12 Sustainable Swimwear Brands You Can Dive Into
Summer means surf, salt, sunshine, and finding the best sustainable swimwear brands.
Between wedgie-giving one pieces and non-biodegradable bikinis, traditional swimwear doesn’t fit right—for us or the planet.
That’s why we’re diving into ethical swimwear with brands like Vitamin A, who blend recycled materials into sustainable swimsuits for all body types.
Kitty and Vibe goes deeper than utilizing recycled plastics with customizable butt and hip sizes.
While Natasha Tonić creates sustainable swimwear from UV-resistant hemp that can also be worn as ethical activewear.
Paddle to the end of the article to learn how we landed on these sustainable swim brands.
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QUICK LINKS FOR SUSTAINABLE SWIMWEAR
1. VITAMIN A
About Vitamin A
Vitamin A helps you get some Vitamin D, sustainably.
Grab your beach bag and fill it with some of the best sustainable swimsuits for women, in a huge variety of bikini styles and one pieces.
Vitamin A’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Vitamin A was born from a desire to utilize recycled plastic bottles. After fabric suppliers made it seem impossible, they created their own recycled fabric.
Enter: EcoLux™ fabric which is made from recycled nylon fibers and is blended with Xtra Life Lycra® to give it a long-lasting fit.
Some suits are also blended with TENCEL or natural fibers like linen, recycled cotton, and organic cotton.
All materials are certified safe by OEKO-TEX.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Their manufacturing partners in California and other global fair trade artisan partners adhere to the highest standards of environmental responsibility and workplace ethics.
Vitamin A regularly visits these locations.
Green business practices:
Vitamin A partners with Green Story to calculate the waste, emissions, and energy saved by their sustainable swimwear line—which they use to continue improving it.
Vertically integrated facilities mean many steps take place in one location in California, reducing the manufacturing carbon footprint.
Their environmentally sustainable swimwear comes in sustainable packaging such as recycled plastic mailers.
Inclusivity:
Their eco friendly swimwear range accommodates sizes 4 (XS) to 14 (DD or XXL) and uses inclusive modeling.
Community & charitable giving:
Vitamin A uses their 1% for the Planet pledge to support healthy seas and organizations who help clean them.
Available: Vitamin A
2. KITTY AND VIBE
About Kitty and Vibe
Kitty and Vibe exists to “awaken and fuel self-love for a kinder world.”
They’re doing all that by turning one woman’s trash into another woman’s treasure—AKA recycled plastic swimwear.
Their cheap sustainable swimwear comes in several classic cuts of bikinis, full coverage, and one piece options.
Kitty and Vibe’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Half of K&V’s swimwear is made from recycled polyester (82%). Their website makes it easy to find those made from recycled materials.
Supply chain & labor practices:
“Kitties” are ethically made in small batches in a family-owned Colombian factory, where workers receive above minimum wages, healthcare, and retirement plans.
Green business practices:
Holding an ISO 14001 certification for sustainable business practices, Kitty and Vibe’s sustainable packaging consists of 100% biodegradable bags.
Inclusivity:
Founder Cameron Armstrong always struggled with a tiny booty that meant a saggy bikini bottom.
That’s why she invented sizing for everybooty, accounting for waist AND butt. It runs XS-3XL.
Aside from offering plus size sustainable swimwear, their models are the most real we’ve seen in the world of ethical and sustainable swimwear.
Available: Kitty and Vibe
3. OUTERKNOWN
About Outerknown
Outerknown knows all about men’s swimwear and trunks.
The organic clothing company was started by surf legend Kelly Slater, after all.
Ladies, we know you can catch a wave just as well as the boys, so Outerknown’s offshoot Seea brand makes sustainable bathing suits, one pieces, rashguards, and wetsuits for you, too.
Check out their eco friendly sweatpants and sustainable hoodies for after the summer sun goes down.
Outerknown’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
We don’t love nylon fabric, but we do love ethical swimwear that uses recycled nylon made from recycled fishing nets.
Aside from Econyl fabric, some of Outerknown’s sustainable swimwear for men is made with 100% recycled polyester.
Seea’s eco friendly swimwear is made from Econyl fabric or Repreve® recycled polyester made from recycled plastic bottles.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Outerknown produces its sustainable swimsuits in a Fair Trade-certified factory.
Materials are sourced from the USA, Italy, France, Canada, Brazil, and China and all of their garments are ethically made within 70 miles of their San Clemente, CA headquarters.
