Waves of Change
Our Sustainability Journey
Our Journey. Our Mission.
Snapper Rock has been built on protecting children and families from the damage of sun exposure. As a responsible business, we recognise that all our business activities have an impact on the environment, the people who make our products, and our community.
Our Waves of Change pillars are our standards and values, and outline our goals and achievements of protection for the planet and our communities. The health of our planet and oceans, and the rights and wellbeing of the people in our supply chain are key to the sustainability of our business.
We are on a journey of change and improvement. We are on a mission to ensure nature and our communities are protected and thrive, so that children can enjoy our beaches and oceans for generations to come.
Liz Eglinton, CEO
Our Three Pillars
1. Sustainable Materials
Our use of sustainable materials is now 30% of our total collection. We have big plans to increase our use of recycled and lower impact materials going forward to ensure our footprint is as low as possible. For our 2024 collection we are tracking to achieve 40%!
All our fabrics for our sustainable collections have been printed or dyed in factories with Oeko-Tex® certification, ensuring no toxic or harmful chemicals have been used in the production of our garments.
REPREVE® Polyester Yarn, is recycled polyester made from discarded plastic bottles that could have otherwise ended up in landfill. Pre-consumer waste and plastic bottles are collected from all over the world and turned into high-quality chips that are then transformed into the REPREVE® yarns we use to make our eco-friendly swimwear. So far, through using REPREVE®, we have diverted 62,000 plastic bottles from landfills. Swimsuits, bikinis, rash tops, and swim shorts in our 2024 sustainable collections will all be manufactured using REPREVE® recycled yarns.
ECONYL®, is a regenerated nylon yarn that has been made from old, discarded fishing nets and nylon waste. So far, through using ECONYL, we have diverted over 1,300kg of nylon waste from landfills. Swimsuits and bikinis from our 2023 sustainable collections (and earlier) are manufactured from ECONYL recycled yarns.
In 2022 we launched our range of eco-raincoats. Made from materials that don’t harm the earth, our Snapper Rock Adventurewear continues our journey into sustainability. The outer material of our waterproof raincoats are made from 100% RECYCLED POLYESTER, recycling old PET water bottles into new yarn, saving them from landfill. In 2023 our range of outerwear expanded to puffer jackets which feature a 100% recycled polyester outer with water-repellent finish and 100% recycled polyester fiber fill made from recycled plastic bottles, an eco-friendly alternative to real down.
We are constantly looking at innovative ways to use all scrap fabrics and end of rolls from our production runs, to reduce waste. To date, we have developed scrunchies and face masks using the offcuts from previous season orders.
All sustainable collection products are packaged in home compostable poly bags, made from plant-based starch. This has helped us to eliminate over 20,000 plastic bags from being produced and discarded in landfills. From our 2024 Collection onwards our regular fabric range will be packaged in recycled plastic polybags.
2. Responsible Manufacturing
We work incredibly closely with our trusted manufacturing partners, in China and India. Many of our suppliers have worked with Snapper Rock since our founding in 2003. We select suppliers based on their dedication to the highest quality and workmanship, and who have strong policies and standards in social responsibility and environmental management.
Although we have a close relationship with our tier 1 suppliers, we understand that our responsibility should cover the entire supply chain of our garments.
We are working hard to knock down the walls in our supply chain to ensure that every part of our swimwear's journey is made responsibly - to ensure policies and standards are in place, locations and factories are identified, and certifications and social compliance audits are verified.
3. Giving Back
We are proud to support and promote the charity partners we work with, who work consistently to protect and develop children and youth all over the world.
- Melanoma Research Foundation
- Ronald McDonald House NZ - Giving Tuesday
- BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
- Kids Wish Network
- KIDS IN DISTRESSED SITUATIONS
Shop Sustainably
Support us by shopping sustainably. Shop our Sustainable Collection now.