SUSTAINABILITY

At Camp Cove Swim, sustainability means being better for our environment and our community.

The very ethos of Camp Cove Swim is centered around spending time in nature. The ocean welcomes us and asks for nothing in return. In an effort to recognise and support our relationship with nature, we aim to be ethically and environmentally conscious in all aspects of our business.

Our approach to making swimwear is based on a series of thoughtful design processes and decisions that aim to minimise our impact on the planet. We understand that the conversation around sustainability is ever-changing and evolving, and that there’s always something to learn. Our goal is to implement meaningful and positive change through our business; one swimsuit at a time.

 For more information regarding our processes, please read about them below.

 

Fabrics

Longevity is incredibly important when it comes to our swimwear. We pride ourselves on sourcing high quality fabrics that are trialled and tested to ensure our swimsuits can be worn for years to come. In Australia alone, six tonnes of textiles and clothing end up in landfill every 10 minutes. Considering this, we hope that by creating long-lasting products we can help reduce textile waste.

The lining material of our swimsuits is ECONYL, a regenerated nylon made from rescued fishing nets and nylon waste from landfills and oceans around the world. Due to the limitations of existing technologies and fibres, we’re yet to use recycled fabrics for every part of our swimwear garments. However, we’re currently in the process of trialling printable recycled fabric and hope to introduce this in our upcoming collection.

As for fabric printing, all of our swimsuits are printed on locally in Sydney using sublimation. Sublimation is a digital printing method that eliminates water entirely from the dyeing process—we’d rather swim in water than waste it. We also use repeat prints that are sized to the width of the fabric to ensure the least amount of waste possible. 

Manufacturing

Our manufacturing processes are strongly tied to a sense of community. All of our swimwear is ethically and locally manufactured on the South Coast of New South Wales in Jervis Bay, Australia. At the head of production is Chamila, who has operated our production from early 2014. As the business as grown, Chamila has grown her workshop too and generated jobs in the Jervis Bay community. In Marrickville, Sydney, we work with a team of local screen printers and embroiderers to collaborate on our t-shirts and accessories. Immersing ourselves in our surrounding communities and establishing mutually beneficial relationships with our manufacturers is very important to us.

At Camp Cove Swim, we’re strongly committed to craftsmanship, quality control and waste management. Sampling is performed in-house using leftover fabrics; fabric cutting is meticulously planned out to ensure minimal waste; and fabric scraps are used to make smaller pieces of garments and scrunchies. After these production processes are carried out, any remaining leftover fabrics are sold on to local fabric retail stores. We only ever restock what is or is almost sold out to ensure we produce only as much as we need.

 Packaging

When it comes to packaging, we like to keep things simple and sustainable. We use zero plastic with our online and wholesale orders, and stay away from nasty polyester bags. Instead, online orders are wrapped in recyclable tissue paper, printed with one of our original prints, and secured with biodegradable sticky tape. Each order is posted in either a compostable satchel or cardboard box.

The packaging used to transport and store garments is reused time and time again. Every empty box and bag is collected and sent out again to our maker, who will use them for the next delivery to us at our studio.

Camp Cove Swim swing tags are used sparingly to minimise unnecessary wastage.

Studio

Our studio is St. Peters, Sydney is where all of our prints and samples are designed in-house, and orders are packaged and posted by Camp Cove Swim founder and director, Katherine, and operations manager, Mikey.

We do our best to keep it a waste-free zone by recycling all paper and recyclables; taking mugs to our local coffee shop; and avoiding single-use plastics and packaging altogether.

 

 If you have any questions or would like to know more, please say hello at hello@campcoveswim.com.