Green business practices:
One of the best sustainable swimwear brands, Outerknown embraces the sustainability journey via their 2030 Sustainability Strategy.
So far, they’ve focused on garment circularity and renewable energy use.
With Seea, all women’s ethical swimwear can be responsibly recycled/repaired.
Inclusivity:
60% of African American children today can’t swim, compared to 30% of white children.
Seea wants to help change that by “diversifying the lineup” and making a short film about how the 1960s civil rights movement influenced surfing.
Men’s sizes 28-38; women’s sizes XS-L.
Community & charitable giving:
This sustainable swimwear brand regularly donates to healthy seas and ocean conservation efforts like the Ocean Conservancy.
Available: Outerknown
4. PEONY
About peony
peony is inspired by a life-long love affair with the ocean, which is what gave the sustainable swimwear brand its purpose.
This sustainable clothing brand is a global leader for luxury sustainable swimsuits for women, including one pieces and two pieces (bikinis, bralettes, bandeaus, and hi-pants).
peony Swimwear’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
peony’s eco friendly swimwear collection is made from recycled, sustainable fabrics that are OEKO-TEX approved.
For fun prints, they use Econyl fabric (made from recycled fishing nets). Textured fabrics are GRS-certified REPREVE®.
Even linings (often overlooked but are 50% of the total fabric content) are made from recycled content REPREVE.
Supply chain & labor practices:
This family-run Australian sustainable swimwear brand only works with BSCI and SA8000-approved suppliers in China, ensuring fair trade equivalent conditions.
Green business practices:
Wheat and cornstarch go into their version of a polybag, making their sustainable packaging backyard compostable.
Digital printing and AZO-free dyes further earn them a place among the best sustainable swimwear brands.
Inclusivity:
Sizes run from 6-14 (AU), or 2-10 (US).
Available: peony
5. SUMMERSALT
About Summersalt
Did someone say ethical swimsuits for under $100?!
For affordable sustainable swimwear, Summersalt’s fun prints and “Honest Pricing Always” will have you channeling their name with cash to spare for a post-swim ice cream cone.
The St. Louis-based sustainable brand offers maternity swimwear and sustainable swimwear for kids, too.
Summersalt’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Not to be confused with cheap “sustainable” swimwear made with sub-par synthetic fabrics, Summersalt’s affordable ethical swimwear is made from “beach-proof” recycled materials.
78% recycled polyamide (from post consumer waste and recycled ocean waste) is blended with Lycra to give their sustainable bathing suits 4x the compression and shape-retention. Live wear tests in over 100 hours of chlorinated water back up these claims.
Because avobenzone sunscreen may stain these suits (and bleach reefs), stick with reef-safe zero waste sunscreen.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Summersalt has long-term manufacturing relationships and regularly visit to ensure they continue to prioritize fair trade labor practices and environmental sustainability.
These factories (located across Asia) are WRAP, GOTS, GRS, and/or BSCI-certified.
Green business practices:
Recycled materials make up both their eco swimwear and recycled packaging.
Inclusivity:
Summersalt suits are made to fit real body types, thanks to their data-backed fit and style match quiz.
After taking over 1.5 million body measurements of 10,000 women, they created a wide range of one pieces and bikini styles to (swim)suit everyone.
Available: Summersalt
7. WOLVEN
About Wolven
Wolven’s trademark motto is “Make Sustainability Sexy”.
Through vibrant colors and fun prints, their extremely versatile gym-to-swimwear does just that—while also saving you $. Swim-swim!
Since a minimalist wardrobe is better for both the planet and pocketbook, we love their one pieces that can be worn 8 different ways.
Other one and two pieces from this sustainable swimwear USA brand aren’t quite as multifaceted, but they are 4-way reversible.
They offer one pair of boardshorts for men.
Wolven’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Wolven’s sustainable bathing suits are made from recycled plastic bottles, collected from the 6.4 million tons of plastic trash that tries to catch a wave every year.
This recycled ocean waste becomes GRS-certified rPET (recycled polyester) that’s OEKO-TEX-certified.
Other products feature carbon-neutral modal made from sustainably-harvested beech trees.
Supply chain & labor practices:
This ethical and eco friendly swimwear is ethically made in L.A. or China, by a WCA-certified partner that ensures fair trade treatment and solid environmental practices.
Green business practices:
Why China?
