The fashion world is awash with vague taglines like ‘eco’ and ‘green’. Last year, it was reported that 60% of sustainability claims by 12 of the biggest British and European fashion brands could be classed as ‘misleading’ and ‘unsubstantiated’[1].
It’s a question we’re often asked, so we wanted to give a little insight into what actually makes Davy J ‘sustainable’, and how as a brand we consider the value and use of the resources that go into each and every suit.
From the very start, Davy J was created as a circular brand, thanks to our founder, Helen’s, belief that the environment should be at the core of business strategy, not an afterthought.
At its heart, Davy J aims to inspire authentic connections with the ocean, and this extends far beyond swimwear style and design. We aim to not only reduce our impact on the environment through our supply chain, production and packaging use, but also to actively work with and support processes that reduce wastage and maximise natural resource value.
Striving to fight the trend for throwaway fashion, we pride ourselves on being a seasonless brand, creating timeless products that won’t go out of fashion. Davy J suits have been designed to be more durable and last longer than your normal ‘skimpy strings’; from pattern design, seam placement and double lining, to quality manufacturing and critical product testing, we want your suit to stand the test of time.
Our current collection uses ECONYLⓇ yarn; for every 100 Davy J suits sold, at least 18kg of waste is regenerated, of which 4.5kg are spent and ghost fishing nets collected by volunteer divers and fishing communities in collaboration with The Healthy Seas Initiative. The ECONYL® Regeneration system is a chemical and mechanical process that allows you to create regenerated yarn from waste keeping the same purity and strength characteristics of Nylon coming from virgin material. With this yarn, numerous textile products can be created and not only does it provide a smart way to find a use and value for waste material that would otherwise remain wasted and potentially damaging to the environment, but it also saves precious raw material that is normally used up in the production of virgin nylon.
We carefully choose manufacturing partners who share our values and drive for innovation. The carbon life cycle of our suits is taken into consideration at every step. The impact of emission heavy processes, such as fabric production and dyeing, are reduced by partners committed to innovative environmental policies. Our fabric mill only uses renewable energy, produces its own electricity internally (enough to light up 12 Eiffel Towers a year), recycles 83% of its water and 99% of waste from production.
bespoke box and paper mailing bag - is 100% recyclable at home. Opting for grass paper for the mailing bags, uses up to 75% less CO2 than standard paper, and can be composted at home, along with the tissue paper. To further reduce our carbon footprint, we use local suppliers and raw materials from the UK for the gorgeous printed boxes – carefully designed in the hope they’ll get a second life in the home or for regifting before recycling.
Ultimately, we take responsibility for what we create and encourage you to send your suits back to us for repair, upcycling or regeneration of materials where possible. We are always working on new and innovative solutions to combat the 206,456 tonnes of textile waste that enters landfill each year in the UK[2], so watch this space!