A Yulex Regulator wetsuit reborn from old wetsuits on a rack at Patagonia headquarters in California.
Photographer: Alex Welsh/Bloomberg
Patagonia Is Cracking the Code on Endlessly Recyclable Wetsuits
The outdoor apparel retailer will start selling wetsuits made in part from used wetsuits deconstructed at a molecular level and reborn as new fabric.
Starting next year, Patagonia’s wetsuits won’t just be recycled — they’ll be reincarnated.
At the company’s “Wetsuit Forge” repair and design center, located a few blocks from the beach in Ventura, California, a first-of-its-kind wetsuit is draped over a table. The suit looks and feels like any other, but it’s made in part from used Patagonia wetsuits broken down at a molecular level. It too will be melted down at the end of its life and reborn into a new, lower-carbon wetsuit.