Saving our oceans, one pair of shorts at a time

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know there’s a horrifying amount of plastic waste floating in the world’s oceans – around eight million metric tonnes of the stuff. 80 percent of plastic bottles never get recycled – and although they are designed to be used only once, they stick around for hundreds of years. The environmental impacts that accompany this mass consumption are devastating to our planet and ultimately threaten all life on Earth, to the point where by 2050 there will be more microplastic in the ocean than fish! Ocean pollution is undeniably one of the most serious issues of our time. The overwhelming amount of plastic in our waterways is polluting our beaches, choking our wildlife and contaminating our drinking water. 

At GiLo Lifestyle we’ve managed to do something about this by taking used plastic bottles from the ocean and making them into the lightest, most comfortable and flexible shorts and boardies you’ll ever wear. The ONLY plastic floating in the ocean should be your swim shorts, with you wearing them and enjoying the oceans embrace.

What is the process plastic needs to go through to get turned into shorts?

Step 1: Plastic bottles are stripped of caps and labels, and then thoroughly cleaned to remove any residue or contaminants.

Step 2: The plastic is processed into flakes and washed again to ensure there is nothing left but 100% RPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) remaining.

Step 3: The clean flakes are transformed into small pellets of pure recycled plastic.

Step 4: The pellets are then stretched out and made into yarn, which is then woven into fabric. When the yarn is woven into fabric 8% spandex is added to give the fabric 4-way stretch.

The fabric is digitally printed with our designs and seamless to prevent chaffing.

Sustainability

How many bottles make up a pair of GiLo shorts?

The recycled fabric used to make up one pair of men’s board shorts or lifestyle shorts is made from 20 recycled bottles. For our kiddies shorts 12-13 recycled bottles are used.

 

 

Carbon Footprint

REBO YARN recycling system (recycled PET bottles = Polyester) compared with the polyester fibers made by traditional technology have a reduction of approximately 50% less energy consumption, water and carbon dioxide omissions.

Our Shorts

Our current shorts include men’s board shorts, lifestyle shorts and recently classic shorts and kiddies classic shorts made from recycled plastic recovered from the ocean and surrounds. They are 92% recycled plastic (PET), which stands for Polyethylene Terephthalate, the clear plastic used for water bottles and 8% spandex to provide 4-way stretch. PET is globally recognised as non-toxic and 100% recyclable. The shorts are extremely lightweight, water repellent, quick dry and seamless so no chafing.

 

For People and the Planet Going Beyond Fashion

At GiLo, we’re making every decision with the highest regard for the hands that build our clothes and the world we call home. We believe that you shouldn’t have to sacrifice style for sustainability – the two should be synonymous.

GiLo Lifestyle

FUTURE

IS CIRCULAR

When was the last time you gave a piece of clothing back to the company you bought it from?

As we get bigger we would like to implement a scheme that enables you to return your old shorts for repair, rehoming or recycling in exchange for a discount on your next pair; fostering a more sustainable 360 degree process and a circular product life cycle.