Impact Report
The ocean gave us surfing. The least we can do is be honest about how we're giving back.
Below is our Impact Methodology for calculating our environmental impact with each suit. We calculate for plastic bottles diverted from landfills for Repreve and kgs of wasted fishing net nylon for ECONYL. Industry standards, Repreve and ECONYL given statistics, swimsuit fabric content measured in grams by the manufacturer (typically around 80% of the swimsuit, with the other 20% being elastane unfortunately which cannot be recycled), and unique design aspects of our swimwear, e.g. double layering, which also affects these numbers). These are updated every so often for best accuracy and with any updates from the fabric suppliers and manufacturers.
What Our Suits Are Made From
Every Do Good Surf Club suit is made with ECONYL® regenerated nylon — a certified fabric produced by Aquafil, an Italian manufacturer that collects nylon waste from landfills and oceans worldwide, including abandoned fishing nets, carpet fluff, and fabric scraps, and regenerates it into new yarn without any loss of quality.
ECONYL® nylon is chemically identical to virgin nylon — same performance, same durability, same stretch. The difference is where it comes from. We're authorized ECONYL® brand partners, which means our use of this fabric is verified and certified directly by Aquafil. → Learn more at econyl.com
Some styles in our collection incorporate Repreve® recycled fiber by Unifi (based in North Carolina) — made from post-consumer plastic bottles. Each bottle is cleaned, shredded into flake, melted, and extruded into high-quality fiber. Our use of Repreve® is tracked and certified through Unifi's official Repreve Tracking Tool (RTT), which provides third-party audited data for every fiber order.
What We Don't Claim
Our suits contain approximately 15–20% elastane/spandex, which provides stretch and recovery. This component is not currently made from recycled material — we're transparent about this. Our impact calculations apply only to the certified recycled fiber content of each garment.
How We Calculate Impact Per Garment
Here's exactly how we arrive at the numbers on each product page. These are conservative, certified estimates — we'd rather under-promise and over-deliver than inflate our claims.
Step 1 — Fabric Weight Per Garment
We work with our manufacturers to document the precise fabric weight of every style. This is measured in grams per completed garment, not per meter of fabric, ensuring accuracy across different cut sizes.
= Recycled fiber weight per garment
Example: 170g one-piece × 82% ECONYL®
= ~140g recycled nylon per suit
Step 2 — Waste Diverted
Because ECONYL® is regenerated through a closed-loop process, 1kg of waste nylon input produces approximately 1kg of ECONYL® yarn (before minor processing losses). We use Aquafil's published conversion ratios from their annual sustainability reports to calculate waste diverted.
Example: 140g ÷ 1000 = ~0.14kg nylon waste per suit
Step 3 — Fishing Net Equivalent
We convert nylon waste weight to a fishing net equivalent because it's the most tangible metric for our ocean-focused community. Our conversion is based on average commercial fishing net density data (approximately 200–300g per linear meter depending on net type). We use the conservative end of this range.
Example: 140g ÷ 300 = ~0.47m of net per suit
Step 4 — CO₂ Reduction
We reference Aquafil's published life cycle analysis (LCA) data, which shows that ECONYL® regeneration reduces the global warming impact of nylon by up to 80% compared to virgin nylon production. We apply their published per-kilogram CO₂ equivalent reduction figure to our per-garment fiber weight.
How We Track Community Impact
Every suit sold adds to our running total. We update this counter monthly using actual sales data and our per-garment impact calculations. This is your community's number — every person who chose Do Good Surf Club over a fast-fashion alternative is in it.
For 2025, we are happy to report that we:
- Recycled >2300 plastic bottles with our Repreve swimsuits
- Prevented 60955.54 kg of CO2 emission with our Repreve and ECONYL swimsuits. *Remember, ECONYL regenerated nylon has a 90 percent lower impact on climate change as opposed to Nylon which is made from oil. There are savings of 70,000 barrels of crude oil and 57,100 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions for every 10,000 tons of ECONYL raw material. REPREVE's carbon impact is significantly lower than virgin polyester, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 42% for filament yarn and even more for textile waste, along with lowering fossil fuel use and water consumption, by transforming recycled plastic bottles and textile waste into new fibers, offering a more sustainable choice for the fashion industry.
- Donated 10% of profits to community non profit organizations that promote sustainability, environmental conservation, coral restoration, programs supporting impoverished women starting their own businesses
- Hosted 5 beach clean ups, cleaned up 25 lbs of beach litter, provided free surf lessons/ education on ocean stewardship to 20 kids, and raised over $1000 for local food banks in California and Hawai'i.
- Helped divert 300 lbs of textile/ clothing waste from landfills with help from Trashie bags. *Note: Each Trashie bag diverts up to 15lbs of clothing and textiles from the landfill, saves 1596 gallons of water and 151 lbs of CO2 emissions.
For 2026, we are working on our quarterly impact report which will be updated soon and will include: kg of nylon waste diverted to date, # of plastic bottles diverted from landfills to date, meters of fishing net recovered, and kg of CO2 reduced.
Where & How We Make Things
We produce with two manufacturing partners. Our US-based production is used for limited and hero styles — shorter supply chains mean lower transport emissions, faster iteration, and the ability to do smaller runs without waste. Our certified ethical overseas production in Bali is used for our core volume styles, with our manufacturers holding SA8000, GRS and OEKO-TEX 100 certification — meaning independently audited fair wages, safe working conditions, and environmental compliance.
We don't use a single mega-factory for everything. We use the right manufacturer for the right product, and we visit our local partners regularly and our overseas partner bi-annually. If you have questions about a specific style's fabric or production origin, email us at hello@dogoodswimwear.com — we'll tell you exactly how and where it was made.
Our Commitments & What We're Still Working On
What we're proud of: Using only certified ECONYL® and Repreve® recycled fabrics. Verified impact tracking per garment. Transparent dual-manufacturer model. Recyclable and compostable packaging with recyclable hang tags on the garments. Partnering with local ocean clean ups and organizations that clean up 1 lb of ocean plastic per purchase via EcoDrive and 4ocean. We have a repair incentive program and encourage donating gently used swim to local women's shelters, or recycling it through Trashie or Supercircle. No greenwashing — only claims we can back with documentation.
What we're still working on: We would love to find a more circular fabric option- one we are looking into is AmniSoul Eco, which is a fabric that would compost under the right conditions while still providing the same feel/ stretch/ durability as regular swim fabric. We are exploring ethical manufacturers in South America for this option, which is where it originates, but have yet to find the right manufacturer with appropriate certifications.
The elastane content in our suits (15–20%) is not yet recycled — this is an industry-wide challenge, and we're actively researching bio-based and recycled elastane alternatives as they become commercially available. We are still a small brand and would love to be able to invest more in this development, however, we are limited by funding/ resources.
Want to hold us accountable? We publish an annual impact report every year. If something on this page ever changes — a new certification, a new supplier, a revised calculation — we'll update it and note the change. Email us anytime at hello@dogoodswimwear.com.
In the meantime, join us on our next beach clean up/ surf sesh, or find us at our local community garden in collaboration with City of Long Beach to promote sustainable and healthy living and green space/ accessibility for local residents.