Zulu & Zephyr began its journey in the Summer of 2012. Founders Candice and Karla Rose set out to revive and relive their mother’s Australian fashion era in the 1970’s. The design brief was to evoke nostalgia with vintage prints and a focus on texture. As the success of the brand has grown, so too has the social responsibility which has led to the shift of our internal processes and priorities. Here, we would like to introduce two forth coming fabric compositions that have changed the face of our brand - for the better.
Our entire Signature swim and our Mini swim collections re-launched using ECONYL® in 2020. Featuring the classic ribbed lycra synonymous with Zulu & Zephyr, exclusively developed in premium, regenerated nylon. Made from ECONYL® Rib outer and lined in premium weight ECONYL® lining. ECONYL® represents 100% of our fabric usage for Signature & Mini swim collections.
ECONYL® yarn is made through a revolutionary process of recovering fishing nets and other nylon waste otherwise polluting the Earth from all over the world that then gets regenerated into its original, pure nylon form. Using a recycled material reduces waste and pollution in the environment but also cuts down the need for raw materials & crude oil used in the production of nylon.
The positive impacts of using ECONYL® are not just limited to the revolutionary process of waste regeneration but also the impact of removing the raw material from our oceans through the partnership with Healthy Seas. Ghost fishing nets are an environmental catastrophe but Healthy Seas volunteers are responsible for recovering discarded nets from our oceans that would otherwise cause injury and death to marine animals. It is this environmental stewardship that has awarded ECONYL® the EU Ecolabel for environmental excellence. EU Ecolabel products and services meet high environmental standards throughout their life-cycle and promote the circular economy. ECONYL® is certified by the Oeko-Tex® 100 Standard that ensures that no harmful substances are used in the production and dye process. Materials or products that hold Standard 100 Oeko-tex certification are tested to be free of over 100 harmful substances.
Since re-launching our Signature collection, made from ECONYL® in 2020 the impacts have cumulated in climate-friendly savings of 1’052'899.7 MegaJoule/year of gross energy which is the equivalent of powering 10 Australian homes for 4 years as well as 75’140.8 kgCO2eq/year which is the equivalent emissions from 16 cars/year.
ZULU & ZEPHYR USES REPREVE®
REPREVE is a polyester fibre made from recycled plastic bottles is fully certifiable and traceable. Global Recycle Standard (GRS) certified ensures the highest level of integrity, tracing recycled content while Standard 100 Oeko-tex certification ensures health and safety for people and planet. Find out more about REPREVE® certifications here.
Swimwear made from REPREVE® helps to reduce the use of raw materials while diverting plastic and pollution from landfill. Unifi, which transforms bottles into REPREVE has recycled over 25 billion plastic bottles while offsetting the use of new petroleum, emitting fewer greenhouse gases and conserving water and energy in the process.
Launching as of November 2021 styles made from REPREVE®
will comprise over 70% of our Resort 22 mainline swim offering. While lining made from REPREVE® will be across all styles, 100% of the collection.
Excitingly we are currently in the midst of custom development using REPREVE® recycled polyester, to ensure we can maintain aesthetic true to the brand while also driving our commitment to transition to using regenerated, recycled fabrics across our entire mainline swim offering by July 2022.
will comprise over 70% of our Resort 22 mainline swim offering. While lining made from REPREVE® will be across all styles, 100% of the collection.
Excitingly we are currently in the midst of custom development using REPREVE® recycled polyester, to ensure we can maintain aesthetic true to the brand while also driving our commitment to transition to using regenerated, recycled fabrics across our entire mainline swim offering by July 2022.
ABOUT OUR SWIMWEAR LINING
Our entire Signature swim and Mini swim collections are lined in premium weight ECONYL® lining. ECONYL® represents 100% of our fabric usage for Signature & Mini swim collections. As of Resort 22 our entire Ready to Wear swimwear will be lined in premium weight REPREVE® lining. Therefore as of November 2021, all our swimwear will be lined in regenerated, recycled fabrications across all collections.
OUR IMPACT
We look forward to sharing the impact of our Resort 22 swim collection using REPREVE® once we have relevant data.