From Beach Clean-ups to Bikinis: There’s an Easy Solution to Super-Polluting Nylon

This deep dive is made possible by Remnant Bikinis, an eco-conscious LA-based swimwear brand made out of at least 78% recycled fishing nets and plastic bottles and manufactured ethically in Bali and Los Angeles in kind working conditions, with seamstresses receiving double the minimum wage and health insurance. Remnant’s commitment to sustainability includes using plant-based non-toxic dyes, biodegradable certified home-compostable packaging, and carbon offsets in shipping.

Nylon is not the fashion industry’s favorite fabric — it only makes up around 5% of textiles used by the fashion industry. It’s most often found in carpeting, but you’ll also find it sprinkled here and there on fashion sites in stockings, ski suits, blended into sweaters, and in army-style accessories like hip packs and bomber jackets. 

It’s especially popular for bathing suits. It just lasts a long time without getting saggy and ratty. 

And yet, it is one of fashion’s biggest polluters, accounting for nearly twice the greenhouse gas emissions of cotton and one-and-a-half times the emissions of polyester. How can that be? 

Well, manufacturing nylon 6.6, the tougher kind of nylon, requires something called adipic acid. And manufacturing adipic acid, in turn, releases nitrous oxide (N2O), an extremely potent greenhouse gas that does 237 times (!) the damage of the more well-known greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.  The Ascend factory in Florida, for example, releases emissions equivalent to 1.6 million cars every year, four times more than any other US factory. China is always pretty opaque on these things, but it’s thought that the 11 adipic acid manufacturers in China, where almost half the world’s adipic acid is created, don’t control their N2O emissions either. 

Once in the atmosphere, N2O hangs around for an average of 114 years. And it also helps destroy the ozone layer, which protects humanity from the frying rays of the sun. Really, N2O has nothing going for it.

Quick clarification: this applies only to nylon 6.6. Another type, nylon 6, uses caprolactam, which doesn’t emit N2O during its production. However, it is also a petrochemical and is made from refined oil.

And just in case you weren’t aware, as a petroleum-based plastic material, nylon does not biodegrade into the environment. Like polyester, it breaks down into little fibers and pieces which can then be swallowed by wildlife and humans alike. 

The thing is, it doesn’t have to be that way. Nylon can be collected and recycled into new nylon. So is that the answer? Let’s dive in.

What’s the Eco-Friendly Alternative to Nylon? 

Unfortunately, no brand has come up with a natural and biodegradable replacement for nylon yet. Cotton, silk, and linen just don’t perform as well or last as long. That’s why you see nylon in bathing suits from sustainably-minded companies — because the most sustainable thing to do is buy a high-quality suit that will last! 

The Italian company Aquafil has set up a pilot plant to test bio-based nylon, and we will be keeping an eye on that. Until that is available, however, the best solution is to use recycled nylon. 

So how sustainable is recycled nylon? In fact, according to the World Resources Institute, increasing the percent of nylon that is recycled from less than 1% to just 3% could reduce the fashion industry’s emissions by the equivalent of 1.4 million metric tons of CO2. 

And happily, recycled nylon is very available. Aquafil makes a popular fabric called Econyl, which is made entirely from nylon waste, including old carpets, fishing nets pulled out of the ocean, and factory off-cuts. 

Aquafil has six different facilities for recovering old nylon for recycling. Most of them are in the United States, where the facilities offer employment to people recovering from substance abuse. But it opened another facility in 2022 in Chile, which specializes in the collection of aquaculture nets. It also sources from a Norwegian nets recovery company. Aquafil’s “The Healthy Seas” foundation has organized beach cleanups in 20 countries across North America, Asia, and Europe, recovering more than 900 tons of marine litter, much of it — you guessed it — nylon nets. 

Aquafil breaks down old nylon into caprolactam and then uses that to create more nylon 6. Unlike recycling polyester, Econyl recycled nylon is the same quality as virgin nylon, and can be recycled an infinite number of times. Yes, you can really call it circular! 

Best of all, its production emits 90% less greenhouse gas emissions than virgin nylon production. 

Plus, Aquafil follows all the best standards for chemical safety and pollution: Europe’s REACH standards, Oeko-Tex, and ZDHC. 

So if you’re ready to jump in the pool, but want to help preserve your favorite beaches from sea level rise, then reach for a bikini made with recycled nylon. 

After all, we know the most sustainable move is to buy once and keep for as long as possible, and a bathing suit made with Econyl should keep its flattering fit for many, many vacations to come.