Suits you — and the planet: FEMAIL picks out the best eco swimwear for this season
- FEMAIL shared advice for buying swimwear from eco-conscious fashion labels
- She advises swimming in natural fibres or recycled or regenerate plastic fabrics
- Includes a selection of sophisticated and womanly swimsuits available in stores
When it comes to its environmental impact, swimwear isn’t great. In fact, it’s pretty bad.
The trouble is, the more aquadynamic a fabric is — letting you slide through water easily — the more plastic it contains, as fabrics that use plastic repel water and thus decrease friction. In other words, while you may feel as though you’re coated in the scales of a mermaid, you’re actually wearing something that takes centuries to biodegrade.
So, what to do? Well, you can try going swimming in natural fibres if you like — lockdown boredom did throw up some adventurous knitted and crocheted designs on Instagram — but the bagging and sagging will be an issue.
As your Victorian ancestors, who wore woollen bathing suits, would attest, the fabric stretches and has a tendency to reveal more than you intended as you emerge from the briny depths.
The only commercially viable solution for eco-conscious fashion labels, therefore, is to recycle or regenerate plastic fabrics. Recycling means using the same fibres again. Regeneration means turning them into new fibres (ideally without taking more resources from the planet).
FEMAIL shared advice for buying swimwear from eco-conscious fashion labels. Anna Pursglove advises swimming in natural fibres or recycled or regenerated plastic fabrics. Pictured: Bikini top, £50, and bottoms, £60, fand wild.com (left) and Bustier swimsuit, £121, maison lejaby.com (right)
John Lewis’s Havana Bloom knot-front bandeau swimsuit (third from left) is a case in point. It isn’t completely recycled — comprising 82 per cent recycled nylon and 18 per cent elastane, which are both made from plastics — but it’s doing much better than many other styles in the same price bracket.
At Boden you can find designs made from Mipan, a planet-friendly yarn created by melting down recycled nylon using a chemical-free process. A perfect pick is this red colour-block swimsuit.
Further up the price scale, smaller labels are also thinking about how to make a big fashion splash — and a small environmental one — with their swimwear.
F & Wild, for instance, uses Econyl regenerated nylon to make its bandeau bikini (far left), as does Melissa Odabash with its white Torino swimsuit (far right). The latter also boasts an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of 50+.
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Maison Lejaby’s recycled yarns, meanwhile, are approved by Oeko-Tex, a network of independent institutes who certify planet-friendly leathers and textiles. Try the brand’s yellow bustier style.
Rixo’s founders say that not only are they producing swimwear from 100 per cent recycled materials, such as this cream and coral design (third from right) but they are also working with just a handful of suppliers in order to minimise the waste created by mass production.
So now that you’ve examined the eco-credentials of your purchase, just a word on the shapes and cuts of the summer. The excellent news here (for those of us who won’t be attempting the barely there, ultra-high-cut Brazilian style) is that they’re all sophisticated and womanly.
Think high-waisted briefs, underwired cups and retro detailing such as drawstrings and buttons. Flattering halter necks are also on trend, as are one-shouldered designs and cutaway silhouettes. Phew.
