September 14, 2022 Wazoodle Support

Everything You Need to Know About Choosing Sustainable Swimwear Fabric

When shopping for swimwear, have you ever considered a sustainable swimwear fabric option? Whether you pick out your swimwear at the store or sew it yourself, you can make eco-friendly choices that make a positive environmental impact.

The most common choices for swimwear are synthetic fibers like nylon, polyester, and spandex. And while these fabrics come with excellent wicking properties and easily stretch across the whole body, they are not biodegradable.

But how can you know what is biodegradable and sustainable? That’s what we’re here for and what today’s blog covers. Sustainable swimwear fabric is exactly what you need in your wardrobe.

The Problem with Plastic

As mentioned earlier, plastic is a common fabric used to make bathing suits. Plastic has many derivatives, such as nylon, polyester, and spandex. While these derivatives aren’t bad in and of themselves, they’re non-biodegradable, meaning they’ll last hundreds of years in a landfill without breaking down. It’s much better to use plastic in combination with other biodegradable fabrics or to stick with biodegradable fabrics.

Non-biodegradable swimwear won’t harm your body, but it will harm the environment if you’re not very careful about how you shop or what materials you use to make your own swimwear.

When a non-biodegradable fabric lands in the trash, it ultimately ends up in a landfill, where it will rot for hundreds of years since natural organisms can’t break down non-biodegradable fabrics. The longer the fabric sits in a landfill, the greater the chance of it contributing to leachate, a toxic chemical that gets released into the atmosphere.

That’s why sticking to biodegradable fabrics is better for the environment. Sustainable swimwear fabrics can break down into carbon dioxide, water vapor, and organic material, none of which will hurt the environment.

Easy, Eco-Friendly Steps You Can Take

Chances are, you have some non-biodegradable swimwear in your closet. And that’s okay! Most of us do.

The good news is that you can upcycle your swimwear instead of discarding it. So, even if your swimwear isn’t eco-friendly, you can still make eco-friendly choices to minimize its environmental impact.

Here are some ideas:

Keep wearing your current collection - We know it’s tempting to buy new bathing suits every season, but why not wear your collection again? Unless your swimwear doesn’t fit or has holes, you should be just fine. The longer you make your swimwear collection last, the less time it has to rot in a landfill or land in the ocean.
Donate your clothes or sell them online - Instead of tossing old swimwear, why not upcycle? You can take your clothes to a local donation store, a secondhand store that will give you a little cash for them, or even sell them in an online app.
Shop second hand - Just like donating your clothes or selling them for someone else to wear second hand, you can also shop second hand.
Buy eco-friendly brands - Buying eco-friendly brands means avoiding brands trying to greenwash you. These brands will claim their swimwear is sustainable when it’s really not.
Get a microfiber filter - One of the problems with synthetic fibers is the microplastics that shed from the fabric over time. You can combat this problem by installing a washing machine filter that catches the microplastics and keeps them out of waterways.
Buy from small businesses - It’s easy to order online or drop by a major retailer to get the latest styles for your wardrobe. But did you know that shopping from eco-friendly small businesses is more eco-friendly?
It’s true. The carbon footprint is a lot smaller when small batches of swimwear are made. But you don’t just want to shop at any small business. You want to find the ones with eco-friendly options. You can find a local shop or find a small business online. Try googling “sustainable swimwear” or “eco-friendly bathing suit” to get started.
Purchase sustainable fabric to make your own swimwear - If you’re handy with a sewing machine, you might choose to make your own swimwear with eco-friendly fabric.

Sustainable Swimwear Fabrics

The most eco-friendly fabric you can purchase is a fabric that’s already been recycled. Using recycled fabric gives it a second life and allows it to be used for longer before it’s eventually biodegraded.

Repreve by Unifi does just that. Repreve takes plastic bottles from landfills and oceans and turns them into recycled chips, which can then be turned into fibers for various uses. Wazoodle Fabrics features fibers from Repreve in our ReInspire line.

ReInspire provides sustainable fabric choices that will work well for your next bathing suit, whether it’s for you or your business. Some ReInspire fabrics come with a dozen recycled bottles in a single yard. All ReInspire fabrics are eco-friendly and made of recycled materials.

Not only is the fabric sustainable and biodegradable, but many of our options are waterproof and feature Lycra, providing you with the same benefits as your traditional bathing suit.

We recommend the following fabrics:

Get Your Fabric from Wazoodle Fabrics.

Are you eager to pick sustainable swimwear fabric to reduce your carbon footprint and contribute to worldwide eco-friendly efforts? We’re all in this together to save Mother Nature! Every little bit makes a difference.

You can easily search our website for fabrics by selecting the Fabric Finder and choosing End Uses. Bathing suits are near the top, and so are all of your options.

Even if you don’t use our Repreve and ReInspire fabrics, you’ll still be making an eco-friendly choice since all our fabrics are 100% eco-friendly, made in the USA, and free of harmful chemicals and toxic finishes.

Have questions? Unsure of which fabric to try? We offer 4x4 swatches so you can start small, along with customer service if you need any help! Get started with Wazoodle Fabrics today!

Sources:

Treehugger

Filed in: Swimwear Fabric

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