It’s the world leader in recycled fabrics.
By keeping supply chain operations there, they reduce their carbon footprint by way of fewer shipping emissions and fabric waste.
Import shipments and their recycled swimwear are 100% offset through Climate Neutral.
Their sustainable packaging is biodegradable and/or recycled.
Inclusivity:
Wolven’s sustainable swimwear sizes range XS-XL with models to represent each size.
Community & charitable giving:
Wolven is a contributor to 1% for the Planet. For each sale, they contribute to ocean conservation efforts by removing a pound of ocean waste.
Available: Wolven
8. PATAGONIA
About Patagonia
Patagonia is one of our favorite eco swimwear brands that deals in all manner of sustainable outdoor clothing.
That includes their athletic-inspired swimwear for men and women, including wetsuits, trunks, bikinis, and one pieces.
Toss something from their recycled nylon swimwear collection in your sustainable backpack and hit the trail to dive into some stunning lakes in the remote backcountry.
Patagonia’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Solid-colored swimsuits are made of recycled nylon and spandex.
Wayfarer board shorts are made of 100% DWR-coated recycled nylon.
For wetsuits, Patagonia uses 85% Yulex FSC-certified plant-based rubber that produces 80% less CO2. The other 15% is petroleum-derived.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Patagonia tracks and publicly shares every manufacturing step through The Footprint Chronicles and all garments are Fair Trade certified as ethically made.
Staff regularly visit mills and factories to ensure they’re upholding Patagonia’s ILO-based Code of Conduct.
Green business practices:
Patagonia has a lot of green going on, including recycling poly shipping bags in stores (eventually aiming for a biodegradable alternative), offering lifetime repairs through their Ironclad Guarantee, and selling pre-loved Worn Wear.
Inclusivity:
Patagonia’s sustainable swimwear line is suited to the sea and everyone who enjoys it. XS-XL sizes for women, and 28”-40” W sizes for men.
Community & charitable giving:
As a founding member of the 1% for the Planet program, Patagonia gives 1% of every sale to environmental non-profits.
They also get politically active when public lands come under legal threat and encourage customers to get involved in local activism via the Patagonia Action Works tool.
Available: Patagonia
9. NATASHA TONIC
About Natasha Tonić
This next sustainable brand wants us to buy better.
Natasha Tonić is one of the most ethical swimwear brands in the USA because of their minimalist, durable, versatile, and timeless hemp swimwear.
Each of these women’s sustainable swimsuits doubles as activewear, bodysuits (for the one pieces), and even sustainable lingerie.
Natasha Tonić’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
NT hemphatically embraces one of our favorite biodegradable fabrics: hemp fabric.
Hemp fabric is UV-resistant and antimicrobial, and the plant requires little water and pesticides, replenishes soil, and sequesters large amounts of CO2.
Natasha Tonić’s hemp is produced using biodegradable softeners and low-impact, water-soluble dyes.
There are no acids, formaldehyde, heavy metals, or chemical finishes involved.
The hemp is blended with OCS-certified organic cotton or sometimes Lycra or elastane.
Supply chain & labor practices:
This ethical swimwear brand sources its fabric locally in the USA.
The final suits are largely ethically made in a Chinese factory and member of the Fair Wear Foundation. They also have an LA factory that fairly employs mostly-female workers.
Green business practices:
They transport US-based materials domestically using 100% electric vehicles and ship to China using ocean freight (which produces fewer emissions than trucking something from Los Angeles to San Francisco!).
Every sustainable swimsuit-lingerie-activewear piece is made to order by hand over the course of about 5 days.
Inclusivity:
Sizes XS-XL.
Available: Natasha Tonić
10. ARO
About ARO
ARO’s “effortlessly chic” sustainable swimsuits are designed for a beach day but can also double as a shirt for a chill day indoors, too.
The selection includes both bikinis and one pieces.
As a self-defined luxury swimwear brand, they don’t have much in the way of sustainable affordable swimwear, but their sale section is impressive.
ARO’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Another of the sustainable swim brands to use recycled materials, ARO’s swimwear is made from recycled nylon, recycled polyester, and recycled synthetic fabrics (deadstock from other companies).
Expect ~85% recycled materials blended with ~15% spandex.
Supply chain & labor practices:
ARO has only one fair trade manufacturing partner in Indonesia.
