Sustainable Swimwear That Doesn’t Cost the Earth

One of the most feel-good factors for the Bon+Co team this Summer has been knowing that our sustainable swimwear for kids and teens is ‘out there’, making Aussie family’s days on the beach a little brighter and their eco footprints a little lighter.

Before we launched our brand in mid-2020, we invested years in researching, planning and designing our range of sustainable swimwear for kids and teens.

To have had such incredible support and feedback on our sustainable swimwear products within the first few months of launching Bon+Co is the very best motivation we could have wished for coming into this New Year. We’re all fired up to continue to develop amazing, sustainable swimwear and activewear options for Aussie families, just like ours, who are seeking more than just coverage and sun protection when they shop for sustainable swimwear.

As we move forward in planning exciting new additions to our sustainable swimwear and activewear ranges, we thought we’d share a little more of our journey with you, specifically, why we are so darn passionate about creating sustainable swimwear, in particular.

What’s all the fuss about sustainable swimwear?

Did you know that a whopping 65 million tons of plastic-derived materials are created to supply the clothing, swim & activewear industry EVERY SINGLE YEAR?  

Materials like LYCRA, nylon, spandex and polyester have long been the go-to for swimwear and activewear garments. In many ways, these materials are perfectly suited to swimwear and activewear production because they wick moisture, have stretch, are quick drying, offer UV protection, are easy to colour and are cheap to mass-produce.

The problem is that all these materials are derived from plastic. On top of the giant problem that is general plastic pollution, we now also know more about the harm that the microfibres shed from synthetic, plastic-derived fabrics do to marine life. Then there’s the amount of water used in the material production process itself…the list goes on.

When we thought about adding that annual 65 million ton figure – for just one industry! – to the 8 billion tons of plastic that already exists on our planet, we knew we couldn’t be an active part of the problem. We knew that Bon+Co had to be part of the solution, right from the start. For us, that meant embarking on a mission to find the most fabulous recycled fabric we could to craft the Bon+Co range of sustainable swimwear.

What is sustainable swimwear, anyway?

Until fairly recent years, the term ‘sustainable swimwear’ was considered by many in the fashion industry to be a bit of an oxymoron. While the slow and sustainable fashion movement has steadily been building momentum globally over the past decade for many clothing staples, it’s only been in recent years that technology and ingenuity have combined to create sustainable swimwear at a high enough quality to satisfy designer, manufacturer and (most importantly!) consumer expectations.

With our combined decades of experience in the fashion industry, we knew from the start that creating ethically produced, super high quality sustainable swimwear for Bon+Co was going to be a challenge in itself. We also knew that we needed our sustainable swimwear to be many other things at the same time: functional, practical, affordable, ethical and really, really, really good looking.

Yep. We had our work cut out for us. But we’ve never backed away from a challenge. So, we started searching for solutions all around the world.

We talked. We tested. We rejected. We tried again. And again.

Then we found REPREVE – the fabric that (finally!) ticked all our boxes.  

What is REPREVE recycled fabric?

RERPREVE is the world’s leading certified recycled fibre. It’s made for the good of tomorrow, to reduce plastic pollution and care for our environment.

We are proud to source our sustainable swimwear fabrics from a socially responsible company like REPREVE, who are actively doing something to address the plastic pollution problem.  

Since 2007, REPREVE have recycled more than 24 BILLION PLASTIC BOTTLES (yes, that deservs ALL CAPS!), turning them into high performance fibres and fabrics. While 80% of the world’s plastic bottles still end up in landfill, if more companies continue to look for ways to recycle and repurpose the plastic that already exists on our planet, instead of producing more, there’ll be so much more bright, shiny hope on the horizon when it comes to the health of our planet.

We choose REPREVE recycled fabrics to construct the majority of our Bon+Co sustainable swimwear and activewear. Each piece represents approximately 8 recycled plastic bottles that may otherwise have ended up as landfill.

These sustainable swimwear fabrics hold colour beautifully and feel amazingly lovely to touch and wear, wet or dry. They also meets the demands of a typical Aussie Summer with no worries, offering UPF50+ sun protection and resistance to chlorine, fading and pilling.

While using recycled plastic fabrics like REPREVE is one of the best options we currently have in the industry for creating sustainable swimwear that doesn’t compromise on practicality or quality, we’re still actively searching for additional materials, processes and ideas to incorporate into future Bon+Co designs.

Just like our kids, we’re constantly growing, changing, learning, innovating and adapting in our efforts to make the world a better, safer and more wonderful place to live.

The Bon+Co difference.

We’re excited to know that Bon+Co are in good company, with a swell sustainable swimwear options being offered to Aussies. In our hearts and minds, there’s room for all! Consumer choice is a wonderful thing and it pushes us all to do our very best and keep creating fresh options for you and your family.

We believe it’s Bon+Co’s exclusive hand drawn and painted prints, specifically designed with kids and teens in mind, that help us stand out from the sustainable swimwear crowd.

Our prints are playful…on purpose!

Our personal and company ethos is all about childhood fun and positivity. Everything we do at Bon+Co – from our print designs to our sustainable swimwear construction process to our collaborations and customer service – all reflect that central philosophy of fun and good times.

We enthusiastically encourage you to be part of the slow fashion revolution by consciously choosing sustainable swimwear that doesn’t cost the earth.

Next time your kiddos swimsuit needs an update, do a little research on what’s behind the label. Fall in love with more than the pretty print…get swoony over sustainability!

Once you know how good sustainable swimwear feels – inside and out – we suspect you’ll never look back!