Blue Friday 2025 has wrapped! View the results HERE. To everyone who joined Blue Friday 2025: thank you. Your participation helps drive meaningful change for our waterways.
If you didn’t get the chance to be part of it this year, sign up for Blue Friday 2026 to stay in the loop for next year.
If you’re an organization or brand looking to get involved in Blue Friday, please connect to collaborate in protecting our waterways and amplifying impact together.
Why We Chose Blue Friday Over Black Friday
For the last two years, we've opted out of the norm and chosen Blue Friday—a coordinated effort between brands and consumers to make a measurable impact on ocean conservation—over Black Friday. While still offering traditional Black Friday deals, we’ve also donated a portion of all sale proceeds to shoreline and ocean cleanup projects in British Columbia.
By the Numbers
Together through the Blue Friday initiative, we’ve made a measurable impact on ocean cleanup—removing over 46,000 lbs of marine debris to date.
- 2024: Removed 2,447 lbs of recyclable plastics and 1,367 lbs of landfill waste—including a full-size freezer.
- 2023: Removed 5,700 lbs of marine debris from shorelines and waterways.
- To date: 46,065 lbs of debris cleared from coastlines through collective effort.
2025's Cleanup Efforts: Vancouver Island's North Coast Trail
With funding provided through the 2024 Blue Friday partners, Living Oceans—a leader in the effort to protect Canada's oceans—sent out three six-person teams to Vancouver Island's North Coast Trail. Working further east than they had previously, the teams went to Laura Creek, Shuttleworth Bight, and Nahwitti River; all areas that hikers have reported as being loaded with debris.
Industrial Plastic and a Full-Size Freezer
The team at Laura Creek filled 18 lift bags and roped up a large piece of industrial plastic. At Shuttleworth, volunteers collected 14 bags of debris and roped up a full-size freezer that was spilling foam insulation all over the beach. Furthest east, the crew at Nahwitti River worked the hardest to gather the lightest load. They filled seven bags while hiking long distances over extremely challenging terrain. They also gathered debris from the Zim Kingston, a container ship that lost 109 containers overboard while drifting at La Perouse Bank on October 21, 2021.
3814 lbs Marine Debris Removed
In a single day of lift operations, Living Oceans cleared the debris from all three beaches but still faced the task of sorting and consolidating. When everything was complete, the three teams recycled 2,447 lbs of plastics and disposed of 1,367 lbs of landfill waste from 18 kilometres of foreshore, protecting the estuaries of several fish-bearing creeks and rivers.
- Foam fishing net float commonly found on the BC coast
2024's Cleanup Efforts: The Scott Islands
Thanks to funds raised by the Blue Friday initiative in 2023, Living Oceans Society, a leader in the effort to protect Canada's oceans, launched its largest ocean cleanup effort yet to tackle the mountain of plastic polluting the shores of a critical seabird habitat—the Scott Islands. By choosing this Black Friday alternative, supporters helped fund teams that removed thousands of pounds of marine debris from these remote shores.
A Vital Seabird Habitat
Located in Canada's westernmost waters, the Scott Islands are home to millions of seabirds and the world's largest sea lion rookery. Rich upwelling currents draw abundant marine life, but these same currents also bring in a constant influx of marine plastics, turning foreshores and near-shore waters into a perilous trap for wildlife. Fishing ropes and nets pose entanglement hazards, while seabirds and fish often mistake small plastic pieces for food, leading to painful deaths—especially when adult birds unknowingly feed brightly coloured plastics to their chicks. Shoreline cleanup projects and ocean conservation efforts, supported by initiatives like Blue Friday, have made clearing this type of plastic pollution a top priority for years
Mustang Survival's Support
"With Mustang's help, we were able to send out two full teams of six in June, tackling four of the most heavily impacted beaches on the south and west shores of Cox Island," says Karen from Living Oceans. "With boat support, we were able to move crews past forbidding, rocky headlands to access more areas than ever before. We recovered over 30 cubic metres of debris, including fishing gear, floats, rope, net, foam packaging material, largely from the containership spills, and foam flotation—docks, smaller floats of every size and description."
- Beverage container from overseas are also common finds
5,700 lbs of Marine Debris Removed
In 2023, our contributions removed 5,700 lbs of marine debris and distributed it to recyclers, re-users, and landfills. Unfortunately, much of it was old and degraded, meaning only a small portion could be recycled compared to previous years. However, this also means the debris removed was at the greatest risk of breaking down into harmful microplastics, which would have posed an even greater threat to wildlife.
Continued Ocean Conservation
This monumental effort over the last two years underscores the urgent need for continued action to protect our oceans and wildlife from the relentless tide of plastic pollution. In that time, the Blue Friday initiative has grown substantially, demonstrating the power of purpose-driven shopping over traditional Black Friday consumerism. Together, we can continue to turn the tide and make a lasting impact on the health of our planet's oceans, ensuring they remain safe havens for wildlife and clean, thriving spaces for all to enjoy responsibly.
Learn more about Blue Friday and how you can support ocean clean up.
