Paramount Consumer Products and Nickelodeon have announced the launch of the SpongeBob Squarepants: Operation Sea Change campaign.

Paramount Consumer Products and Nickelodeon have announced the launch of SpongeBob SquarePants: Operation Sea Change, a new global ocean conservation and sustainability initiative.

Through partnerships with several non-profit organisations, SpongeBob SquarePants: Operation Sea Change aims to help remove and divert 5m lbs of ocean plastic over the next four years by funding clean up projects. At the same time, Paramount Consumer Products will work with current SpongeBob SquarePants consumer products partners to drive more sustainable practices and reduce single-use plastic in products, and curate partnerships with new brands to create innovative product lines. Additionally, the initiative will engage millions of SpongeBob fans around the world with on-the-ground events and educational resources that connect them with ways to become a part of the movement and take action in their own communities.

“Since its debut almost 25-years ago, SpongeBob SquarePants has become globally beloved for its contagious optimism and irreverent humour, but at its core the series has always had an intrinsic connection to the sea, leading us to launch SpongeBob SquarePants: Operation Sea Change to help protect the home of the very creatures that inspired Bikini Bottom,” said Veronica Hart, executive vice president, Global Franchise Planning, Paramount Consumer Products.

“With this initiative not only are we funding change but reinventing how we do business by creating a connected global effort around sustainability, while also being afforded the opportunity to honour the legacy of the incomparable Stephen Hillenburg – marine biologist and SpongeBob SquarePants creator – who was so deeply committed to preserving our oceans and marine life.”

At launch, the programme will mobilise a network of global non-profit partners that further the goals of SpongeBob SquarePants: Operation Sea Change. These efforts, which have been funded through grants from the SpongeBob SquarePants: Operation Sea Change Fund at Tides Foundation, aim to help protect the ocean from plastic pollution and biodiversity loss through on-the-ground clean-up events in cities around the world. Paramount Consumer Products will also work with licensing partners to launch SpongeBob branded products that feature zero or reduced single-use plastic and rally consumers to get active through education and information about conservation-focused organisations they can support.

Non-profit launch partners include:

• Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore which, in collaboration with Maryland-based government, business and community partners, is dedicated to cleaning and beautifying Baltimore’s waterways.
• Coral Restoration Foundation, which was founded in response to the wide-spread loss of the dominant coral species on Florida’s Coral Reef.
• Plastic Oceans International, which aims to foster sustainable communities and to end plastic pollution worldwide.
• Surfers Against Sewage, which was created in 1990 by a group of Cornish surfers, fighting to clean up the sea that was making them sick. Now, this UK-based marine conservation charity campaigns on all that threatens the ocean – plastic pollution, the climate emergency, industrial exploitation and water quality.
• Work, which supports waste collectors who recycle plastic, helping them earn a dignified income, while diverting waste otherwise destined for oceans and landfills.

There are also consumer product partners launching in 2022 and early 2023 including Conscious Step, which produces sustainably made socks, sweatshirts and candles. This autumn it will launch a line of SpongeBob SquarePants branded apparel, with a portion of proceeds to be donated to Oceana, a non-profit ocean conservation organisation.

Australia-based company Munro Shoes will also roll out a SpongeBob SquarePants branded collection in early 2023 that uses reclaimed leather and features recycled packaging that uses no plastic. There will also be more collaborations with sustainable beachwear brand Seaesta Surf and Waterlust, a purpose-driven apparel company that uses clothing to educate, inspire and support consumers in living a more environmentally responsible life.

Additionally, the Nickelodeon brand will use the full power of its multimedia ecosystem to galvanise the SpongeBob SquarePants: Operation Sea Change movement across its social, digital and linear channels. Fans can log onto www.SpongeBobOperationSeaChange.com for more information about the initiative and its partners.

In 2023, the initiative will expand to include new partnerships and products, additional short-form content that will help educate fans on the ocean plastic crisis and on-the-ground clean-ups and activations that will allow fans to get involved. Further details will be announced at a later date.