The Nature of Impact
Swimming
In It
Why most swimwear is polluting the ocean — and what we're doing about it.
Dive in
It starts with a swim.
The sun is out. The sea is calm.
You step into the water wearing your favourite swim shorts.
The material is slick. Like oil against skin.
Repelling water. Repelling nature.
Because they're made from plastic.
And secretly shedding into the sea.
According to a 2021 report by the European Environment Agency, 35% of all microplastics in the ocean come from synthetic textiles.
35%
of ocean microplastics from textiles
Most swimwear is made from polyester or nylon — both are plastic, fossil fuel-based materials.
Every wash, every wave, every dive releases microfibres.
Tiny threads of plastic, too small to be filtered, too persistent to degrade.
The Hidden Cost of Synthetic Swim Shorts
The irony's almost poetic.
The very clothes we wear to enjoy the sea are helping choke it.
Globally, we produce over 60 million tonnes of synthetic fibres every year, most of which end up in landfill or, worse, floating indefinitely in our waterways.
"Yes. The fish are eating your swim shorts."
(And so, in a roundabout way, are you.)
Fast fashion, synthetic fibres, and short-term design have created a system that pollutes what it was designed to celebrate.
So What's the Alternative?
Natural fibres have long been left out of the swimwear conversation.
Too soft. Too slow to dry. Too misunderstood.
But we like misunderstood.
We spent years rethinking what a swim short could be.
The Result
Swim Shorts made from 100% superfine Merino wool — our regenerative fibre that naturally regulates temperature, resists odour, and dries fast.
Lined with Yarnaway® biodegradable mesh that leaves zero microplastic residue behind.
No synthetics
No shedding
No guilt
Merino may seem an unlikely choice for the water, but it turns out nature knows what it's doing. Unlike plastic-based alternatives, wool breaks down in both soil and sea — returning to the earth, not lingering on it.
In a sea of synthetics,
we swim natural.
Built for water. Born from wool.
From Sheep To Shore
Explore the Merino Swim Short
