Deep Dive into Sustainability

The textile industry is considered one of the most environmentally harmful industries of all. A garment's impact on the environment arises along its entire life cycle: from raw-material extraction and fibre production through processing and trade to use and disposal. And we mustn't forget transport and packaging either.

Every year, the global textile industry is responsible for releasing 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. That is more than the emissions of international air travel and ocean shipping combined. Up to one kilo of chemicals is needed to produce one kilo of textiles. Many of these substances are hard to break down and end up in wastewater and ultimately in the sea. The good news is that awareness of sustainability in fashion has slowly arrived. 65% of consumers want to buy longer-lasting products in the future.

As a producing brand, we are always caught in a conflict between consumption and sustainability. We want to burden the environment as little as possible while still selling our products. As a brand, we therefore see it as our task to keep inspiring and leading by example, especially when it comes to sustainability. We are always on the lookout for new, innovative materials that are ideally based on natural raw materials, or at least don't rely on petroleum-based resources. Our wish and goal is to make products that burden nature as little as possible while still being high-performing and offering the functionality needed for surfing.

Last year we had the pleasure and honour of contributing to a master's thesis that examined the environmental impact of swim and surf wear and the differences between the various materials. We are extremely grateful to be able to share our findings.

The impact of recycled materials

The most important aspect of functional swimwear is freedom of movement in the water. Among the key requirements are elasticity, a good fit, UV protection, durability and a fast drying time. For this reason, only fabrics made from synthetic fibres such as polyester (PES), polyamide (PA) – for example nylon – and elastane (EL) are used to make functional swimwear. With proper care they last a long time, and their production uses only small amounts of water. However, around 0.8% of the petroleum extracted each year is needed for the global production of synthetic fibres. Fibre production is energy-intensive and uses toxic chemicals. On top of that, textiles made from synthetic fibres shed microplastics when washed. Every year, 1.5 million tonnes of microplastics end up in the world's oceans. Check out the Guppyfriend: a washing bag for synthetic textiles that filters out microplastics. Using the bag reduces fibre loss when washing fully synthetic clothing by 86%.

Oy's decision to stop using materials based on freshly extracted petroleum has proven to be the right one, because the eco-balance shows that recycled polyamide or polyester has a 90% lower greenhouse potential than virgin material.

The impact of shorter transport routes

Depending on the country of production and the mode of transport, especially air or sea freight, fuel consumption is also a factor in the climate burden from CO2. To keep transport routes as short as possible, we moved our production site from Bali to Portugal. This way, our recycled yarn from Italy quickly reaches our production site, and the journey of the finished products to Switzerland and Germany is shortened too. This reduces our transport routes to a total of 6,500 km. Just for comparison: the flight distance between Zurich and a production site in Bali alone would already be more than twice as long.

The impact of washing correctly

On average, a bikini is washed 15 times a year. For the sake of the environment and the product, the number of washes should be reduced to 5 per year. Assuming a bikini is worn for 5 years, that would add up to a total of 25 washes. In addition, standard electricity should be replaced with green electricity. The biggest savings from these two measures were achieved in water pollution (-28.2%) and greenhouse potential (-14.8%). Reducing washes from 15 to 5 per year minimises the environmental impact over the five-year use phase by -66.7%, and choosing green electricity by a further -9.4%.

The impact of a second life cycle

You no longer want your old swimsuit, even though it's still in good shape. How does the overall balance change if you resell or give it away instead of throwing it out? The savings benefit the global warming potential almost 100%, since the bikini would otherwise be incinerated.

Let's do another quick run-through of the simplest measures for improving your personal impact on the environment:

• Buy less, but choose more sustainable and longer-lasting products
• Wash less and use a Guppyfriend
• Use green electricity. Resell or give away your old clothes instead of throwing them out
• AND: read and talk about sustainability to raise general awareness