Shorty Wetsuit (this is the one I’m obsessing over!)
Swish Wetsuits was founded by Chelsea Berg, and her sister, Victoria heads up communications for the sister-run company. Victoria says that the “ocean is her office” and we all know how it is being in dire need of work-appropriate wear, right? Since Victoria and her friends couldn’t find what they wanted in the wetsuit world -they looked for five years! – they did what smart women do: Made their own. And yeah, these suits are sexy, but they’re also sustainable too (makes sense since these women LOVE being outside, in the water, that they would want to protect it).
Shorty Wetsuit
When I asked Victoria about when she had most recently worn her wetsuit, she told me, “My most recent adventure with my Swish Suit was a cave diving extravaganza that I undertook in the Riviera Maya, Mexico! I spent two weeks diving all day in the gorgeous Cenotes. My Swish suit and jacket kept me extra toasty warm while still make me feel sleek and empowered in the field and in the water. I am so happy that I have the suit that performs on the same level as me!”
Last time I had to wear a wetsuit, it was surfing with my Dad near his home in Australia. I wore his top and my running shorts. I felt like a dork!
How is an eco-friendly wetsuit made anyway? And why are conventional wetsuits not so sustainable? As explained on Swish’s site:
Traditional neoprene is derived from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are responsible for the vast majority of greenhouse gasses and are disastrous when the inevitable goes wrong and they get into the ocean itself. All Swish Wetsuits are made from Bioprene, a revolutionary higher-performing neoprene that is derived from limestone instead of petrol. The key ingredient for neoprene in both sources is carbon. Only, there’s more carbon to be had in limestone than in all the air, sea, fossil fuels and living things on earth, combined! Everything has to be made of something so we chose a material that there’s enough of to go around.
Full Wetsuit
Besides making the suits from a lower-impact material, AND making them look so damn good, the ladies of Swish (Victoria, who is basedin Koh Tao, Thailand, and Chelsea Berg in Riviera Maya, Mexico) video chat instead of fly to meetings, and donate to impactful charities, trying to be as conscious of their footprint as they can.
Swish Wetsuit Jacket
