When Life Gives You Plastic… Make Lemonade (Or Sustainable Activewear)

Growing up in the Disney Channel era, “Wizards of Waverly Place” held a particularly consistent slot in my Friday afternoon television-watching routine. As much as I wanted to be the all-so-powerful and sassy Alex Russo, I resonated most with her adorably naive and eccentrically dressed best friend, Harper Finkle. I was nowhere near as savvy as Harper, and my attempts of making any outfit out of plastic recyclables were futile - although I ashamedly I did wear very homemade and dilapidated hair-bows made out of plastic sandwich bags for the first couple months of high school - thanks Disney.

While I did not have the skill to make anything worthwhile from used plastics, there was clearly some method to my madness. As the pandemic has resurrected the rise of single-use plastics, one of the biggest (and arguably most important) fashion trends taking hold of 2021 is the use of sustainable and ethically sourced materials. Many mainstream brands like Glassons are striving to eliminate up to ninety percent of single use plastics within their company by the end of February. However, for many Australian activewear companies, concepts of sustainability and up-cycling are not new, but rather ingrained and central to the company’s culture. These companies strive not to avoid plastic, but also repurpose it and use it in the production of leggings and yoga mats.

As we are spending more time than ever before completing home and zoom workouts, if you are wanting to support small Australian business and combat the the impact of single-use plastics look no further than here:

Nimble Activewear

Since 2015, high school best friends Katia Santilli and Vera Yan’s creation Nimble Activewear has recycled 1,085,534 plastic bottles. Nimble Activewear uses post-consumer plastic bottles in the creation of custom-engineered and performance fabrics. Each pair of Nimble’s COMPRESSITE leggings contain six plastic bottles and each sports bra uses two recycled bottles. As of July 2019, all of Nimble Activewears products are packaged and shipped in compostable garment bags. In addition to the online store, Nimble Activewear has stores in Bondi Beach and Armadale.

Yogi Peace Club

Established in 2015, Yogi Peace Club (‘YPC’) is the brainchild of Yoga Instructor, Emma Barr, and is based in Bells Beach, Torquay. Designed by the ocean, Barr has described YPC as a ‘conscious brand in terms of sustainability with an ethical supply chain.’ All products are not only shipped in compostable packaging but are also made with recycled plastic bottles. Yoga mats are made from recycled plastic bottles and natural rubber (PVC plastic free). YPC’s printed activewear is also made from post-consumer recycled plastic. For each yoga mat sold, YPC has pledged to plant an Australian native tree.

Be sure to check these brands out for all your activewear needs - good for your body and brownie points from Mother Earth, too!