Ultimate Sustainable Swimwear Brands for Summer 2024

Last updated on March 23rd, 2024 at 08:52 am

It’s summer! Time to head to the nearest waterbodies and chill. But, wearing what? Forget last year’s trends. Here are some stunning sustainable swimwear brands for summer. These aren’t your regular swimwear brands; these are brands that use eco-friendly + sustainable materials and transparent supply chains and business practices. Think plastic bottles turned into useful fashion! Pair them with your ethical shorts, and make a splash at the beach!

Table Of Contents

Top Ethical Swimwear Brands
Sustainable Swimwear Affordable
Women's Ethical Swimwear Brands
Organic Cotton Swimsuits
What is Sustainable Swimwear?
Recycled Swimwear & Secondhand Swimwear
Swimsuit Care
- This post was about sustainable swimwear

Imagine yourself on a stunning beach in Costa Rica or even Sri Lanka. You’re not going to want to pollute the gorgeous place by choosing regular swimwear, are you?

But, wait. What is wrong with the “regular” swimwear brands?

First of all, the fashion industry is one of the biggest industrial polluters in the world, with an outsized environmental impact. So we should look into the production process of every fashion item we purchase (of which swimwear is one) before we buy. Secondly, until quite recently all swimwear items were made of nylon and polyester, both of which are non-biodegradable synthetic materials made from petrochemicals. Looking for swimwear companies that do better is important – more important than finding the best bikinis! Look for swimsuits made from sustainable swimwear fabric.

And, last but not least, approximately 1.4 BILLION pounds of trash goes into the ocean each year. Synthetic swimsuits pose a big threat to our oceans even after we throw them away. These fabrics, unlike natural ones, don’t break down easily. Instead, they fragment into tiny plastic threads called microplastics. During washing, hundreds of thousands of these microplastics can shed and flow into waterways, ending up in the ocean.

There, marine animals mistake microplastics for food, harming their digestive systems and potentially leading to death. This plastic pollution can also enter the food chain, with tiny particles accumulating in fish and shellfish that we eventually consume. The long-term effects of ingesting microplastics on human health are still being studied, but it’s a growing concern. So, discarding synthetic fabrics pollutes the ocean, harms marine life, and may even impact us.

Our fashion choices are poisoning our oceans and food supplies, and it’s only right that when we go to the seaside, we do all we can to minimize our negative impact on the seas by building a sustainable supply chain.

Also, to go with your ethical swimwear, why don’t you check out ethical sunglasses made from recycled fishing nets? Curb ocean waste and get your fashion fix in one go! And if you’re looking for plus size options, these gorgeous sustainable swimwear in plus size are perfect!

Top Ethical Swimwear Brands

Let’s get started. We’ve listed some of the more accessible brands in the table below. Look for their best sellers.

	Brand	Features	Price
1	Londre	Woman-owned, size inclusive	From $69
2	C osabella	Size inclusive, recycled	From $70
3	TomboyX	Gender-inclusive, size inclusive, recycled, B-Corp	From $50
4	Youswim	certified Plastic Negative, size inclusive	From £126
5	Summersalt	Recycled materials, woman-owned, size inclusive	From $45
6	CUUP	Size inclusive, versatile, woman-owned	From $78
7	Bold Swim	Non-toxic, biodegradable	From $55
8	Boden	Recycled, generous return policy, family-owned	From $42
9	Jessica Rey	Size inclusive, affordable, woman-owned	From $55
10	Wolven	Recycled materials, woman-owned, climate neutral	From $52
11	ALOHAS	Cruelty-free, recycled materials, fair trade	From $70
12	Patagonia	B-Corp, fair trade, recycled materials	From $59
13	Vitamin A	Recyclable, biodegradable, made in the USA	From $85
14	Hackwith Design House	Woman-owned, size inclusive, made in the USA	From $58
15	Galamaar	Made from recycled EcoNYL, made in the USA	From $120

Sustainable Swimwear Affordable

There’s no point in promoting eco-friendly swim options if none of them are affordable. With that in mind, we have a complete list of affordable sustainable swimwear.Check out our post on recycled swimwear, as well! We’re constantly looking for swimwear made from eco-friendly materials.

Women’s Ethical Swimwear Brands

First of all, if you’re looking for maternity swimsuits that make you look gorgeous, check out the post on pregnancy swimwear. Check out our awesome post on organic baby swimwear. We also have killer suggestions for plus-size moms. Support environmental causes by buying eco friendly swimsuits!