Green business practices:
ARO uses sustainable packaging made from a compostable bio-based polymer and corn/wheat PLA that will break down in 180 days in your indoor compost bin.
To reduce manufacturing waste, they turn fabric offcuts into reusable shopping bags for organizations in need.
Their manufacturing partner educates all workers and the local community about proper recycling.
Inclusivity:
Sizes XS-XL.
Available: ARO
11. BOLD SWIM
About BOLD Swim
BOLD Swim is a plus size eco friendly swimwear brand (or rather, all-size) that started to EMPOWER others.
You’ll find beautiful and unique cut-out one pieces, mermaid-inspired bikinis, and more.
Don’t let the name fool you. They also sell plus size lingerie.
BOLD Swim’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
BOLD Swim’s sustainable materials list is short: Amni Soul Eco® Thread.
This is a soft, biodegradable nylon fabric that fully biodegrades in 5 years (compared to 50+ for standard nylon).
It is OEKO-TEX 100-certified, uses minimal water to process, and is dyed with non-toxic dyes.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Amni Soul Eco® is sourced from Brazil, where everything is also ethically made.
By partnering with a small number of entities, BOLD can regularly visit its partners to uphold ethical standards.
Green business practices:
To promote slow fashion, they release curated collections only three times a year.
Excess fabric waste gets recycled into rugs and mats to be sold locally in Brazil.
Courtesy of The Better Packaging company, they use 100% compostable bags, liners, and labels and plant trees to offset shipping through ecodrive (in addition to Made Trade’s carbon offset shipping).
Inclusivity:
Certified Black and women-owned, BOLD believes “representation matters”.
Their S-XXL sizes and diverse models certainly reflect that.
Community & charitable giving:
BOLD Swim is a member of 1% for the Planet.
Available: Made Trade
12. SATURDAY SWIMWEAR
About Saturday Swimwear
Saturday Swimwear is a sustainable brand for #girlswhogiveashit.
Using recycled plastic and an ultra-small supply chain, they offer a quaint collection of classic minimalist swimsuits.
Saturday Swimwear’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
These UPF 50 eco friendly swimsuits are made from Econyl recycled nylon and XTRA Life Lycra®, generated from recycled fishing nets, carpets, and other recycled plastics.
Supply chain & labor practices:
100% handmade in the USA, owner Emily Laplume designs and sews every piece of ethical swimwear in her Oregon home.
Green business practices:
Eco friendly packaging materials include reusable cotton garment bags, recycled post consumer waste hang tags, FSC-certified bio-based panty liners, and plant-based compostable mailers.
Once they run out of stock of these mailers, they’ll switch to 100% recycled plastic-free paper mailers.
Inclusivity:
Saturday Swimwear is woman-owned and sister-run.
They offer XS-XXL sizes.
Available: Made Trade
13. SENSEI GRAVES
About Sensei Graves
Sensei Graves is one of the best recycled swimwear brands.
Their vision?
“A world in which women no longer doubt themselves.”
Designed by professional kiteboarder and brand namesake, their athletic-minded suits are built for “girls who rip” but like the look of elegant, strappy designs.
Sensei Graves’ Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Sensei Graves
Sensei Graves’ eco conscious swimwear is made from Econyl recycled nylon and Repreve® recycled polyester made from recycled plastic bottles.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Domestically and ethically made in Salem, Oregon and Los Angeles, California. Workers receive living wages in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Fabrics are sourced from Portland, L.A., and Italy.
Green business practices:
Climate Neutral-certified, they use eco friendly compostable poly bags and hygienic liners, and recycled materials for hang tags and labels.
Inclusivity:
This woman-owned brand makes XS-XL swimwear.
Community & charitable giving:
We love brands that give back to female empowerment and environmental activism, especially when they intersect.
As a 1% for the Plane member, Sensei Graves donates to one of four nonprofits of your choice: Black Girls Swim!, LiveGirl, Women’s Voices For The Earth, or Surfrider Foundation.
Available: Made Trade
WHY SUSTAINABLE AND ETHICAL SWIMWEAR?
Conventional swimwear is typically made of virgin petroleum-based nylon, polyester, and lycra— AKA types of plastic that will never biodegrade.
Plastic manufactured between 2000 and 2010 (including that for clothing) was more than that of the last century.
Read that again.
Considering fast fashion profits on poor design and planned obsolescence, it’s no wonder we burn through plastic at a horrifying pace.
