Bristol Direct Local Weekly Magazine 20th - 27th May 2021

Sustainable Swimsuit Options To Dive Into In 2021 Synthetic, moisture-friendly fabrics can either be made from virgin (new) petroleum-based materials or ones that already exist and have been broken down and spun into yarn.

Recycled yard cuts down on the need for raw That's because our swimmers need to repel materials to be extracted from the earth and, water, so they can't be made from cotton, hemp, or any other plant-based fabric that will depending on where their plastic material is absorb moisture (though a few small design- retrieved from, they keep plastic waste out of ers are now experimenting with crochet suits the landfill or ocean. made from natural yarns).

These two recycled fabrics are the most comInstead, swimsuits are often made from nylon mon in swimwear: (also known as polyamide) or polyester—two of the worst fabrics for the environment due to ECONYL: Made from nylon recovered from old fishing nets, fabric scraps, or other the amount of water, chemicals, and energy forms of industrial waste that goes into them and their lack of biodegradability.

Repreve: Made from recycled plastic materials, including plastic bottles These synthetic fibers also leech tiny pieces of microplastics when they are agitated or If sustainability is important to you, you'll also come in contact with water (so, any time we want to buy from a company that is transpargo for a swim or do laundry). ent about its supply chain. Using recycled materials isn't enough: A truly environmentally Microplastics can now be found throughout friendly company will treat its garment workers our oceans, and while their long-term effects fairly, pay them a living wage, and provide on aquatic life are unknown, "the plastic them safe working conditions. becomes a platform for concentrated pollutants, which would otherwise be diluted in the water" marine microplastics researcher Dimitri Takings steps to reduce and offset carbon emissions, running operations on renewable Deheyn, Ph.D., previously told mbg of their energy, and shipping in recyclable or biodepotential risks. gradable packaging are added bonuses for swimwear brands.

Barring some major innovations, our swimsuits are going to shed plastic for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, we can at least Based on these criteria, the following companies are leading the way in earthopt for ones made from recycled materials. friendly suits this year: 4 First of all, you should know that it's a lot easier to find a sustainable T-shirt or hoodie than it is a sustainable suit.