Our swimwear is recycled from PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic waste. PET plastic is what plastic bottles are made out of, as well as lots of food containers and textiles (clothes, carpets). If you see the number #1 printed on plastic, this is PET. It's the most common type of plastic and the most widely recycled.
The creation from plastic to swimsuit goes like this: plastic waste is sorted, then shredded into clean flakes. The flakes are melted, extruded and then spun into polyester yarn for our fabric. The amount of plastic that goes into making our swimwear is recorded by weight and is the equivalent of approximately 10 plastic bottles per swimsuit. The process is overseen by the GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certification, which you can read more about here.
Did you know that all swimwear is plastic? Polyester, nylon, spandex, elastane, lycra and neoprene are all synthetic fabrics. The difference is that our swimwear is made from recycled plastic that was headed to landfill rather than creating new plastic and adding to the approx 300 million tons that is produced every year.