Sustainable Wesuits

🌎On this page, you will learn what to avoid and how to find the most environmentally responsible wetsuit brands on the market.

Conventional Wetsuits

Avoid conventional baby swimwear made with plastic, synthetic materials that are petroleum-derived. They are new nylon and polyester.

Conventional wetsuits  are surprising source of microplastics. If you have sensitive skin, synthetic blends can be more irritating than natural fibers, especially when wet and rubbed for long periods.

❌ Neoprene: made through a complex chemical process but it starts with petroleum. Non-renewable resource. It needs a chemical process to extracts from the petroleum and turns them into new polymers. Heavy carbon emissions. Chloroprene emissions in the air have been linked to severe health risks.

❌ Chloroprene: ⚠️ Proposition 65 Warning: This product can expose you to chemicals including chloroprene, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer. For more information go to p65warnings.ca.gov.

Greenwashing Wetsuits

Avoid Greenwashing wetsuits made by brands that pretends to be green, sustainable, and responsible when they are not. They may still use polluting materials and controversial processes or manufacturing.

They use misleading marketing claims to motivate you to sell their products. They may still use polluting practices, polluting materials, controversial processes, or unknown manufactory protocols.

❌ Yamamoto limestone neoprene: claimed as “eco” because it swaps out finite petroleum for rock mining, it is still synthetic neoprene (chloroprene rubber). Whether you start with crude oil or limestone (calcium carbonate), the end chemical result is exactly the same: polychloroprene. Because it is structurally identical to standard neoprene, a limestone suit will still shed non-biodegradable synthetic microfibers into the water over time. Limestone is also a non-renewable resource. The limestone mining process is also harmful to the environment.

Sustainable Wetsuits

The best  wetsuits are made with plastic-free, natural fabric, biodegradable materials with increased the durability of the textiles, to cut the microplastic pollution.

🍃Responsible brands choose sustainable and better materials. They use recycled materials versus making new ones. They use available resources while cleaning the oceans. They used sustainable materials and practices such as:

Certified Yulex®: The First Certified Natural Rubber Supply Chain. Yulex is a plant-based natural rubber made from FSC-certified hevea trees. Unlike petroleum-based neoprene, Yulex reduces CO₂ emissions by up to 80% during production. It offers the same stretch, warmth, and durability — without the environmental cost.

Yulex pioneered the introduction of certified natural rubber into the supply chain for consumer brands. Still today, certified natural rubber is only about 3% worldwide. Yulex is committed to increasing this number.

• ✅ 100% neoprene-free
• ✅ Plant-based natural rubber
• ✅ FSC®-certified forests

✅ ECONYL® regenerated nylon: ECONYL®, manufactured in Italy is made out of 100% regenerated nylon -which means that no virgin materials are used in its production. It rescues waste from oceans and landfills like ghost fishing nets, carpet fluff, and fabric scraps. It reduces the global warming impact by up to 80% when compared to nylon made from oil. 

✅ Recycled Polyester: made with post-consumer material such as plastic bottles and fishing nets .

​

The Best Sustainable Wetsuit Brands

• 🌿 Patagonia

Shop with my links to support my research 💖🐠 🐙 🐢