Sustainable Swimwear Fabrics to Elevate Your Brands
For many years, fabrics like polyester and nylon have become the norm in the swimwear industry. Even though these fabrics continue to perform well, people nowadays are considering sustainable fabric options as consumer behaviors are beginning to change. Recently, many great sustainable swimwear fabrics have been rising in popularity.
Being a Mindful Swim Brand Owner
The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry worldwide, just behind the oil industry, which ranks first. The average life of a garment in the UK is around 2 years. Therefore, an estimated $170 million worth of clothing ends up in landfill every year.
This throwaway culture means shops and brand owners must constantly create new designs to fulfill the current demand. Third-world countries such as Bangladesh produce huge amounts of stock for extremely little, prioritizing low prices over workers’ rights.
This is where you can come in as an innovative brand owner. There are many changes in the fashion industry today and it’s easier than ever to create your collection with sustainable materials.
Customers demand ethical clothes, so it’s important to start innovating and using the best fabrics to promote sustainability and innovation without compromising style.
Partner with Sustainable Manufacturing
Most swimsuits on the market are made from synthetic materials, and it isn’t hard to see why. Synthetic fabrics have qualities that let the products have the necessary durability and stretch along with resistance to saltwater, chlorine and sunlight.
However, synthetic fabrics come at a cost for the environment as they require massive amounts of energy and petroleum for their production. The process also creates non-biodegradable waste.
Fortunately, due to the advancement of recycled and generated materials, it’s possible to create high-performance swimwear that’s still sustainable. Innovative systemic fabrics are beginning to emerge, creating new life from materials that would’ve gone to waste and reducing demand for petroleum.
Here are some examples of eco-friendly and sustainable fabrics:
- Econyl
- Repreve
- Recycle Polyester
Econyl
Econyl is a trendy brand of sustainable fabric for swimwear and a good reason. The product is made from regenerated nylon collected from landfills and oceans worldwide.
Interestingly, the main nylon materials collected to make Econyl are carpets, clothing and even nets from fishermen!
Repreve
This is one of the most innovative sustainable swimwear fabrics. Repreve is a unique material made from recycled plastic bottles and turns them into usable fibers. Today, some of the biggest global brands use it to create athletic wear, fashion apparel and swimwear.
Reprieve is also known for its durability and reliability due to the fabric’s adaptive warming, wicking, cooling and water-repellency qualities. Repreve also emits fewer greenhouse gasses during production and conserves less energy and water.
Recycle Polyester
The next fabric is recycled polyester, which is made of 100% recycled polyester from pre & post-consumer materials like plastic bottles.
It’s a sustainable swimmer fabric option perfect for transfer printing and available in many great colors. Recycled Polyster is great for creating swimwear (and activewear) resistant to things like sunscreen lotions and chlorine.
Always,
Your Bali Swim Team
