22 Affordable Sustainable Swimwear Brands
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Are you in search of affordable & sustainable swimwear options? I got you covered! After extensive research, I collected a list of fantastic sustainable swimwear that’s also affordable. Keep reading to find out more about:
- What is sustainable swimwear made of?
- What to look for when choosing sustainable swimwear?
- 22 affordable & sustainable swimwear options
What is sustainable swimwear made of?
Most conventional swimsuits are made from synthetic materials. On the other hand, eco-friendly swimwear is usually made in smaller batches, with low impact materials, like organic, biodegradable, or recycled fabrics.
It is made in ethical factories, with safe working conditions and fair wages. Eco swimwear brands consider all stages of manufacturing and try to reuse materials and reduce waste as much as possible.
What to look for when choosing sustainable swimwear?
- The materials: Are sourced ethically and are organic, biodegradable, or recycled.
- The quality: Long-lasting swimwear is key – when swimsuits are high-quality, you won’t have to buy new ones over and over again.
- The company: Is transparent and shares more information about their manufacturing processes, the location of their factories, how they source their fabrics, etc.
- The manufacturing: The production is sustainable and made in small batches, so if there is unsold stock, it won’t be disposed of, destroyed, and hard to deal with.
- The factories: Must be evaluated by third parties to ensure that certain conditions are met, like fair wages, reasonable hours, safe work environment, sustainable practices, etc.
- Certifications: Such as OEKO-TEX®, which ensures that textiles are tested for harmful substances.
- Donation: It isn’t a must, but it is a good sign if a company donates a portion of its profits to environmental or social organizations/causes.
You can easily find all of this information by browsing the website of the brand you’ve chosen.
22 Sustainable & Affordable Swimwear Options:
Meundies swimsuits
Shipping: Worldwide
Made in: Turkey and Sri Lanka
Materials: 78% Recycled Polyamide, 22% Elastane
Price: $30 – $48 per piece. $60 – $78 for a one-piece. For males: $50 – $62
Ethics: Fairtrade, ethically sourced fabrics
The Meundies swimsuits are super comfy and made from recycled nylon fabric and old fishing nets, which are ethically sourced. The brand offers a membership deal that saves you up to $30 for each order. You can skip or cancel the membership anytime you want.
Girlfriend Swimsuits
Shipping: the US and Australia (available worldwide via nordstrom.com)
Made in: Taiwan & Vietnam
Materials: 82% ECONYL® regenerated nylon, 18% elastane
Price: $38 – $48 per piece. $78 for a one-piece.
Ethics: recyclable packaging, Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex, SA8000 certified for fair working conditions, eco-friendly dyes, size-inclusive
Girlfriend swimsuits are made from recycled fishing nets and post-industrial waste recovered from the ocean. What I liked about Girlfriend is that they show each product a Sustainability report. It shows how much oil, CO2, and energy were reduced using recycled materials to make the swimsuit. I love that they focus on being as transparent as possible, sharing information and proof of their sustainable practices. Plus, the brand gives back 1% to Healthy Seas.
Kitty and Vibe
Shipping: the US
Made in: Bogota, Colombia
Materials: 84% Polyamide Nylon, 16% Elastane | Lining – 78% Polyamide, 22% Lycra
Price: $42 – $58 per piece. $95 for a one-piece.
Ethics: ethical labor, recycled packaging, ISO 14001 certification, sustainable fabrics
Kitty and Vibe’s swimwear is comfortable and designed to fit anybody. Their revolutionary sizing system will help match a bikini bottom that will fit perfectly and won’t be too saggy or too tight. Almost half of our swimwear line is made using sustainable fabric with 82% recycled poly. The swimsuits are also shipped in 100% biodegradable bags.
They are ISO 14001 certified, which is a standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental management system. It helps organizations improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste. Their factory workers are paid above minimum wage and provided with various benefits.
Wear Lively
Shipping: the US
Made in: unknown
Materials: 80% Recycled Nylon, 20% Spandex
Price: $45 per piece. $65 for a one-piece.
Ethics: recycled fabrics
Wear Lively has a sustainable collection of affordable swimsuits. They are made of 80% recycled nylon and are super smooth. They offer both low-waist and high-waist options and offer bundles (top & bottom), which will save you a couple of bucks.
Fair Harbor Swimwear
Shipping: Worldwide
Made in: the US, China, Peru, and Pakistan
Materials: 88% Recycled Plastic Bottles, 12% Spandex
Price: $64 – $88
Ethics: Minimizing environmental impacts, workers’ safety & fair wages, sustainably sourced fabrics
Fair Harbor Swimwear provides airy & supportive swim shorts made from 90% upcycled plastic bottles. The shorts are super soft, stretchy, and quick-drying. The brand works with specialists to source plastic bottles from around the globe and convert them into high-quality, sustainable recycled polyester fabric.
So far, they’ve removed 7,607,512 plastic bottles from the ocean! Their overseas partners prioritize quality, workers’ safety, fair wages, and a commitment to decreasing environmental impacts.
