In search of sustainable swimwear after I quit fast fashion

Image from here.

Late 2019, after years and years of anxiety and awareness about the sustainability and human rights issues of the clothing industry, I finally did it: I quit fast fashion.

For almost a year now, I’ve not bought any fast fashion items. Not a single pair of pants, underwear, socks, sweaters, shirts, dresses, shoes, hats or gloves from your cheap main street stores or even cheaper online shops.

Every single new item I’ve purchased has either been

• second hand
• locally produced
• locally owned
• created from sustainable materials.

If the company was locally owned (in New Zealand or if must, Australia) but items manufactured abroad, the business would closely monitor production overseas and/or donate all its profits to charity.

If you asked me a year and a half ago, I would have said it’s impossible to fully refuse non-ethical clothing items. That there is no way you can find socks and underwear, not to mention shoe and swimwear, from a sustainable seller. I now know better and call bullsh*t on my past self.

But, refusing fast fashion requires two things that not everyone has: time and dedication.

It ain’t cheap

If you’re going to upscale for ethical products where all people involved in the process get a liveable salary from their work, the price of the product is naturally going to increase. There’s no way around it: we are simply too used to expecting fashion to be dirt-cheap. We ignore* that our cheap items come at a direct cost of child-labour, human rights violations and destructive practices for local environments — somewhere else than our home. (*I use the word ignore, as in 2020 it would be a blatant lie to say we weren’t aware of these practices!). Unless you buy second hand, the struggle with sustainable shopping will always be its high price.

The cost of ethical

Unfortunately, the cost of ethical put lots of people off and creates an elitist bubble around ‘sustainable shopping’. This really bothers me, and I hope that the movement can expand beyond the white middle and upper-middle-class hipsters. For that to happen, however, I think regulative bodies need to be more strict on what kind of products are ok to be sold (eg — imagine if we were only allowed to redistribute products which manufacturing process doesn't create human rights violations?! Or if the big international corporations would take responsibility for their actions?!).

In the meantime, much of sustainable purchasing falls on the responsibility of the eco-oriented middle-class. Those who are comfortable enough to pay the extra $ for the sake of other people and the planet. I think that as (white) middle-class it is our responsibility to make sustainable choices.

If we’re not going to do it, who else will?

Do your research

Of course, the shopping world is also full of greenwashers. Those who use green as a branding strategy but once you reach out to the company requesting to see their sustainability policy, the communications department goes suddenly silent. Take the time to do your research and email companies to ask about their policies. You might even come across some positive surprises, sometimes companies are really trying hard even if it’s not displayed on the website.

In search of a swimsuit

One thing that I’ve not yet made up my mind on is swimsuits. I really try my best to buy local (ie within New Zealand or from Australia at a max distance). But there are a lot of companies and decision making is sometimes hard! To create some clarity for my own head I’ve created a list of local sustainable swimwear providers:

Nisa

• Wellington owned & produced. Reversible swimwear made from ECONYL, a regenerated nylon fibre.
• Nisa is an intimates label that employs women from refugee backgrounds in Wellington, NZ.

Aurai Swim

• Based in Auckland, Aurai Swim produces its products in the owner's hometown in Brazil. It’s committed to the ‘who made my clothes’ chain and has a beautiful (and big!) selection of all types of swimwear.

Saltysea

• A beautiful activewear brand based in Auckland committed to being kind to Mother Earth.
• Swimsuit selection also includes options for men.

Salt Label

• Uses regenerated Italian fabrics using ECONYLⓇ yarn which is made from the highest quality fabrics derived from 100% regenerated materials.
• Lots of elegant styles in the selection.

Thunderpants

• The most comfortable underwear company ever — so I’d imagine their swimsuits fit in the same category!

Gemma Lee suits

• Quirky and colourful, surf and swim!

Kowtow

• Synchronising aesthetics and ethics, Kowtow’s sustainable swimwear is made from ECONYL® regenerated nylon. I understand the products are made in China in ethical conditions.

These are the top sustainable shops that I’ve found. I’m sure there are some brands that I’ve missed, if you hear of one, please let me know?! Until that, I’m in for a decision-making process…

If you’re interested in this topic, see my other post about sustainable online shopping in Aotearoa also.

Thank you for reading! x