Keep America Beautiful

Keep America Beautiful is a United States nonprofit organization focused on litter prevention, recycling, beautification, and community improvement. Founded in December 1953 by the American Can Company and Owens-Illinois Glass Company, it developed during a period when disposable packaging was becoming more common and concern about roadside litter was growing. The organization initially worked through public education, local campaigns, and partnerships intended to encourage individuals and communities to take responsibility for the appearance and cleanliness of shared spaces. Its work expanded substantially during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1961, Keep America Beautiful partnered with the Advertising Council to distribute national public-service messages. Campaign themes included “Every Litter Bit Hurts,” introduced in 1963, and the Susan Spotless character, used in a 1964 campaign. The organization’s best-known advertisement appeared on Earth Day in 1971. Commonly called the “Crying Indian” advertisement, the television public-service announcement portrayed a man presented as Native American observing pollution and litter in a degraded landscape. The ad became one of the most recognizable environmental messages in American popular culture, although its imagery, authorship, and corporate sponsorship have also generated significant criticism. In 1976, Keep America Beautiful introduced the Clean Community System, a structured approach that combined public education, advertising, local research, litter-hotspot mapping, and cleanup activities. This model helped the organization build a large affiliate network. According to the organization’s description in reference material, its network includes more than 700 state and community-based affiliates and more than 1,000 partner organizations. Its collaborations have included recycling groups, youth organizations, community-service networks, environmental organizations, horticultural groups, and urban-forestry initiatives. Keep America Beautiful is not a conventional consumer brand and does not sell a major range of commercial products. Its principal offerings are programs, educational materials, research, volunteer events, public-service campaigns, affiliate support, and community-improvement frameworks. Notable activities include America Recycles Day, cleanup and beautification initiatives, local affiliate programs, youth and scouting projects, and research on litter conditions and public attitudes. In 2021, the organization published a nationwide litter study reporting that 90 percent of Americans considered litter a problem in their communities, that roadside litter had declined by 54 percent over the preceding decade, and that approximately 50 billion pieces of litter remained on United States ground surfaces. It promoted the #152AndYou message alongside the study, arguing that collecting 152 pieces of litter per person would temporarily eliminate existing litter if no new litter were added. The organization also broadened its community-improvement activities through its January 2021 merger with RETREET, a group specializing in post-disaster tree planting. In 2023, it launched the “Do Beautiful Things” podcast, hosted by president and chief executive Jenny Lawson. The series discusses sustainability policy, individual behavior, business responses, and practical approaches to creating more sustainable communities. Keep America Beautiful has attracted criticism from environmental writers and advocates who argue that its emphasis on individual littering and volunteer cleanup can shift attention away from manufacturers, packaging companies, and the broader design and disposal systems that generate waste. Critics have described this approach as corporate greenwashing and have questioned the organization’s historical relationships with packaging and tobacco interests. The “Crying Indian” advertisement has also been criticized for cultural appropriation and racial stereotyping because…

Keep America Beautiful was established in December 1953 by the American Can Company and Owens-Illinois Glass Company. Its formation reflected growing concern about litter associated with changing packaging and consumption patterns in the United States. The organization’s early work centered on local public-service announcements, educational materials, and cooperation with civic groups. Discussion of the term “litterbug” predates the organization, although some accounts associate early Pennsylvania campaigns with popularizing it. In 1961, Keep America Beautiful joined the Advertising Council in a national effort to make litter prevention a public concern. The partnership helped distribute public-service advertising at scale. “Every Litter Bit Hurts,” developed as a campaign theme in 1963, and the Susan Spotless character campaign in 1964 continued the focus on personal behavior and proper disposal. In 1970, the organization began distributing free brochures, reportedly receiving requests for more than 100,000 copies within four months. On Earth Day in 1971, Keep America Beautiful launched the campaign built around the message “People Start Pollution. People Can Stop It.” Its television advertisement, later known as the “Crying Indian” PSA, showed Iron Eyes Cody observing pollution and litter in an urban and roadside environment. The commercial became a defining environmental image of the era. It was also controversial: Cody was of Italian descent despite his public Native American identity, and critics have argued that the advertisement used a racialized image to place responsibility for waste primarily on consumers rather than producers. In 1976, the organization introduced the Clean Community System. The program gave local communities a repeatable framework involving education, public-service advertising, research, mapping of litter hotspots, and cleanup events. During the program’s most active period, the organization received thousands of monthly inquiries from communities seeking to participate. This approach contributed to the development of a broad affiliate structure linking national resources with state and community organizations. Over subsequent decades, Keep America Beautiful expanded its partnerships and recurring programs. Its network has included recycling organizations, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, HandsOn Network, Points of Light, the Arbor Day Foundation, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, National Cleanup Day, Ocean Conservancy, the Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition, EARTHDAY.ORG, and Take Pride in America. The organization and the Boy Scouts of America also supported national cleanup and recycling activities, including Scouting Keep America Beautiful Day and the Hometown USA Award. America Recycles Day became one of the organization’s most prominent recurring initiatives. Keep America Beautiful has also used research to quantify litter and communicate behavioral goals. Its 2021 study reported widespread public concern about litter, a long-term decline in roadside litter, and an estimated 50 billion pieces of litter on United States ground surfaces. The accompanying #152AndYou campaign translated the estimate into an individual cleanup target. In January 2021, Keep America Beautiful merged with RETREET, adding a post-disaster tree-planting capability to its community-improvement work. In 2023, it launched the Do Beautiful Things podcast, hosted by president and CEO Jenny Lawson, to discuss sustainability policies, consumer and community behavior, and business solutions. The organization’s history remains contested. Environmental commentators have characterized it as an early example of corporate greenwashing because its anti-litter model emphasizes consumer conduct while giving less attention to packaging design, producer responsibility, deposit legislation, and restrictions on disposable products. Critics have also examined its funding and relationships with tobacco companies, arguing that voluntary cleanup and ashtray programs could be less threatening to industry interests than smoking restrictions in public places. In response to continuing criticism surrounding the Crying Indian PSA, Keep America Beautiful transferred the advertisement’s copyright to the National Congress of American Indians in February 2023, with historical use intended as the governing principle.

