Swimming doesn’t seem like an activity that needs much greening. A swimsuit and a body of water pretty much does the job (and some beaches only require half that). If you’re not swimming in your birthday suit, however, chances are you’re wearing some sort of synthetic blend that took all kinds of energy and resources to produce.
Conventional swimsuits are almost always made from synthetic fibers. The top sellers from swim giant Speedo contain spandex and either nylon or petroleum-based polyester. But before you resort to skinny dipping, eco-conscious swimwear options are popping up all over, offering natural fibers and recycled materials. The star of this new eco-class? Polyester made from recycled plastic bottles.
Last year, surf photographer and swim wear designer Aaron Chang introduced his first eco-friendly collection. The fashionable swim suits are all made from recycled plastic bottles, which eliminates the waste of discarding the bottles and making new polyester. Other cover-ups and tee-shirts in the collection are made from 100 percent organic cotton, which employs more sustainable growing methods than traditional cotton farming and significantly reduces pesticides. The suits themselves are gorgeous, but you might have a tough time finding them outside of California.
Knitwear goddess Ashley Paige is another purveyor of sustainable swimwear. Her hand-knit bikinis are equal parts stunning and expensive, but they support Paige’s animal rescue charity Ruff Houzen, making it well worth the cost.
Even swimwear giant Speedo has supposedly jumped on the green bandwagon, releasing its eco-friendly Wellbeing collection this year. In December, Speedo announced that the collection would be made from renewable resources and cost less energy to produce than petroleum-based fabrics, although the line doesn’t appear to have turned up yet. Speedo also greened up its packaging last year, removing all plastic from its eyewear boxes.
Aside from these big names, there are dozens of other green swimwear vendors out there, most of which use either organic cotton or recycled polyester to take the place of synthetics. But those are by no means the only solutions. Other suits are made from silk, bamboo, soy, and recycled materials from denim to speed skating suits. A simple way to find green suits is to go through green retailers, like BTC Elements or green is black.
So before you head poolside or get beach-bound this summer, think about what goes into that itsy-bitsy bikini in your drawer and consider going au naturale⎯whatever that means to you.
