Clean Ocean Force Lanka

What Clean Ocean Force Lanka does

Clean Ocean Force Lanka is a Sri Lanka-registered non-profit foundation founded in July 2020 by Thorsten Knekties and Jerome Fernando. The organization operates manual beach cleaning and plastic waste segregation on the beaches of Colombo, Sri Lanka, employing a task force recruited from marginalized communities and operating under a non-profit license issued by the Registrar General of Companies of Sri Lanka. Field operations are coordinated with the Sri Lanka Police Department's Environmental Police unit and local municipal authorities for waste disposal, while segregated recyclable materials are handed off to recycling partners (99% of recyclables are processed rather than re-dumped).

The company's products and revenue streams are donations (preset tiers from €10 to €1,000 plus custom amounts, accepted globally via its website) and merchandise sales through an e-commerce storefront, consisting of five handmade bracelets named after Sri Lankan beaches (Arugam Bay, Hikkaduwa, Jungle Beach, Marble Beach, Mount Lavinia) at €14.90 each and an organic 100% cotton COF T-shirt at €19.90. Each merchandise purchase is marketed as funding one worker's daily wage and removing 1 kg of plastic from the ocean. The organization maintains English-, German-, and Chinese-language websites, a presence on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter, and a stated operational target of removing 50 tons of plastic from Sri Lankan beaches. Headcount is approximately 12; no parent company, subsidiaries, institutional investors, or venture funding are disclosed.

Name

Clean Ocean Force Lanka

Legal name

Clean Ocean Force Foundation

Website

https://clean-ocean-force.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Clean Ocean Force Lanka is a Sri Lanka-registered non-profit foundation that cleans Colombo-area beaches using a task force of marginalized community workers, funded by individual donations and merchandise sales (bracelets and T-shirts) globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Services

NAICS

Other Nonhazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562219), Materials Recovery Facilities (56292), Remediation Services (562910)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950), Hazardous Waste Management (4955)

akta.pro primary industry

Pollution Control & Environmental Remediation (Booming, Skimming, Shoreline Cleanup) (TLAHAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Oceans, Coastal & Marine Resource Management (BPADALAI), Marine & Coastal Remediation (Shoreline/Port Spill Cleanup) (IMAIAGAI)

Keywords

• Beach cleanup services
• Marine plastic removal
• Ocean conservation nonprofit
• Coastal waste collection
• Cause merchandise apparel

Headquarters

HQ city

Colombo

HQ country

Sri Lanka

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropic Funding: Accepts donations from individuals globally to fund day-to-day operations, beach cleaning activities, and employment of underprivileged workers. Donation options range from €10 to €1,000.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sells branded merchandise including T-shirts (€19.90) and bracelets (€14.90) representing various Sri Lankan beaches. Each purchase provides daily wage to underprivileged worker and removes 1kg of plastic waste from the ocean.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Clean Ocean Force Lanka is a non-profit that physically cleans beaches across Sri Lanka, removing plastic and man-made pollutants through a task force recruited from marginalized communities under the guidance of Sri Lanka's Environmental Police. It supports operations through global online donations (€10–€1,000 tiers) and merchandise sales, including handmade beach-themed bracelets and organic T-shirts, with each product purchase funding one kilogram of plastic removal and providing a day's wage to an underprivileged worker.

