Looking for the best eco friendly swimwear for your holidays? Look no more!
By Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
How would you define eco friendly swimwear?
Hmm. There are many takes on this.
Most people would immediately say it would involve organic materials, such as hemp or organic cotton. But here’s the thing. If you wear swimwear made out of 100% organic cotton or hemp, it gets soaked. Sags. And possibly falls right off. Especially if you are swimming!
Unfortunately, if you want your suit to keep its form and stay on your body, you will need some kind of synthetic, such as nylon or elastic.
So what’s the most ecological way to obtain those materials? Through recycling, of course!
The only problem? When washed, these materials DO shed microparticles of plastics. We’re not gonna deny that. But the sad reality is that most recycled plastic ends up being a product that doesn’t get much use. Think: plastic bags or packaging. After all that effort, all that recycled plastic just gets thrown away after one use.
So it seems to us to be a wonderful idea to create something much more long lasting from discarded synthetic materials. Something like…swimwear!
From Waste To Wow
Luckily today, there are loads of stylish, sexy brands using not only recycled plastic bottles, but also nylon fishing nets, carpets and other recyclable textiles to create sleek, sexy eco friendly swimwear for every body type.
These brands are helping to clean up the oceans (many actually upcycle ocean waste in their creations) to bring eco friendly swimwear to the masses.
But that’s not all! Eco friendly swimwear brands today are also using upcycled and recycled fabrics. Think: bits of material that would otherwise go to landfill. They’re also using sustainable materials like organic cotton and linen, too!
From the teeniest, weeniest bikinis to outfits that are a bit more modest, here I’ve selected what some of the best sustainable swimwear options for any beach holiday, any time, anywhere. I have rated them by price:
Low: up to $100 Medium: $100-$150 High: Over $150
Now grab your basket bag, SPF, and enjoy the gorgeous weather!
The Best Eco Friendly Swimwear For Your 2023 Holidays
1. Camilla
Australian artist and designer Camilla Franks created costumes for theatre before launching her gorgeous clothing brand. Defined by vibrant colour, digital prints and meticulous detailing, the beach and lifestyle collections are infused with stories and adventures from her own travels.
She makes all her swimwear from ECONYL, a fabric made from rescued fishing nets. Which means, of course, less ocean plastic pollution. Yay!
Why we love it: This is a seriously posh looking swimsuit. So much so, you could easily wear this as a top. Just add jeans, shorts or a skirt. We love the multi-functionality of this!
Fabrics: ECONYL, elastane.
Price range: High
Available: Pretty much worldwide
2. Koru Swimwear
When two friends decided to make eco friendly swimwear from rubbish (including discarded fishing lines, carpet fluff and plastic bottles), a beautiful idea was born: Koru Swimwear.
Given the essential role upcycling plays in the business, it’s rather appropriate that the word Koru means “new growth, strength and peace” in Maori.
The eco friendly swimwear brand also uses only bulk dyed fabric processed without water waste or pollution, ensuring the oceans are kept as pristine as possible.
Why we love it: Koru also offers a capsule range of sustainable summer clothing and jewellery. They also make perfect sustainable swimwear for sports and surfing. These suits won’t fall off, guaranteed!
Fabrics: ECONYL, recycled carpets
Price range: Medium
Available: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, UK
3. Mara Hoffman
This designer creates not only eco friendly swimwear, but loads of other clothing that’s perfect for summer. Though she’s best known for her colourful bathing suits, Mara Hoffman also creates the most gorgeous, floaty summer dresses, jumpsuits, kaftans, tops, shorts and beach cover-ups, too.
Why we love it: No matter if it’s a bathing suit, kaftan or top, Mara Hoffman ensures her creations are naturally dyed, and 100% vegan friendly, too.
Fabrics: Recycled fabrics, ECONYL
Price range: high
Available: Pretty much worldwide
4. Faithful The Brand
Want to help artisans in Indonesia? Faithfull The Brand is based there. And each piece they make is hand-dyed, printed and sewn by fairly paid local artisans.
FTB’s collections are rooted in the spirit of travel over time and the planet. That’s why many of the patterns are inspired by fabrics collected from vintage markets all over the world.
