Why We Care
We are an independent surf label in an innately environmentally challenging industry. We don't take our impact lightly — we're aware of it, and we're continually trying to keep the door of our brand's evolution wide open.
The time to act on climate and environment is now, for our sake and our children's sake. Existing in this industry requires big change and bold moves, and we hope to be open and transparent with you as we go. We've made some big leaps forward, and we've also hit barriers that have slowed our progress. Here's what we're doing now, and what seeds we're sowing for the future.
There's no end point to this — just continual progression. Watch while we make it happen.
▼
We're stoked to now offer our customers two options when it comes to wetsuits.
CORE Range – Yulex® Natural Rubber
Our new CORE range is made with Yulex® natural rubber, sourced from Forest Stewardship Council®-certified suppliers by the Rainforest Alliance. We've been chasing Yulex for years, and we've finally made it happen. The best part? It's just as soft, buttery, flexible, and warm as our previous suits.
Japanese Yamamoto Limestone Neoprene
The rest of our suits are crafted from premium Japanese Yamamoto limestone neoprene, derived from limestone instead of petrochemicals. This material is renowned for its longevity and exceptional quality, thanks to world-class Japanese craftsmanship. Even better, the Yamamoto factory now runs on 100% renewable energy, reducing its manufacturing footprint.
Why Two Materials?
For full transparency, we currently work with both Yulex® and Yamamoto to give you options. Each material has its strengths — and a few limitations. For example, “smoothy” panels aren't currently available in Yulex®. We're continuing to research, test, and learn so we can find the best way forward for performance and the planet.
▼
All of our swim is made from ECONYL®, an Italian made material which turns recovered ocean plastics into a synthetic material suitable for swimwear.
The recycled aspect of this material is advantageous as using recycled materials over raw materials not only helps to reduce waste and pollution in the environment but also means that the production of nylon isn't reliant upon virgin crude oil and fabrics.
Our ECONYL® swim is also certified with the Oeko-Tex® Standard 100, meaning that our entire swim collection is free from harmful and toxic chemicals.
Whilst ECONYL® has become a favoured material when it comes to addressing issues of plastic and waste, like most fabrics, it is not perfect. It is a known problem that materials made from recycled plastic shed microfibres or microplastics similar to all synthetic materials when the item is washed.
We suggest purchasing a microfibre washing bag or installing a filter on your washing machine. The Australian government has announced in their 2021 National Plastic Plan that by 2030 all new washing machines will be fitted with this requirement (that's too far away, we suggest acting on it now).
▼
Since Atmosea began in 2016 we have used cotton for its natural qualities throughout the majority of our apparel collections. We recognise that despite its breathable and non-synthetic qualities, the farming and production of traditional cotton is detrimental to the environment, in the way of water usage, pesticides and monocrop farming practices.
As of September 2021 we started the transition of migrating our apparel range across to the Global Organic Textile Standard — GOTS, which ensures our pieces utilise certified organic cotton.
The use of GOTS certified cotton fabric is a better choice environmentally for a number of reasons. Cotton certified under this standard has been grown without the use of synthetic pesticides; crops are rotated — adding to soil vitality, biodiversity and carbon storage — and water is saved in excess of 7000L per t-shirt (according to the Textile Exchange's 2014 Life-Cycle Assessment when comparing conventional cotton to GOTS cotton).
As our journey with using the GOTS cotton evolves, we are also seeking to ensure our apparel range meets Oeko-Tex® 100 standard which ensures the product is free from harmful chemicals and toxins from start to finish. We are currently working with our manufacturers to establish that the dyeing of our pieces can comply with the Oeko-Tex® 100 standard.
▼
Our hygiene liners are also from Better Packaging Co, they are certified as commercially compostable under European and Australian standards. Commercially compostable is not preferred as reaching circularity with its disposal can be difficult to achieve. We recognise this, however based on regulatory requirements of having to include the liners in our production, believe that utilising plant based over plastic based alternatives provides a better option.
Check with your local council regarding the best disposal of certified commercially compostable materials.
▼
We use home compostable Better Packaging Co garment bags for our entire swim collection as well as for every order we process and ship out. We have an arrangement with Better Packaging Co, who manufactures their products in China, to send directly to our manufacturers in China — cutting out the unnecessary journey from China to New Zealand (their HQ) and then back to our Chinese factory. Please note that disposing of any 'compostable' product irresponsibly still results in pollution and threatens ecosystems.
We are currently using 100% recycled plastic bags for our wetsuit shipment as there are no home compostable garment bags large enough to fit our wetsuits. We have worked with the factory to ensure that each suit is not individually wrapped; rather we get them bulk wrapped, significantly saving on single bags. We then recycle these bags in the soft plastics stream or reuse them in other shipping processes.
Our apparel is made by our friends in Bali. We currently receive our garments in cassava bags that are said to be compostable, 100% plant based and dissolvable in water. We have sought clarification on the compostability of this product by way of attached certifications, but have been unable to determine with certainty that these bags are what they are said to be.
We will continue to monitor this with the manufacturer and look for alternatives. For the moment we believe this to be a better choice than virgin plastic. Please dispose of these bags thoughtfully — we recommend testing them out yourself in your home compost bin.
▼
Ideally our production would be Australian made. Cost and availability barriers mean that all of our production is currently offshore.
Atmosea swim and wetsuits are made in China at a recognised factory who adheres to ISO management practices and undergoes annual BSCI audits.
We have contacted the management of the factory to start piecing together information relating to waste and energy, and will provide updates as they become available.
All of our apparel is made in Bali by our friends at Mindful Merch. This factory provides high standards of workers' rights and conditions, as seen on the number of visits we have made. We are working with Mindful Merch to determine aspects such as the processing of waste water, recycling and textile waste.