TRANSITION — The Intention Behind the Collection

We live in a time full of transitions, changes and upheavals. The fact that we urgently need sustainable improvements in climate policy will hopefully remain firmly anchored in the minds of politicians and society, thanks to the relentless protests of the Fridays for Future demonstrations.

Did you know that by 2019 we had produced more than 6.2 billion tonnes of plastic waste? Even today, just 14% of plastic waste is recycled, 40% of it ends up in landfills and 14% is incinerated. The remaining 32% ends up in the environment, in the seas and other bodies of water, or is dumped or burned in an uncontrolled way.1

Worldwide, still only 14% of plastic waste is recycled.

The issue of marine pollution, its impact on the climate and, above all, the protection of the seas is close to our hearts. We don't just want to make surf bikinis, because for us the seas are more than a wave to surf on. When developing and designing our swimwear, we therefore stick to our 3R principles: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. 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. On our sustainability page you can read more about our materials and our vision.

With this year's Aesthetics collection, Transition, we go one step further and place it entirely under the banner of sustainability. As designers, we believe in the power and potential of good product design and want to use it to draw maximum attention to this issue and keep the conversation alive.

Let's be honest — how nice would it be if we could fill our everyday lives and collections solely with summer, sun and an easy surf lifestyle. But the facts speak a different language: on every square kilometre of ocean surface there are up to 18,000 different pieces of plastic floating around. The sad consequence is that more than 135,000 marine mammals die every year, and as many as 1 million seabirds lose their lives because of it.2

The colourfully shimmering film of oil on a water surface served as the inspiration for creating the "Transition" print — © Monclair Rowing

We made a conscious decision not to leave this out, and to let our colour palette strike a more melancholic tone this time. With our print in particular, we want to take up different aspects of the topic and express our thoughts on marine pollution: derived from the colourfully shimmering films of oil on the water's surface, the muted, merging wave forms were created. Waves into which brownish and yellowish tones blend — tones that ultimately don't belong in the depths and expanses of the oceans and thus symbolise their pollution.

But in the waves, with their various shades and nuances, we also see the power of the earth. A power we want to use to keep fighting and to look to the future with hope: we have to give our seas a breather! Researchers have found that within as little as 30 years, many marine habitats can recover almost completely.3

The collection is a constant reminder that the diversity of nature can't be taken for granted. Become an ambassador too by telling the story behind your Oy bikini, raising more awareness and attention for this issue and carrying the conversation out into the world.

Take action, tell the story behind your Oy bikini and help strengthen society's awareness of our environment.

Find out about initiatives in your town and region and sign petitions. How about a beach clean-up on your next holiday? But the little park around the corner from you can be cleaned up any time, too.

For every product sold from the Transition collection, we donate 1 CHF/€ to the initiative cleanoceanproject.org

1 PLASTIKATLAS 2019 – Daten und Fakten über eine Welt voller Kunststoff, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung und Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland, 2. Auflage, Juli 2019.
2 NABU – Müllkippe Meer – Plastikmüll und seine tödlichen Folgen (4/21)
3 Duarte, C.M., Agusti, S., Barbier, E. et al. Rebuilding marine life. Nature 580, 39–51 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2146-7