Battling the pollution of 'microfibre bomb' swimwear

There's no way you'd be able to tell just by looking at them but Allerton Swimwear's bathers are all made from fabric regenerated from discarded plastic bottles and fishing nets collected from the bottom of the ocean.

"There is so much waste in the fashion industry, it's really important to play your part," says Pirra Griffiths the designer and founder of Allerton Swimwear.

The 30-year-old Sydneysider sources the fabric she uses to make Allerton Swimwear from Econyl in Italy.

"It is really expensive fabric so I need to try to educate the market about how important it is," Griffith says.

She launched Allerton in 2015 with $50,000 from savings, family, friends and "a small business loan". Allerton Swimwear is stocked at Forever 21, The Iconic and House of Fraser with turnover last year of $50,000.

Griffiths has shown at Miami swim week and even managed to get pop superstar Rhianna to wear her bikinis

"Being a small label I do what I can at the moment," says Griffiths. Read more



Cara Waters - Brisbane Times - 26 Mar 2018