Cheaply-made swimsuits stretch out and fall apart (or worse, fall off as you dive in the pool). If they don’t, trendiness tricks us into buying the latest summer style anyway.
Mainstream swimwear is dead in the water.
HOW WE FOUND THE BEST SUSTAINABLE SWIMWEAR
What constitutes a sustainable swimwear line?
Given the complexity of eco swimwear brands, let’s dive off the deep end into the most important criteria for sustainable brands: sustainable fabrics.
Turning Recycled Fishing Nets and Recycled Plastic Bottles Eco Conscious Beachwear
Much like the sustainable swimwear brands UK offers, synthetic fabrics constitute most of the swimwear here (eco-conscious or not) but the best sustainable men’s swimwear (and women’s) brands ensure they’re made from recycled materials.
Recycled polyester (Repreve® and EcoLux™) and recycled nylon (Econyl fabric made from recycled fishing nets abandoned in the ocean) don’t have as good an end-of-life outcome as natural fibers (like organic cotton, hemp, and linen), but recycled swimwear fabrics are acceptable for these reasons:
- Reduces need for crude oil.
- Repurposes post consumer waste, reducing plastic build-up in landfills and oceans (recycled fishing nets alone could utilize 1/10 of ocean litter).
- Requires 90% and 85% less water and energy, respectively, and produces 75% fewer emissions.
- The process of melting down and remaking recycled plastic fabric is practically infinite—provided consumers properly dispose of them.
Since sustainability = durability, the best sustainable swimwear brands make lasting swimwear. That why most use some Lycra spandex/elastane. While it’s not a sustainable fabric, it does increase the swimwear elasticity to maintain shape for longer.
- Certifications: OEKO-Tex 100, Bluesign, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Global Recycled Standard (GRS)
Are wetsuits and neoprene sustainable?
If you’re seeking a sustainable wetsuit, know that neoprene is nasty stuff.
Made using petrochemicals, it was originally used to line landfills—the antithesis of sustainable materials.
Here are current neoprene alternatives:
- Natural rubber: Plant-based and made by either Arizona’s Yulex (FSC-certified) or Taiwan’s Sheico Group (NaturalPrene). This is Patagonia’s wetsuit material.
- Japanese Limestone Neoprene: Made by Japan’s Yamamoto Corporation from limestone, which is argued to be more durable and sustainable. Some sustainable brands (including Patagonia) disagree, since it’s still a non-renewable resource.
Improvements are clearly still needed, so the most sustainable wetsuit is still one you find at online thrift stores.
Other Criteria For Conscious Sustainable Swimwear
As we did with ethical underwear, we use other aspects of our sustainable and ethical fashion criteria to determine the ethical integrity of these eco friendly swimwear brands:
Supply chain and labor practices:
Being ethically made means being made in safe working in exchange for fair wages. Third-party certifications help us vet these claims and keep the blue water free from greenwashing.
- Certifications: ILO, Fair Labor Association, WRAP, Fair Trade, ISO 14001, SA8000, BSCI, SMETA, ETI, GOTS
Green business practices:
Aside from making a sustainable swimwear line, the best sustainable swimwear brands often use recyclable/compostable packaging, carbon neutral shipping, made to order products, and repair/recycle options.
Inclusivity:
82% hate trying on swimwear and feel the need to “prepare” their bodies for that perfect fit.
EVERYONE looks swimmingly swell in a cheeky bottom bathing suit, so we look for brands that provide sizes for all body types.
Community & charitable giving:
Whether monetary donations to ocean conservation efforts to donations of unsold swimsuits, we love when the tide comes full circle and a brand’s success translates to doing good elsewhere.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON ECO FRIENDLY SWIMWEAR
The time to sink or swim is now.
Collectively, we need to take the plunge toward plastic-free oceans.
For those synthetic swimsuits (sustainable or not), use a guppy wash bag in the laundry to prevent microplastic pollution.
And for summertime sustainability, support one of these ethical and sustainable swim brands; but if you have a functional swimsuit, keep using it until you can’t.
Let’s channel our inner Dory and just keep swimming toward a cleaner, healthier planet by supporting eco friendly swimwear brands swimming against the tide!
Such an amazing list with some brands I haven’t heard of, one that was missed is my personal favourite, Styelle Swim. The fabric is so soft and thy are ethical and sustainable!
Thanks for this list! Some of these are new to me. I love the looks at Summersalt and NOW_THEN.
-Lara