Stay Wild Swim
Delivery: Worldwide
Made in: the UK
Materials: ECONYL®
Price: £50 – £70 per piece
Ethics: sustainable techno-fiber, small local factory & production, Sedex member, SMETA certified, zero waste approach to garment production, energy-saving motors on all equipment, founder of The Circularity Project
Stay Wild Swim is a UK brand that makes swimsuits with ECONYL®, which is sourced from Italy. The fabric is created from waste such as fishing nets pulled from the ocean and fabric scraps leftover from the industry. Using a revolutionary regeneration process, the nylon is brought back to its original purity.
Then, it is used to produce new products. Their small production factory has a zero waste approach to garment production and collaborates only with ethical suppliers. They ship their products in eco-friendly and biodegradable packaging, too.
Vivida Lifestyle
Shipping: Worldwide
Made in: Designed in the UK. Made in China.
Materials: 80% Recycled Polyester 20% Elastane
Price: £39 – £59. One-pieces from £99
Ethics: eco-friendly ways of developing and manufacturing products, compostable packaging, Global Recycled Standard and Control Union Certified, bluesign certified, OEKO-TEX® certified
Vivida Lifestyle swimsuits are made from sustainable fabric that’s made from recycled plastic bottles. The fabric retains flexibility and remains super supportive. Most of their designs are reversible, and they dry out quickly.
Most of their sustainable swimsuits are reversible and significant for water sports, too. Vivda Lifestyle swimsuits are Global Recycled Standard Certified & Control Union Certified. The shipping packaging is industrially compostable and 100% plant-based.
Lilja The Label
Shipping: Worldwide
Made in: Bali, Indonesia
Based in: Finland
Materials: REPREVE®, ECONYL®, RPET
Price: €38 – €46 per piece. From €80 for a one-piece. The sale items are €25.
Ethics: Ethically handmade, recycled fibers, biodegradable packaging
Lilja The Label is a Finnish brand that produces ethically handmade swimsuits, surfwear, and activewear. Their swimsuits are made in handpicked factories in Indonesia. The brand uses REPREVE® & RPET (from recycled plastic bottles) and ECONYL® (plastic waste from the ocean). Find more about their sustainability goals here.
Aya The Label
Shipping: Worldwide
Made in: Istanbul
Based in: The Netherlands
Materials: Soft Italian econyl® fabric
Price: €45 – €48 per piece. €88 for one piece
Ethics: Sustainable regenerated fabrics.
Aya The Label is a brand that has a beautiful selection of swimsuit tops and bottoms that you can match. Their models are very flattering and feminine. The swimwear is made of 78% recycled old fishing nets.
AYA Label donates a percentage of its profit to environmental organizations that protect the oceans. There is not too much info on that, so I tried looking into it. I never got a reply back from them, so I couldn’t find any further details for that claim.
I ordered from them, and the swimsuit came wrapped in plastic, which was kind of disappointing.
All Sisters
Shipping: International
Made in: Portugal
Materials: 78% recycled polyamide, 22% elastan
Price: €45 per piece.
Ethics: eco-friendly materials, locally produced, designed to last, OEKO-TEX® certified
All designs are made in Portugal, with ECONYL® – 100% regenerated polyamide fiber from pre- and post-consumer waste. The fabrics are from Italy and are certified by Global Recycle Standard and OEKOTEX Standard 100. The certifications guarantee that the fabrics are:
- Tested for harmful substances
- Made in environmentally friendly facilities with socially responsible workplaces
The fabric is lightweight, soft, and comfortable while being durable and resilient, too. The designs are very feminine and minimalistic, created to complement your best attributes.
Quick list:
- Summer Salt – Made across Asia. Ships to the US, Canada & Australia. Price from $45 – $65.
- Saturday Swimwear – Made in the US. Ships in the US and Canada. From $55 – $62 per piece.
- Ookioh Swimsuits – Ships in the US, from $50 per piece.
- Prana Swimsuits – Ships in the US (international delivery limited). From $45 – $55 per piece.
- Outerknown (for men) – Based in the US. Made in Peru, China, Portugal, US, Mexico, Vietnam, Sri Lanka. Ships internationally. From $98.
- Ema and May – Made in Canada. International shipping is available. $54 – $72 per piece.
- The Salt Water Collective – Made in Canada. Ships worldwide. From $65 per piece.
- Batoko Swim – Based in the UK, made in China. £50 for their one-piece swimsuits.
- Bimby and Roy – Designed in Australia. Manufactured in Fiji islands. International shipping is available. Prices from $30 – $45 per piece.
- Underprotection – Based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Made in China. European & worldwide shipping. Prices from €50 – €55.
- Julienne Swim – Made in Portugal. Ships worldwide. From €62 per piece.
- UND Swimwear – Made in Italy. Ships worldwide. From €65 – €75 a piece.
Did I miss a cool affordable & sustainable swimwear brand you would like to see in the list? Leave a comment below!
A detailed list of swimwear brands. Thank you for sharing.