1. 2023Do Beautiful Things podcast launched

   Keep America Beautiful began a sustainability-focused podcast hosted by Jenny Lawson.

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2. 2023Crying Indian PSA copyright transferred

   Copyright ownership of the historic advertisement was transferred to the National Congress of American Indians.

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3. 2021RETREET merger

   Keep America Beautiful merged with RETREET, adding post-disaster tree planting to its activities.

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4. 2021National litter study and #152AndYou

   The organization released a comprehensive litter study and promoted a 152-item individual cleanup message.

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5. 1976Clean Community System introduced

   A structured local program combined education, research, litter mapping, advertising, and cleanup.

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6. 1971Crying Indian public-service advertisement

   The organization launched its best-known anti-pollution advertisement on Earth Day.

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7. 1963Every Litter Bit Hurts campaign

   Keep America Beautiful introduced the “Every Litter Bit Hurts” campaign theme.

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8. 1961Advertising Council partnership

   The organization partnered with the Advertising Council to promote national anti-litter public-service messages.

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9. 1953Organization founded

   Keep America Beautiful was founded in December by the American Can Company and Owens-Illinois Glass Company.

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A national nonprofit platform for litter prevention, recycling education, volunteer cleanup, and community beautification.

• Clean Community SystemCommunity improvement program1976

  A local-program framework introduced in 1976 that combines litter education, public-service advertising, research, hotspot mapping, and cleanup activities. It was designed to give communities a coordinated method for diagnosing litter problems and organizing sustained prevention and beautification work rather than relying only on occasional volunteer events.

• America Recycles DayRecycling education program

  A recurring national recycling-awareness initiative associated with Keep America Beautiful. It uses educational resources, local events, and partner participation to encourage recycling and improve public understanding of material recovery and waste reduction.

• Do Beautiful ThingsPodcast2023

  A podcast launched in 2023 and hosted by Jenny Lawson. Episodes address sustainability policies, behavior, business responses, and practical ideas for improving communities and reducing environmental impacts.

• 2021#152AndYou

  United States

  A campaign accompanying Keep America Beautiful’s 2021 litter study. It used the estimate of approximately 50 billion pieces of litter to suggest that each person could collect 152 pieces.

  Outcome. The message translated a nationwide litter estimate into a simple individual participation target.

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• 1971People Start Pollution. People Can Stop It.

  United States

  An Earth Day campaign centered on a television advertisement showing the figure later known as the Crying Indian confronting pollution and litter.

  Outcome. The advertisement became an enduring environmental image, while later critics challenged its consumer-focused framing and representation of Native American identity.

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• 1963Every Litter Bit Hurts

  United States

  A national public-service campaign that framed litter prevention as a cumulative result of individual actions.

  Outcome. It became one of the organization’s early widely distributed anti-litter messages.

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• 2023Transfer Crying Indian PSA copyrightStrategy

  The advertisement had become controversial because of its portrayal of Native American identity and criticism of its consumer-focused environmental message.

  What changed. Keep America Beautiful transferred copyright ownership to the National Congress of American Indians.

  Aftermath. The receiving organization indicated that use of the advertisement should be restricted to historical purposes.

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• 2021Merge with RETREETM&A

  RETREET focused on planting trees in communities affected by disasters, complementing Keep America Beautiful’s existing community-improvement activities.

  What changed. Keep America Beautiful merged with RETREET in January 2021.

  Aftermath. The merger broadened the organization’s activities to include post-disaster tree planting.

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• 2023Crying Indian advertisement cultural-appropriation controversyControversy

  The organization’s famous advertisement has been criticized because Iron Eyes Cody presented himself as Native American although he was of Italian descent. Critics have described the portrayal as cultural appropriation and racial stereotyping. In February 2023, Keep America Beautiful transferred the advertisement’s copyright to the National Congress of American Indians for historical-use management.

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• Greenwashing and producer-responsibility criticismControversy

  Environmental writers and advocates have accused Keep America Beautiful of functioning as a corporate greenwashing vehicle. The criticism focuses on its emphasis on consumer littering and volunteer cleanup, which opponents argue can divert attention from packaging manufacturers, disposable-product systems, producer responsibility, and deposit legislation.

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• Tobacco-industry relationship criticismControversy

  The organization and similar groups have been criticized for tobacco-industry funding and programs emphasizing cigarette-litter cleanup and ashtrays rather than smoking restrictions in public parks and beaches.

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• 2023Keep America Beautiful launches Do Beautiful Things podcast

  The organization began a podcast hosted by Jenny Lawson covering sustainability policy, behavior, business solutions, and community practices.

  Product launch
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• 2021Keep America Beautiful merges with RETREET

  The organization merged with RETREET, a group focused on planting trees in communities affected by disasters.

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• 2021Keep America Beautiful publishes a nationwide litter study and launches #152AndYou

  A national litter study reported public concern about litter, changes in roadside litter, and an estimated number of litter items on the ground. The organization promoted #152AndYou to encourage individual litter collection.

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1. Keep America Beautiful
2. Keep America Beautiful official website