In the ‘in the spotlight’ interview series, we talk to entrepreneurs within the textile industry. What is their story and what keeps them busy at a time of contingent developments within the sector. This time, we speak to Caitlin of Draquis Sustainable Swimwear.

Why sustainable swimwear?

After completing my fashion education, the negative environmental impact of the fashion industry became clear. The realisation grew that contributing to a solution was NEEDED. After an inspiring surf trip, a return to the cold Netherlands followed, with a desire to maintain the sun, sea and beach feeling in everyday life. This led to delving deeper into swimwear and ways to make it sustainable. 

The innovative textile

The swimming trunks use an innovative yarn called Amni Soul Eco®. This is a polyamide yarn with a special formula that ensures the fabric biodegrades as soon as it ends up in the landfill. Whereas traditional swimwear fabrics take decades to hundreds of years to degrade, Amni Soul Eco® does so in just 3-5 years. Using this fabric helps to reduce the major waste problem. 

The right conditions, such as sufficient light, oxygen and micro-organisms, are necessary for the decomposition process, and these are only present at the landfill. This means the swimming trunks are completely safe to wear! Moreover, they are designed for optimal comfort during all summer activities. They have a roomy fit, an elastic waistband and are made from the super-soft Amni Soul Eco® fabric. In addition, they naturally have all the qualities a good pair of swimming trunks should have: strong, quick-drying, colourfast and, of course, high quality.

Sustainability in the complete process

The production of the swimming trunks takes place in Portugal at a small company, which has already been visited twice to ensure good working conditions. Part of the proceeds are donated to charities such as Plastic Bank, which removes plastic from the oceans, and Ripple Africa, which offsets part of its CO2 emissions. It also uses recycled paper shipping boxes. Sustainability is everything at Draquis, with a constant focus on improvement and growth. 

Why I chose labels from EE Labels

Recycled polyester was used for the outer fabric of the swimwear, as well as for the inner shorts, drawstring and elastic. The desire was to also have woven labels made of recycled polyester. This led to EE Labels and specifically webshop EE Label Factory where the sustainable sizelabels were ordered at excellent price and very good quality. They may be small labels, but they complete the swimwear!