Yes, that bathing suit Eryn Krouse is sporting is made entirely from recycled plastic water bottles. Photo: Lachlan Dempsey/JOLYN
Recycling is a funny thing, isn’t it? Here we are, all of us human beings sitting around on this planet, creating millions upon millions of pounds of… STUFF. Fidget spinners and television remotes and bottles that hold water and little boxes that hold food. All that stuff could be made into other stuff, but only if we’d all agree that recycling and upcycling is far better than creating more and more stuff until eventually, we all live on a giant trash mountain with a giant trash ocean lapping at its trashy shores. But thankfully, things seem to be shifting slightly and producers of all that stuff are realizing that they could be doing better. And at the forefront of that is JOLYN, a swimwear company that was originally founded for competitive swimmers and water polo players who wanted a suit that was a little less drab. Since then, they’ve expanded into the surfing world. Judging by the reviews on the JOLYN website, the brand is quickly becoming a favorite for surfers who want a suit that will stay on, which is generally a good thing. They’ve partnered with the Surfrider Foundation to make something really, really cool: a swimsuit created with fabric made from single-use plastic water bottles.
According to a 2017 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances, a whopping 90.5 percent of plastic waste has never been recycled. That’s somewhere in the realm of 6,300 million metric tons. The study estimated that 12 percent of all plastic waste has been burned and the other roughly 79 percent is simply piled up in a trash mountain or floating around in the natural environment, just waiting for something to choke on it, releasing harmful chemicals into the soil, groundwater, and just about everywhere else. So it’s important that instead of making more, more, more, we start using it in smarter ways. “The less virgin plastic produced,” JOLYN explained, “and the more we can prevent from ending up disposed of incorrectly, the less there is polluting our ocean and coasts.”
But how, exactly does one go about making a swimsuit — a functional, comfortable one at that — from a pile of old water bottles?
“It all starts with a recycling plant where they separate out bottles labeled with a #1 (a PET plastic) on the bottom, wash them real good, and chop them into little tiny bits,” JOLYN explained in a release. “From there, the tiny bits are melted into even tinier balls, and those balls are melted into a plasma, that is finally stretched into strong fibers that are then knit into recycled polyester swim fabric.”
PET, which stands for polyethylene terephthalate, is polyester. This, of course, is used in all sorts of clothing manufacturing, so it stands to reason that yes, a water bottle should become a swimsuit instead of joining the ranks of other discarded plastic water bottles.
Since JOLYN’s swimsuits are made from Foreverever fabric, they are fade-resistant, saltwater and chlorine proof, they stay put, and, as the name implies, last for a very long time. Foreverever fabric has a controlled stretch that keeps your fit consistent, and even the elastic is of the highest grade so it won’t stretch out or get bunched up. That means you can do all the things you love to do without fear of your suit ripping, thinning or sagging.
JOLYN’s partnership with the Surfrider Foundation is a perfect one. Since Surfrider is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves, and beaches through a powerful activist network, getting together with a brand that makes swimwear from something that is really bad for beaches makes a whole lot of sense.
Surfrider, as you likely are aware, does a lot for the places we enjoy the most. Chapters throughout the world organize beach cleanups, test water quality, and raise awareness surrounding general threats to our coastline. At the same time, they fight for policy changes that will result in long-lasting protection — which would ideally mean beach cleanups would cease to be necessary.
Now, you would be forgiven if you thought that a swimsuit made of plastic bottles might not be that comfortable. You would be forgiven, but you would be wrong. The recycled polyester isn’t any different from the polyester in the shirt you’re wearing right now. And best of all? By wearing one, you’re saving a little bit of plastic from ending up on that trash mountain or lapping at those trashy shores. And as we all know, every big thing is made from a whole bunch of little ones.
Editor’s Note: This piece was supported by our friends at JOLYN. See more from JOLYN here and follow them on Instagram.
