What is sustainable swimwear? (And why to make it your swimwear choice)

Sustainable swimwear has seen massive growth over the past few years as brands and consumers have started to become more conscious of the impacts that their choices have on our environment. The fashion industry is one of the biggest contributors of environmental pollution in the world, producing 10% of the global carbon emissions, so it's great to see the trend moving towards more eco-friendly practices. 

So, what is sustainable swimwear? And why is it a better choice over traditional swimwear? 

Have you ever stopped to consider what your bikinis are made from? Those little triangles that symbolise sun, salt, joy, and happiness? Traditional swimwear fabric is made from synthetic fibres like nylon and polyester... aka plastic! These fabrics are created from virgin yarns which use new plastics, further polluting the ecosystem with thousands of tons of extra plastics. They further devastate marine life as they shed non-biodegradable microplastics as you swim and when you wash them. Those microplastics end up being ingested by marine life, and also in turn by humans which is terrible for our health. Larger plastics that end up in the ocean are also responsible for killing a lot of marine life. The carbon emissions to produce these traditional swimwear fabrics are also much higher when compared to recycled swimwear.

Unfortunately natural fibres are just not up for the job of keeping us covered for our salty adventures as they absorb and retain water, becoming heavy. Synthetic fibres keep the shape against salt water, chlorine, heat from the sun, and they're quick dry.

Sustainable Swimwear is a great solution to the problems created by traditional fabrics. Sustainable swimwear is produced using recycled yarns made from products like water bottles, fishing nets, and other plastic waste. This helps to clean out some of the estimated 8 million metric tonnes of plastic that enters the ocean every year and regenerate some the the waste that would otherwise end up in landfill, and waterways polluting the Earth.

Compared to traditional fabrics, using recycled swimwear fabric saves 70,000 barrels of crude oil for every 10,000 tonnes of fabric produced and avoids 57, 100 tonnes of CO2 eq. emissions. No waste, no new resources. Just bikinis for a cleaner ocean. 

Sustainable swimwear made from recycled fabric is also longer lasting than traditional swimwear fabrics, so you can love your swimwear for longer and need to replace them less often. This further reduces waste.

Some sustainable swimwear labels (like us) are also slow fashion brands. This means small production runs are done, limiting the amount of stock produced at a time. This limits wastage in the production process and ensures that your sustainable swimwear is not coming out of a big unethical factory. 

To ensure the swimwear you are buying is truly sustainable always check websites for more information to ensure they are from recycled plastics. Some brands using the term "sustainable swimwear" are unfortunately not using eco-friendly fabrics, but purely following slow fashion production, or plastic free packaging. Also check that both the external fabric and lining are recycled as some only use recycled fabric for the outside half of the product. 

The most notable yarn manufacturers specializing in recycled fabrics are Carvico Vita, from Italy made from ECONYL®, and REPREVE from the US. They ensure their yarns & fabrics are certified by GRS (Global Recycled Standard), Oeko-Tex, and U Trust.

With this rise in sustainable swimwear there is now a wide range made from eco-friendly recycled materials. So whether you are looking for surf friendly shapes, minimal bikinis, or a full coverage swimsuit, you can find sustainable swimwear for your beach body to love.  
 

Shop Yindi & Salts range of Australian sustainable swimwear here.
Reversible bikinis, one pieces & surf suits made from ECONYL®
Designed for the sun, surf, and women with an adventurous soul.