What is Sustainable swimwear?

Why should I buy sustainable fashions?

What makes a brand sustainable?

These are all questions we have thought about or typed into our google search at some point, with the word ‘sustainable’ on the tips of everyone's tongues nowadays, and with good reason too!

The fashion industry loves to tell you what you absolutely have to do: wear this t-shirt; buy that skirt, pair that dress with those boots. It is very easy to fall into the consumerism trap without thinking about the production process, especially with cheap, fast fashion brands being thrown at you from every direction, trying to pull you in.

With our precious planet at the tipping point of a climate crisis, we have a few years to turn this around and we all want to know how to really make a difference when it comes to our purchases and how it may affect our environment.

As we are a sustainable business ourselves, we want to help answer some of these questions using our own insight into the subject.

Why should you from Sustainable Brands?

Did you know that there’s a plastic island three times the size of France in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that keeps growing year after year? This is a major threat to the many marine residents that populate these waters.

And the UK alone creates an estimate of 206 456 tons of textiles waste per year! Whilst the fast fashion industry 92 million tons of waste and consumes 79 trillion litres of water per year

We want to bring an end to throw away culture and sustainable brands strive to create good quality pieces made with materials that have less of a harmful impact on the world and produce a product that’ll last the buyer a lifetime.

Another issue that sustainable companies are trying to combat is employees in manufacturing factories being given basic human rights and pay. The fast fashion industry, not only are they the trail blazers for throw-away culture but they are contributing to a huge issue of human rights being overlooked when it comes to the people who make their garments.

We took the time to search and visit the factories in Bali, where our swimwear is made, to find somewhere which treats their employees amazingly. This was the most important thing for us as well as our products, being 100% sustainable.

At the facility we use, the staff are given health insurance for themselves and their families, paid well (over minimum wage), fully air-conditioned working environment on par with any western establishment, and given the option for overtime, where they get paid extra. While all these aspects seem extremely basic most fast fashion houses do not meet these standards, not even close to it.

Why should you put thought into your swimwear choices?

Swimwear made of synthetic materials has a harmful impact on our already dwindling natural resources. 

“Swimwear is usually made from petroleum oil-based synthetic materials which is problematic for several reasons, including the fact that oil is a rapidly depleting natural resource, which can cause environmental pollution during extraction and fibre production and it also does not biodegrade at the end of its life," explains Harriet Vocking, Chief Brand Officer at Eco-Age

Not only is there a decline in natural resources, these synthetic fibres are generally not biodegradable and once these fabrics touch the water, they release micro-fibres into the environment - whether that is the ocean or your at home washing machine, these micro plastic find their way back into the food chain and into marine life. Yes, this means we have micro-plastic in our food and in our water!

What is sustainable swimwear made out of?

 

Sustainable swimwear can be made in so many ways now, days, which is phenomenal!

All our swimwear and active wear is made using REPREVE; a fabric made from 100% recycled ocean-bound plastic bottles. Unlike virgin fibre, making, REPREVE emits less greenhouse gases, and conserves water and energy in the process.  

Other methods are:

- Hemp; which is a natural material and the plant itself takes only 1/4 the amount of water to grow cotton, yet produces 250% more fibre. Not to mention the fabric provided provides an excellent UV block (as does Repreve) to give you peace of mind when enjoying long summer days in the sun.

- ECONYL®; A regenerated nylon that turns waste into fashion. It is exactly the same as brand new nylon and can be recycled over and over again. We also use this fabric for the vibrant linings of our swimwear.

If you want to learn more about Fast Fashion and our ethos, check out our other blog post: 

The Bigger Picture: Fast Fashion

Tide + Seek | Our Ethics