Product overview

Clean Ocean Force Lanka operates as a non-profit beach cleanup and plastic removal organization in Sri Lanka. The organization offers a merchandise portfolio consisting of beach-themed handmade bracelets (representing Arugam Bay, Hikkaduwa Beach, Jungle Beach, Marble Beach, and Mount Lavinia Beach) and organic cotton T-shirts. All merchandise is produced by marginalized communities in Sri Lanka, with each purchase providing employment to underprivileged workers and funding the removal of 1 kilogram of plastic waste from the ocean. The organization also accepts donations and organizes volunteer-driven beach cleanup operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clean Ocean Force Bracelet – Mount Lavinia Beach Authentic handmade bracelet representing Mount Lavinia Beach in Sri Lanka, produced in hygienic conditions by marginal-income communities. Each purchase provides a daily wage to an underprivileged worker and removes 1 kilogram of plastic waste from the ocean.
• Clean Ocean Force Bracelet – Marble Beach Authentic handmade bracelet representing Marble Beach in Sri Lanka, handmade by marginal-income communities. Each purchase provides a daily wage to an underprivileged worker and removes 1 kilogram of plastic waste from the ocean.
• Clean Ocean Force Bracelet – Jungle Beach Authentic handmade bracelet representing Jungle Beach in Sri Lanka, handmade by marginal-income communities. Each purchase provides a daily wage to an underprivileged worker and removes 1 kilogram of plastic waste from the ocean.
• Clean Ocean Force Bracelet – Hikkaduwa Beach Authentic handmade bracelet representing Hikkaduwa Beach in Sri Lanka, handmade by marginal-income communities. Each purchase provides a daily wage to an underprivileged worker and removes 1 kilogram of plastic waste from the ocean.
• Clean Ocean Force Bracelet – Arugam Bay Authentic handmade bracelet representing Arugam Bay in Sri Lanka, handmade by marginal-income communities. Each purchase provides a daily wage to an underprivileged worker and removes 1 kilogram of plastic waste from the ocean.
• COF T-Shirt Clean Ocean Force T-shirt made from 100% organic material in a hygienic environment, available in Blue and Red colors, sizes S/M/L/XL, and Male/Female options. Every purchase provides a daily wage to an underprivileged worker and removes 1 kilogram of plastic waste from the ocean.
• Beach Cleanup Volunteer Program Structured volunteer opportunity for individuals to participate in physical beach cleanup activities on Colombo beaches in Sri Lanka, conducted under the supervision of COF's task force, the Environmental Police, and local authorities. Participants contribute labor to plastic removal and beach restoration.
• Online Donation Program Web-based donation program accepting global contributions in preset tiers of €10, €20, €50, €100, €500, €1,000, or custom amounts, processed via CyberSource-secured checkout. Funds support day-to-day beach cleanup operations and provide employment to underprivileged community workers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% of recyclable materials collected are sent for recycling rather than dumped as garbage

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Environmental Police (Sri Lanka Police Department)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGuides beach cleaning operations conducted by the task force. Provides regulatory oversight and enforcement support for the cleanliness drive.
• Local Authorities (Sri Lanka)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides support for timely disposal of collected garbage. Assists in logistics and municipal coordination for waste management.
• Local Communities (Sri Lanka)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with local communities for task force recruitment. Local leaders act as influencers. Waste pickers from marginalized communities are employed as the frontline cleanliness task force.
• Recycling PartnersmajorTechnology or IntegrationReceives segregated plastics and recyclable materials from COF for recycling processing. 99% of recyclable materials collected are handed over for recycling. COF intends to have their own recycling plants as operations progress.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sea Shepherd Conservation Society: Sea Shepherd is an established marine conservation organization running direct-action campaigns including coastal cleanup operations. Comparable to COF on marine conservation mission and direct field activity, but operates globally across multiple marine conservation causes with significantly larger operational scale.
• Ocean Conservancy: Ocean Conservancy runs the International Coastal Cleanup — the world's largest volunteer beach cleanup event — alongside broader ocean policy advocacy. Comparable to COF on the volunteer cleanup activity, but operates as a much larger US-headquartered NGO with advocacy, science, and policy arms beyond what COF does.

Direct peers

• Surfrider Foundation: Surfrider runs volunteer beach cleanup chapters across multiple countries with a strong donor and membership base. Comparable to COF on volunteer-driven beach cleanup and grassroots mobilization, though operating at much larger scale with US-centric chapter model rather than a single-country employment-focused approach.
• Plastic Bank: Plastic Bank builds collection networks in coastal communities that exchange recovered plastic for digital tokens and social goods, then sells recycled material to brands. Comparable to COF on community-empowerment angle, plastic segregation logistics, and partnership with downstream recyclers, though Plastic Bank operates a more developed blockchain-tokenized revenue model.
• The Ocean Cleanup: The Ocean Cleanup is a Dutch non-profit deploying engineered interceptor systems to remove plastic from rivers and ocean gyres. It is comparable to COF on mission (plastic removal from marine environments) and donation-driven funding, but represents a technology-led, capital-intensive counterpart to COF's labor-led community model.
• 4ocean: 4ocean runs a global beach and ocean cleanup operation funded by a bracelet-and-merchandise model where each purchase funds removal of a pound of trash. It is the closest functional peer to COF: identical product narrative (bracelet = X pounds removed), comparable community-led cleanup model, and direct overlap on donor audience and merchandise GTM.

Emerging players

• Plastic Pollution Coalition: Plastic Pollution Coalition is a global alliance of organizations, businesses, and individuals working to stop plastic pollution. Comparable to COF on mission and donor/advocacy audience, but operates primarily as an advocacy and education network rather than running direct cleanup operations itself.

Regional players

• Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society: SLWCS is a Sri Lanka-based conservation NGO operating in the same geography as COF. Comparable on regulatory context (Sri Lankan non-profit registration, government relationships) and donor base interested in Sri Lankan environmental causes, though its focus is wildlife rather than coastal/marine cleanup.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cleanoceanforce
• Instagraminstagram.com/cleanoceanforce
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clean-ocean-force

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Clean Ocean Force Lanka