Serving on the Ocean Friendly Establishment (OFE) committee, I identified a strong need for branding for participating businesses. Many OFEs were were using their own messaging and other non-profit’s branding to convey the fact that were ocean friendly. One restaurant had a sign, “Ask for straws”–not the right messaging for a restaurant trying to reduce straw usage.
This lack of branding and cohesive messaging created a lot of confusion, mixed messaging, and made it hard for consumers to identify certified OFE members.
An OFE certification is earned by businesses that reduce their plastic waste and offer sustainable options in serving their community. I worked with the OFE initiative, Plastic Ocean Project, and Cape Fear Surfrider to develop a branding system that’s clean, iconic, and captures the OFE mission to reduce plastics in our ocean and on our shores.
The OFE initiative started locally on the east coast of North Carolina in 2015. It has since spread across North Carolina, up the Atlantic coast, and to the west coast.