Meet The Entrepreneur Making Swimsuits Out Of Plants

Janaya Wilkins, a New Zealander grew up exploring the country's beaches and the sports they entailed. During her early 20’s, she traveled widely, finding herself visiting beaches across the world, and developed a new hobby, scuba diving. But studies took her to London; after getting a Master's in marketing, she worked her way up at Aiyma, a digital marketing agency, helping the company expand, acquire another agency, and float on the Swedish stock exchange. But two years ago, she wanted a change.

She returned to the oceans of her childhood with SLO, her new venture (short for “sustainable luxury oceanwear”), which makes swimsuits out of Yulex, a material that has been heralded by outdoor brands such as Patagonia.

“I found myself looking for a new career, a career with a purpose, after working in an agency environment for longer than I had intended. The idea was to take what I love and am passionate about--ocean conservation, what I'm good at, and fuse the two together," she says.

Chhabra: What led you to start this company specifically though, as opposed to another apparel brand?

Wilkins: As a lover of water sports, I have experienced first-hand the marine pollution crisis that is impacting wildlife both underwater and on beaches. Growing up in New Zealand, I’ve always had a deep love for the ocean and a concern for its protection.

The ocean is the lifeblood of this world. Ecosystems both underwater and on land rely on the ocean. Without it, we simply would not exist. But our oceans are being ruined. They are in crisis because of humans’ mindless over-consumption and a disposable mentality. Plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental emergencies that we are facing as a planet. Over 20 million tons of plastic end up in them every year. We need to stop this. We need to give back to the ocean.

Chhabra: And you felt like there was not a suitable solution in the market in terms of swimwear?

Wilkins: We are determined to prove that there is a smarter and more sustainable way to consume goods, without compromising on design, quality and the planet. Every time we make a purchase, we make a vote for the kind of world we want to live in.

What we have seen in the swimwear market as its grown over the past two years, is that many brands are making their sole message about claiming to clean up the ocean simply because of using one textile alone, such as ECONYL®, an amazing cutting-edge textile made from various plastic waste, in isolation of any real action. We fully endorse raising awareness around the critical issue of plastic pollution. It’s the reason SLO active exists, but we advocate a more active approach for the cause, such as physical beach cleanups, lobbying and other grassroots activism. Also, many fast fashion brands that use sustainable textiles are still producing at such volume and rate, with fast moving seasonality at its core, that it defeats the purpose, adding to the problem by sending more fashion waste to landfill. We advocate slow fashion, conscious consumerism and purchasing with purpose and intent.

Chhabra: The first collection, aptly called Clean Lines uses Yulex Pure instead of neoprene. Tell me about your decision to go with Yulex, this is a material that has been used by other outdoor brands.

Wilkins: We waited a whole year to have access to Yulex as a textile. I was determined to launch with Yulex as it’s the most sustainable neoprene option since the raw source comes from a renewable source, hevea trees, and is not a product of mining, limestone neoprene, or drilling, which is petroleum-based neoprene. Yulex also relies on zero-waste processing and is manufactured in a Fair Trade facility. We have a rigid criteria for every point in our product lifecycle. I’m so happy we stuck to our principals, as it’s resulted in something exceptional that we are truly proud of.

Chhabra: You say that SLO is “cause-led” or oceanwear and activism, combined. What does that mean?

Wilkins: The giving model, ‘Earth to Ocean’, is dedicated to being active and hands-on for the cause, always with a grassroots approach.

I wanted to challenge the traditional model. I have always been in favor of a grassroots approach, thinking globally and acting locally. So that is kind of what steered the direction of how SLO active was born.

Chhabra: You’re also partnering with charities in a give back scheme. Where does this money go?

As a baseline, SLO active donates, 3% of revenue, not just profits, from every piece purchased, as well as volunteering their own time to our charity partners and cross-promoting their initiatives. We also have campaign-based giving planned, which will be joined up with the initiatives of each individual charity partner. The goal is to reach a baseline giving of 5% of revenue by 2021.

Source: Forbes.com

Powered by NewsAPI.org

Keywords:

Entrepreneurship • Sport • Scuba diving • London, Ontario • Digital marketing • Stockholm Stock Exchange • Sustainability • Yulex • Wilderness • Patagonia (clothing) • Natural environment • Marine conservation • Marine pollution • New Zealand • Ocean • Ocean • Ecosystem • Ocean • Ocean • Human • Overconsumption • Plastic pollution • Environmentalism • Sustainability • Textile • Textile • Plastic pollution • Reality • Action theory (philosophy) • Critical theory • Plastic pollution • Reason • Lifestyle (sociology) • Lifestyle (sociology) • Health • Grassroots • Fast fashion • Sustainability • Textile • Waste • Landfill • Consumerism • Clean technology • Yulex • Neoprene • Yulex • Raw material • Yulex • Textile • Yulex • Sustainability • Neoprene • Renewable energy • Hevea brasiliensis • Mining • Limestone • Neoprene • Oil well • Petroleum • Neoprene • Yulex • Zero waste • Food processing • Fair trade • Product lifecycle • Grassroots • Revenue • Profit (accounting) • Charitable organization • Partnership • Promotion (marketing) • Political campaign • Individual • Charitable organization • Partnership • Goal • Revenue •