What we love: The brand doesn’t just make swimwear! Check out all of their awesome garments, all of which are made ethically and sustainably. You’ll find breezy summer dresses, tops, pants and more.
Fabrics: ECONYL, elastane.
Price range: High
Available: Pretty much worldwide
5. Manakai
Manakai Swimwear is Maui’s first high-fashion, low-impact, made-in-America swimwear brand created from regenerated nylon. Their newest collection uses an eco-friendly techno fabric made with ECONYL ®, a 100% regenerated nylon fibre made from fishing nets and other waste that is polluting the maritime world.
Why we love it: What we love even more is that many of these eco friendly swimwear designs is actually two in one! Just turn it inside-out and you have a whole new outfit! Plus, we love how Manakai collaborates with artists. For example, their She’s One of a Kind collection was designed in conjunction with Cosmic Collage to make awesome art on their swimwear.
Fabrics: ECONYL
Price range: Medium to high
Available: Worldwide
6. Vitamin A Swimwear
Vitamin A produces eco friendly swimwear that can best be described as the water-ready equivalent of Audrey Hepburn’s classic Little Black Dress. In fact, the brand has created what it calls the “Little Black Bikini”. This is no ordinary swimsuit: its seams lie flat against the skin, avoiding unsightly bulges and ‘elastic tattoos.’
Why we love it: This is one of the pioneering brands in eco friendly swimwear. The founder designed the brand’s main fabric herself: EcoLux™ — the first premium swim fabric made from recycled nylon fibers.
Since then, the company has incorporated several more sustainable high-performance fabrics along with eco-conscious textiles like organic cotton, linen, recycled cotton and Tencel®. All materials are certified to meet the global Oeko-Tex standard for safe textiles.
Fabrics: EcoLux™, Tencel®, organic cotton, linen and recycled materials.
Price range: Medium to high
Available: Worldwide
7. Peony Swimwear
Australian label Peony is named after the bloom that signals the beginning of summer. Known for its classic shapes, soft colours and exclusive prints, the brand uses recycled and regenerated fabrics for its swimsuits. Their fabrics are all durable and strong, with increased shape retention.
Why we love it: This is one seriously sexy eco friendly swimwear brand for women who are proud of their curves! We adore their retro styles the most.
Fabrics: Recycled polyesters, elastane, nylon and other materials.
Price range: Medium to low
Available: Worldwide
8. Bare Beach
This extraordinary sustainable swimwear brand came up with the idea of recycling plastic bottles and transforming them into fashionable eco friendly swimsuits that glorify the female silhouette. The eco-conscious label is making a difference in the marine world, where waste – especially plastic – is an increasingly large issue. Even the brand’s shipping policies are eco-friendly, since their packaging uses EcoEnclose, produced from 100% recycled content.
Why we love it: Bare Beach is a PETA approved brand, which is great. It’s also ethically made in the USA
Fabrics: Bamboo, recycled materials
Price range: Low
Available: USA/Canada
9. Vanilla Sand
This eco friendly swimwear brand, founded by Corinna Dickenbrok with the intent of promoting slow fashion, supports family-owned production chains, ensuring integrity and transparency. Of course, fair wages are always paid to its workers. And the health of the planet is always in the mind of Dickenbrok when she creates her styles.
For example? Vanilla Sand proudly uses natural materials like organic cotton, and also employs recycled materials, such as those made from reused fish nets and PET bottles.
What we love: The brand plants a tree in the Amazon for every purchase.
Fabrics: Recycled materials, organic cotton.
Price range: Low to medium
Available: Worldwide
10. Remnant Bikinis
Instead of creating more synthetic fabrics, this eco friendly swimwear brand has chosen to upcycle existing nylon. Specifically, they use ghost fishing nets, ocean-bound plastic and textile remnants. The result? High-quality, soft, sustainable fabrics, out of which their sustainable bikinis are made.
By recycling already existing nylon, they do two great things. First, they avoid creating more nylon and further filling our landfills. Secondly, they are also able to clean up the oceans and save natural resources that are required in production of virgin nylon, like water and oil.
What we love: Each item is made ethically in Bali. Remnant’s seamstresses receive double the minimum wage, free health insurance, and work in a happy family-like environment.
Fabrics: Recycled materials.
Price range: Low
Available: USA/Canada
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