conflict, it provides life-saving medical care to those who need it most. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020, we raised funds with the “Sea you soon” – Special Bracenet to support their important work for people affected by the virus.
More information: Organization .
Shark Allies – €6,059
Shark Allies is dedicated to protecting shark populations worldwide. The team is committed to changing public perceptions of sharks and highlighting their key role in the marine ecosystem so that they are respected and no longer threatened. With our Shark Edition Bracenets, we have supported Shark Allies in reducing shark products, fighting trophy fishing tournaments, and protecting sharks from overfishing worldwide. With our Bahamas Bracenet, we have funded part of the “Valuing Sharks Alive” project.
More information: Organization .
MARE Foundation – 1,050 €
The MARE Foundation is committed to protecting the Baltic Sea from Poland. Since 2015, it has been protecting marine ecosystems, fighting for sustainable fishing and spreading the message of environmental protection. In particular, it is fighting against the flood of plastic and regularly organizes further recovery missions. In the summer of 2020, it organized a large ghost net cleanup in the Baltic Sea off the Polish coast together with fisheries. We made the Baltic Sea MARE Foundation Bracenet from the nets recovered there and used it to collect donations for the MARE Foundation.
More information: Organization .
Ocean Voyages Institute – €3,523
According to estimates, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish swimming through the oceans. The Ocean Voyages Institute is tackling this dangerous trend: The non-profit organization is undertaking major recovery trips to get all the plastic out of the sea. In 2020, it set a record: with the largest cleanup ever in the middle of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. We received some of the recovered nets and made them into bracenets to raise funds for the organization.
More information: Organization .
Sea Shepherd Germany – €16,368
Sea Shepherd Germany is a key player in the fight against illegal fishing and the misuse of our marine resources. The organization relies on action campaigns to identify, document and stop illegal activities at sea and on land. We first supported them in 2018: with a joint bracenet to save the porpoises in the Baltic Sea. With nets from their BALTIC SEA CAMPAIGN, we regularly made new bracenets and keychains in 2021 and 2022 to collect donations for their important mission. You can continue to support Sea Shepherd's efforts with our Sea Shepherd Bracenet.
More information: Organization / Collaboration .
Outlaw Ocean Project – €1,994
The Outlaw Ocean Project is a non-profit organization run by marine reporter Ian Urbina, which uses investigative reporting and educational work to report on the true depths of the oceans: crimes on the high seas. With a shared Bracenet – also bundled with Ian Urbina’s book “Outlaw Ocean ” – we have raised funds for the project to help tell stories that would otherwise go untold – and help seek justice for those exploited in our oceans.
More information: Organization .
Huckleberry Finn / Nico's Farm – €1,028
Huckleberry Finn is a project by Nicos Farm eV to enable people with disabilities and other challenges to have positive and therapeutic experiences on and in the water. This vision was realized by building a barrier-free houseboat that enables inclusive encounters as well as being a place for readings, seminars and other events. We were excited about the inclusion project from the start and supported its implementation with our “Huckleberry Finn” bracelet.
More Information: organization .
Viva con Agua – 1,450 €
Viva con Agua is committed to providing access to clean drinking water worldwide. Their work ranges from promoting water projects to raising awareness of the vital issue of water and hygiene. Through our partnership with soulbottles, we collect donations and support Viva con Agua in their mission. We are also partners of the International Ocean Film Tour and also collect donations for Viva con Agua with joint products.
More information: Organization .
Whale & Dolphin Conservation – €1,876
Whale & Dolphin Conservation, or WDC for short, is the world's leading non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to the protection of whales and dolphins. It actively campaigns against whaling, bycatch and for the protection of the oceans. We have developed a bracenet together with WDC to support their fight against bycatch and to finance a sponsorship for the humpback whale Salt.
More information: Organization .
Leave No One Behind – €15,070
Leave No One Behind is committed to supporting and protecting people who have had to flee their homeland. The initiative specifically supports organizations that enable a safe escape for everyone. In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we launched the Ukraine donations Bracenet and initially donated 100% of the proceeds, later €5 per Bracenet, to Leave No One Behind.
More information: Organization .
