Janaya Wilkins, owner and creative director of new brand SLO active, talks to Jessica Owen about her swimwear collection made from plant-based materials.
Yulex is stretchy, durable, and just as warm as traditional neoprene
Neoprene, also known as polychloroprene, is a type of synthetic rubber, which is produced by polymerisation of chloroprene. It is often used to make swimsuits and wetsuits due to its flexibility and lightweight nature, however it is not a very sustainable textile as it derives from petroleum.
In order to create an alternative to neoprene swimwear, SLO active was developed and launched by Janaya Wilkins.
Originally from New Zealand, Wilkins grew up very close to the ocean, around surfing and learning to scuba dive later on throughout her world travels. Because of this connection with the water, she experienced first-hand the issues that the ocean is facing in terms of pollution and became concerned about its conservation.
“I always found myself in a bikini or a wetsuit, but I struggled to find something that was sustainable and wasn’t produced on mass,” she says.
“Everything I was wearing was made from synthetic fabric and I found it difficult to find something that I liked and was in line with my values.”
The collection launched with seven pieces including tops, bottoms and a racerback wetsuit
Wilkins went on to move to London, UK, where she completed a master’s degree in marketing and innovation. Unfortunately, this move is what led her to experience ‘fast fashion’ first-hand.
“Just look at Oxford Street and Primark, that sort of thing,” says Wilkins. “It was a real eye-opener. Although we have these shops in New Zealand, it’s not on the same scale. So, that really hit home, and so my slow fashion values started getting stronger and that fire was lit.”
After working her way up to be a director in a digital agency, Wilkins got to the point where she realised that what she was doing wasn’t what she loved or cared about. So, she went back to her values and thought, “Why don’t I take what I love, what I am good at and what I care about, and make a living out of that?
“So, I put myself through a course at the London College of Fashion and I learned the basics of swimwear and lingerie design,” she explains.
The pieces are made from a plant-based material alternative to neoprene called Yulex
With her new-found skills in textiles and design, SLO active was born.
“The brand is called SLO active for a reason; it stands for Sustainable Luxury Oceanwear. But it is also about the slow fashion movement and active because it’s both ‘activewear for the ocean’ and we are active for the cause.”
SLO active garments are made from Yulex. This is a plant-based textile created using raw materials from the hevea tree. You can’t tap this rubber from a tree like maple syrup; it’s integrated into the bark of the plant and you have to go through a destructive harvest to extract all the rubber and then purify and clean it to make it useable.
Yulex’s headquarters are based in California, US. They have plantations in Sri Lanka and in Guatemala, and all the trees are FSC certified by the Rainforest Alliance. The raw material is packaged as sliced up sheets and this is sent to the manufacturer to create the product.
At first, Wilkins began working with one of the biggest wetsuit manufacturers in the world as she thought this was the only option. However, they weren’t the best fit for SLO active as they have very high minimum order quantities, and the way in which it manufactures wasn’t in line with the brand’s slow fashion values.
“But slowly over time, Yulex is building out its profile to have distributors all over the world and now we have manufacturers in Italy.”
The Yulex material itself is like a rubber sponge, and on each side to give it colour, it is laminated with a recycled jersey. It’s laminated using a water-based glue and it’s dyed with a solution-based dye to save as much water as possible – around 30-32 litres of water per suit is saved.
“It is a much more sustainable alternative to all other neoprene options out there,” she says. “It’s very stretchy, just as warm if not warmer than traditional neoprene, and it’s buoyant.
"As soon as we received the first prototypes, I was over the moon. The quality is very high and it’s exactly how we wanted it.”
SLO Active has a giving model, so for every piece bought, the company donates to charity
Yulex is just as durable as traditional neoprene as well. Of course, over time it will eventually wear down, but Wilkins says that as long as it is cared for properly and is rinsed with freshwater, there is no reason why a suit can’t last for years and years to come.
In terms of the first collection, there are seven pieces with different coverage options – a surf leotard with long sleeves, a low-scoop bikini top, a high-neck bikini top, full brief bottoms and cheeky bottoms, a one-piece swimsuit and high waist surf shorts.
Because these are luxury items, the price ranges from £100 to £260 for the surf leotard.
Officially, SLO active was launched on 30 May 2019. A Kickstarter campaign was launched as well, and the company was fully funded by 29 June.
“There has actually been a two-year ramp up,” explains Wilkins.
“We launched the website and brand two years ago. The first year was spent solely on our cause, raising awareness about plastic pollution and other issues that the ocean faces. But, in the background, I was focused on sourcing the fabric and our charity partners.”
SLO active also has a giving model called Earth to Ocean. So, for every piece that is bought, the company donates to one of its three charity partners – Project Aware, Changing Tides Foundation and Plastic Oceans UK.
Now, the next step for SLO active is to start production. First, those who donated to the Kickstarter campaign will receive their garments, but the brand’s website is now running for pre-orders, which will be ready for shipping from October this year.
Then come 2020, Wilkins says she will launch another small collection, which will be focused again in and around the experience of being active for the ocean and in the ocean.
“If you have the ideas to be more sustainable, then why not take the responsibility,” says Wilkins.
To find out more information, visit www.sloactive.com
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