And the award for GirlieGirl Army’s official choice for best bathing suit line of 2011 goes to EcoSwim. Reduce your carbon footprint in the sand with our favorite new brand of swimwear. These suits, unlike all of the other green lines we’ve tried, isn’t flimsy, unsupportive, and easy to pill. These are substantial, hold you in amazingly (like underwater spanx!) have chic style, and just happen to be green. There is basically no competition when it comes to a better eco-swim suit, and we have tried them all! The base fabric (Repreve Nylon) the linings, the trim components (grommets, zippers, snaps, etc.), and even the packaging and hangtags are all made from recycled materials. For the bra cups, the company uses Eco Cell foam, a biodegradable substance derived from plant oils and recycled materials. In the printing and dyeing process, the company uses Oeko-Tex-approved standards which mandate that water usage be minimized and only lower impact dyes be used. These standards also limit the concentrations of many toxic chemicals used in textile manufacture, from heavy metals to formaldehyde. The company uses both consumer and industrial waste to create their fabrics. Repreve actually reuses its own industrial waste in their production process to limit their use of natural resources. The company is unique in that their fabric is created from 100% recycled materials, meaning no raw materials are introduced in their production process. Plastic bottles and nylon are the main inputs in their fabric, but you’d never know that this high-quality material was created from discarded materials. That’s why the term is upcycling; in the process the materials are actually reformed into a more valuable substance.
Sold on the ethics? Now for the style – sexy but conservative enough for the more coy amongst us. Green done elegantly. Some may say, suits you’d wear to meet your future in-laws.
There are only a few weeks left of summer, and as any recessionista knows – it’s time buy our swimsuits on sale and stock up now for winter vaca! Find a EcoSwim retailer near you here. They will be available to purchase from online retailers in September, and we’ll keep you updated on that.
WIN IT! Enter for a chance to win your favorite EcoSwim Suit! (contest is now closed)
How to: Make sure you are a GirlieGirl Army subscriber, then enter by leaving a comment below. The darlings at EcoSwim will pick their favorite comment on August 25th – just in time for you to rock that new suit for Labor Day. Want extra points? Like our GirlieGirl Army Facebook Page AND show some love on EcoSwim’s Facebook Page too.