And now we look into 40 of the most ethical swimwear brands across the world:

1 // Aquadiva | Australia

2 // Auria | United Kingdom

3 // Azura Bay | United States

4 // Batoko | United Kingdom

5 // Beach Access | Indonesia

6 // Bombshell Bay | Australia

7 // Camp Cove Swim | Australia

8 // Cecile Swim | Australia & Indonesia

9 // Davy J | United Kingdom

10 // Deakin and Blue | United Kingdom

11 // Elle Evans | Australia

12 // Faherty | USA

13 // Finisterre | United Kingdom

14 // Galamaar | USA

15 // Good Studios | Australia

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16 // Jessica Rey Swimwear | USA

17 // JETS Swimwear | Australia

18 // Koru Swimwear | New Zealand

19 // Liar the Label | Australia

20 // Loop Swim | China

21 // Mara Hoffman | USA

22 // Mona California | USA

23 // MYMARINI | Germany

24 // Nettle’s Tale | Canada

25 // Novah Swimwear | Bermuda

26 // Ocean ZEN | Australia

27 // Patagonia | USA

28 // Reformation | USA

29 // Ruby Moo n | United Kingdom

30 // Saltsuit | New Zealand

31 // Shapes in the Sand | Australia

32 // Stidston Swimwear | United Kingdom

33 // Summersalt | USA

34 // Swoon Swimwear | USA

35 // Tropic of C | USA

36 // Undersea Bikini | Hungary

37 // Vitamin A | USA

38 // Zulu and Zephyr | Australia

Want to know which is the best sustainable swimwear to wear under your wetsuit? (Also, regular surfsuits pollute oceans with plastic as they break down. Eco-friendly ones use sustainable materials, reducing plastic waste and protecting the very waves surfers love.)

Organic Cotton Swimsuits

There are a few brands that offer swimsuits made from organic cotton! It’s less common than recycled synthetics, but here are a few options:

Muxima Beachwear: This brand offers a range of bikinis, swimsuits, and kids’ swimwear made with GOTS-certified organic cotton.
Isole & Vulcani: Another brand crafting bikinis and swimsuits using GOTS-certified organic cotton.
Play Up: While focusing mainly on kids’ clothes, Play Up has a selection of organic cotton swimwear for little ones.

Organic cotton is still less stretchy and water-resistant than typical swimwear fabrics, so these swimsuits might have a different feel, but it’s a fantastic eco-friendly choice!

What is Sustainable Swimwear?

Do these “ethical” swimwear brands actually manufacture their products responsibly? Do they follow ethical practices? From what I could make out, these bathing suit companies either source natural materials or repurposed plastics (a lot of which is from fishing nets). In fact, many of these brands use ocean plastics as one of their starting materials! Econyl, for example, is a material that’s made from ocean plastics that have been sorted and broken down, and melted into soft threads. This thread is used in brands such as Outerknown and others. It’s important that the design process has taken ethical production into account.

While the material these brands use may not be perfectly sustainable, what we should look for is that they do the most that is possible to make their businesses and products sustainable and ethical, following fair labor practices and treating both workers and the environment as much more vital than simply turning a profit every quarter. In this ultra-capitalistic world of ours, this is what we can do as individual consumers. We do need swimsuits – unless there’s a nudist beach close to where you live – and the best thing we can do is to buy swimwear as infrequently as is humanly possible, and buy from businesses that follow at least some of the values that we ideally ought to be looking for in all businesses.

Besides, these brands also focus on making swimwear that lasts. A relief from the fast-fashion strategy of use and throw.

Finally: one extra reason to check out these ethical swimwear brands? They look gorgeous!

Recycled Swimwear & Secondhand Swimwear

Trying on secondhand swimwear items may sound weird, but it’s not that horrifying if you shop on Depop, Poshmark, or ThredUp, where they have options for swimwear items that have never been worn. If you’re looking for more affordable swimwear, secondhand is your best bet.

You can also check out Etsy for more like these amazing ethical, handmade swimsuits made with recycled materials and fabric scraps (including this pretty bikini made from “sustainable scuba jersey fabric reclaimed from the fast fashion industry”). Recycled nylon options are also recommended. Just avoid virgin nylon.

Of course, if you aren’t icky about pre-owned swimwear items, there are thrifted options galore.

Swimsuit Care

As much as buying ethical and eco-friendly stuff is vital for sustainable fashion, it’s also important to take good care of your swimsuit. After your swim, rinse your swimsuit gently in warm water and allow it to air dry (you can handwash it at home with a non-toxic detergent). This will not only lengthen its life, but will also limit the number of micro and nano plastic particles that eventually end up in the ocean. Read more detailed instructions on washing your swimsuit.

This post was about sustainable swimwear

By buying eco-friendly swimwear, you can reduce your carbon footprint and make a positive impact on the environment, support ethical labor practices, and get a high-quality product that you can feel good about wearing, for a long time to come! You also get to flaunt your style, since these brands make some stunning pieces. So keep a lookout for new arrivals.

We hope you found this resource useful. Do you have any ocean-friendly swimsuits? Do you have any recommendations for us?;) Let us know!

NOTE: All brand photographs belong to the respective brands/businesses.

If you liked this post on ethical swimsuit companies, please share it with your friends. Thank you!<3

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE DETAILS.