We all know the saying, "the best way to a person's heart is through their stomach." Well our Ocean Friendly and Great Lakes Friendly Restaurants have been changing the hearts and minds of customers and policymakers through delicious food and sustainable choices since 2013.

During the month of October, Surfrider came together to celebrate our Ocean Friendly Restaurants and Great Lakes Friendly Restaurants and their commitment to reducing single-use plastic. For the entire month of October, Chapters and Clubs across the Surfrider Network hosted OFR-inspired events with a goal to add/renew 100 restaurants during this month alone.  

The best way to get involved with Ocean Friendly Restaurants in October and year-round is to:

• Find an OFR near you, eat there, and thank the staff for turning the tide on plastic pollution!
• Attend a local OFR-inspired chapter event
• Recruit your favorite restaurant to sign up to be Ocean Friendly!

We currently have 560 restaurants participating in the OFR program and that number is constantly growing. We estimate that our OFRs collectively serve over 36 million single-use plastic-free meals a year! The result is a community of like-minded restaurants we can promote, support, and lift up as examples of success to influence plastic reduction legislation.

Find an OFR Near You!

To become an OFR, restaurants must follow 7 mandatory criteria and choose at least 3 criteria from our optional list. Restaurants that meet all of the criteria are recognized as a Platinum Level Ocean Friendly Restaurant.

The Ocean Friendly Program is Growing

Recently, Surfrider announced the launch of our new Ocean Friendly Hotels Program.  This program is a natural expansion of our successful Ocean Friendly Restaurants Program, and functions similarly, providing a simple framework for hotels looking to eliminate unnecessary single use plastic and implement practices that are better for the health of our ocean. To join, hotels must follow a set of mandatory and optional criteria that focuses on single-use plastic reduction and more.

The Criteria

Mandatory Criteria
(Hotels Must Follow All 7)

1. No plastic beverage bottles or plastic bags are sold or used onsite. 
2. No expanded polystyrene is used anywhere onsite (aka Styrofoam). 
3. Cups, utensils, straws, condiments, and other accessory items in rooms are reusable or made from naturally occurring materials and are not packaged in plastic. 
4. Toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, lotion, etc.) are not packaged in small plastic bottles.
5. Water refill stations are available for guests onsite.
6. If applicable, restaurants or cafes onsite are Surfrider Ocean Friendly Restaurants.
7. Proper solid waste recycling procedures are followed and bins are amply provided for guest use.

Optional Criteria
(Hotels Must Choose At Least 3)

1. Coffee and tea stations do not use single-use pods or plastic packaging in rooms.
2. Concessions and pre-packaged food items are not sold or distributed in plastic packaging, including in room mini bars.
3. Room keys are reusable or made from naturally occurring materials.
4. Energy efficiency efforts are in place. At minimum, rooms must have signage that reminds guests to turn off lights and air/heat when leaving the rooms.
5. Water conservation and pollution mitigation efforts are implemented. At minimum, rooms must have signage which asks guests to consider using their towels and linens more than once in the rooms.
6. Inspired by Surfrider Kauai Chapter’s Ocean Friendly Visitors Program, solo trash cleanup kits are available for guests. 
7. Onsite gift shops only sell or provide sunscreen that is reef friendly.
8. Outdoor light pollution is minimized. 
9. Hotel landscaping follows Surfrider's Ocean Friendly Garden Program criteria or there is an Ocean Friendly Garden onsite.

The Goal 

Currently, we have 17 hotels enrolled, with two of those in Oregon. Surfrider has a goal to add 100 hotels in the next five years. This will eliminate an estimated 4,117,200 plastic water bottles and 6,175,800 mini toiletry bottles annually from our landfills and polluting our ocean! Help us reach our goal. If you manage or own a hotel that would be a great fit for the program, sign up today!

Going Ocean Friendly at the People's Coast Summit

This month, Surfrider Oregon Field Manager, Kaia Hazard, had the opportunity to speak on a panel at the Oregon Coast Visitor Association's People's Coast Summit, an annual end-of-season event that brings together folks from across Oregon's tourism industries.  Joining Surfrider on the panel was Emily Reynolds, BRING's Director of Education & Outreach, and Jamie McMurray, Oregon Applied Sustainability Experience (OASE) Intern which BRING hosted over the summer. 

The panel, which focused on increasing sustainability in coastal hotels and restaurants, offered concrete takeaways to those hoping to make a difference in their business, crunched the numbers on the potential environmental impact and cost savings, and highlighted Surfrider's Ocean Friendly Programs. It's no secret that Oregon's coastal hotels are the gateway to reaching visitors, each one of which is a potential new friend of the ocean.  Surfrider is very excited to continue to grow our Ocean Friendly programs, and this event was a great way to make new connections up and down the coast.  

However, for every programmatic success, there is also a complementary policy to be implemented.  We will continue to fight against plastic pollution in the 2025 legislative session, and will be supporting a ban on mini toiletry bottles, so as to join the likes of New York and Washington.