Fabric of the Future
We are so excited to introduce a new fabric. Our suits will not only be made ethically, but created with a visionary eco-friendly fabric, Carvico Vita. Carvico Vita is soft and durable with incredible shape retention, and maximum UV protection. Tests have even shown this fabric is two times more resistant to chlorine and sun creams. The best part is, it is made from a regenerated nylon called Econyl, that helps protect and clean up our earth’s resources.
Nylon is known for its impressive qualities. When it was launched in the 1930’s it truly changed the world. It is a necessary fiber for swim, athletic wear, and raincoats. Sounds amazing!
However, essentially nylon is a type of plastic derived from crude oil. When washed it releases hundreds and thousands of tiny bits of plastic called microfibers into our rivers, lakes, and oceans. Also because of its durability, it is non-biodegradable, creating excessive amounts of waste.
Luckily, Econyl has created the solution to this! After years of research, they have figured out how to take nylon from waste in landfills and oceans and recycle it. The best part is that once this regenerated nylon is worn, it can reenter the supply chain and be recycled infinitely. We have enough nylon already in our landfills, to provide for consumers for the rest of their lives. There is no need to keep using our earth’s resources to make more and more plastic.
Environment
This is especially important, because producing new nylon supports some of the world’s dirtiest industries. It uses excessive amounts of toxic oil and energy. Along with creating nitrous oxide, a very potent greenhouse gas 300 times worse than carbon dioxide.
Recycled nylon on the other hand, with every 10,000 tons created, saves 70,000 barrels of crude oil and avoids 65,100 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
It also helps limit the release of microplastics. There are already 1.4 million trillion micro plastics in the ocean. If you divided them up everyone would get 200 million microfibers to themselves. When we do a load of laundry with synthetic fibers such as nylon, tons of these small fibers enter our waterways. Carvico Vita does the first wash before sending out their fabric, capturing these chemicals, even recycling some of them. This helps decrease the release of microfibers.
Econyl does not just prevent damage to our natural resources, but also helps clean it up. They remove nylon from landfills, and recover abandoned fish nets from the ocean. These fishnets may not seem significant, however they are one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution. They could remain in the sea for more than 500 years, killing marine life, and spreading microfibers. So far, Econyl has helped retrieve 510 tonnes of fishing nets from the ocean, and this number is only going to keep rising.
Health
The micro plastics that enter our waterways from nylon, eventually end up in our food chain. They have been found in seafood, beer, and drinking water. These little pieces of plastic are now inside us. They can cause a wide range of problems such as interfering with our hormones, producing various cancers, and creating a weakened immune system.
New nylon is also treated and finished with a multitude of very toxic chemicals such as chloroform, pentane, and formaldehyde.
Carvico Vita was awarded the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certificate. This is the most difficult certificate to obtain, and ensures you can trust their fabric does not contain any harmful chemicals.
Community
All of these chemicals make the production of nylon very dangerous. Most nylon production takes place in third-world countries, where worker protection regulations are scarce. This can be very destructive to communities involved in its production.
Recycled nylon has started a whole new beneficial supply chain. Econyl partners with Healthy Seas, who tackle cleaning the seas of marine litter. Healthy Seas collaborates with fishing communities to enforce proper discarding of fishing nets, and has even started education programs. Econyl also works with Aquafil, an engineering company designing sustainability solutions for synthetic fibers. A positive community was created, that is only going to keep growing.
With the creation of Econyl, the possibilities are endless. We are so thrilled to be a part of it and to bring the future to you. Now you can be a part of it as well.
by Briana Goewert