Apply for an American Express Green Card and help the ocean along with your credit score

“Plastic is a design failure,” says Cyrill Gutsch, founder and CEO of Parley for the Oceans. “It stands for the toxic age we created, threatening the future of our oceans and our own species.”

To help draw attention to plastics failures, the nonprofit decided to help change one of the most iconic pieces of plastic—the American Express credit card.

Today, Amex announced it is introducing a new version of its iconic Green Card made primarily with reclaimed marine plastic collected from beaches, islands, and coastal communities from Parley for the Oceans. The card will be available later this year.

In addition, Amex is starting a credit card recycling program and is sounding a global call to action to help remove up to one million pounds of marine plastic through beach cleanups in partnership with Parley. The move will help reduce the nearly eight million metric tons of plastic that enter the oceans each year and serve as a reminder about plastic pollution every time you whip out your Amex to pay for a bottle box of JUST Water.

“Our oceans play a vital role in our communities worldwide, and we want to do our part to protect them and help combat marine plastic pollution,” says Doug Buckminster, group president of global consumer services, American Express. “We hope our new Green Consumer and Corporate Cards will serve as a helpful reminder for card members who want to reduce the use of plastic in their daily lives.”

The ocean plastic Green Card is part of Amex’s company-wide push to be more environmentally conscious. It went carbon neutral in 2018, eliminated single-use plastics across its global operations (there are no single-use straws or coffee stirrers to be found at Amex HQ), swapped in reusable or compostable packaging and utensils across their operations, and managed to remove all single-use plastic from their airport Centurion Lounges. (Hope you’re paying attention, Delta.) Additionally, American Express gave nearly $2 million in grants to support the work of Ocean Conservancy and National Geographic Society.

Buckminster notes, “This is a great opportunity to use the power of our brand to raise awareness for this important issue and inspire others to change their behavior when it comes to plastic use.”

More like this, please!