Ocean Wildlife Project – €3,073
The Ocean Wildlife Project (OWP) is a non-profit organization that promotes targeted research and conservation projects to strengthen marine protected areas. OWP focuses in particular on projects that provide protection-relevant knowledge about endangered species. Only if we understand the behavior and distribution of marine animals can we protect them with concrete measures. With our sponsorship of the Blue Savannah and with our Bahamas Bracenet, we have supported OWP projects in the Bazaruto National Park off the coast of Mozambique and in the Bahamas.
More information: Organization / Expedition Blue Savanna .
Federal Association for Sustainable Economy – 1,800 €
In the Federal Association for Sustainable Economy (BNW), companies and self-employed people are united in their voices for the sustainable economy. The association offers members the opportunity to exchange ideas about social and ecological transformation and to promote sustainable change in the economy. As a member, we support the BNW with an annual donation of €600.
More information: Organization .
Oclean – 862 €
Oclean proves that it can be really easy to make your own contribution to the environment - and that collecting rubbish can be a lot of fun. We're there: with lectures and joint cleanup campaigns in Hamburg! After all, plastic waste is not only a big problem in the oceans, but also on land, and waste often ends up in the oceans from land via rivers. With the Pacific Coral Bracenet for World Cleanup Day, we collected donations to finance further cleanups and an exhibition of rubbish curiosities.
More information: Organization .
Olive Ridley Project – €2,064
Many turtle species travel hundreds to thousands of kilometers through the water. On these long journeys, they are particularly affected by man-made threats such as ghost nets. Fortunately, the Olive Ridley Project (ORP) exists to protect the turtles! ORP rescues and rehabilitates injured sea turtles, researches threats, looks for solutions and raises public awareness of the issue. With our Turtle Bracenet, we have raised funds for the ORP to support their important work.
More information: Organization .
Mission Earth – €21,637
MISSION ERDE eV is the passion project of marine biologist, research diver, photographer and YouTuber Robert Marc Lehmann. The project testifies to his tireless commitment to our earth, both on land and in the sea. We worked together for the first time in 2021 when he and his diving team recovered 3 tons of ghost nets from the Baltic Sea off the coast of Fehmarn. With our bracenets and key chains made from these nets, we collected €10,000 in donations for MISSION ERDE eV to finance further recovery operations. In 2023, we collected further donations with the Orca Bracenet and Orca keychain to support the association's work.
More information: Organization / Cooperation Orca .
Bye Bye Plastic Sylt – €621
Bye Bye Plastik Sylt is an initiative that raises awareness among Sylt residents and holidaymakers on the island for a plastic-free future. Its members regularly organize cleanups, during which they also collect stranded nets. They send these to us and we upcycle them into Sylt keychains and Sylt Bracenets to collect donations for the North German organizations.
More information: Organization / Collaboration .
Norwegian Orca Survey – €5,690
The non-profit organization Norwegian Orca Survey (NOS) works with orcas in Norwegian waters. Their research team studies the local orca population to understand their lifestyle and monitor their health. They publish their collected knowledge in studies and also make it available to national authorities so that they can better protect and preserve this species. With our first Orca Bracenet, we raised funds to support the Catacean Stranding Program, i.e. research into stranded marine mammals. By studying these animals, NOS can find out what caused them to die and how we can avoid this in the future.
More information: Organization .
Pink Ribbon – 286 €
The pink ribbon is a global symbol of commitment to fighting breast cancer. Early detection is a particular focus, as it is important for the chances of recovery. The slogan of Pink Ribbon Germany is: "Early detection of breast cancer? Feel it instead of looking away!" In February 2023, we took the opportunity to support Pink Ribbon Germany's non-profit campaign with our Cancer Bracenet.
More information: Organization .
Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project – €2,154
Ghost nets stop nowhere. Not even on the beautiful islands of Hawaii: the marine flora and fauna around the largely untouched northwestern islands are particularly threatened. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP) has made it its mission to protect this area from marine debris. Among other things, the team goes out every year to recover ghost nets. We have upcycled some of their recovered nets into new products and are collecting donations for their important work.
More information: Organization .