More Than a Swimsuit: Planet-Friendly Swimwear

Henna and Anna founded OHOY SWIM as a way of standing up to fast fashion. Tired of burning through dozens of cheaply made, ill-fitting swimsuits during their regular surfing trips, they developed their own line of swimwear that actually works for surfers - without hurting the environment. We caught up with them to find out how they took their designs from kitchen table to the beaches of Oman.

Fashion can do better. It’s a statement we hear made all the time, but we knew that change would only come when the people within the industry move from words to action.

Discovering Our Cause: Acting Against Fast Fashion

OHOY SWIM first came to life in 2016 when the two of us, a Dane and a Fin, were living in Dubai and heading off on yet another surf trip with swimwear from the kids department of a mainstream fast fashion high street brand.

We used to buy suits in teenage sizes because they were the only suits with short enough straps to stay on in big wipeouts in the surf. But they were such poor quality, going slack and see-through after a dozen or so uses. 

Add to this the inescapable weight of the awareness that we should not be supporting fast fashion's negative impact on the planet and people – we knew we had to step up and do something.

Product Development: Finding Our Fit

So, we researched the best sustainable high quality recycled fibre we could find. We wanted a material with a long lifespan and good UV protection, produced by a company run by like minded people, with traceable production under good labour welfare standards. We found ECONYL® yarn and before we knew it, OHOY SWIM was born.

Next, we produced our ideal ‘surf cuts’ in a variety of styles to make sure we weren’t limiting options for different body shapes and sizes. We considered what made sense for those living an active lifestyle – suits designed to excel through all the trials of a surf mission both on land and in the sea. 

From Kitchen Table to Family-Owned Factory

The first patterns were made and cut on a kitchen table in Denmark by Anna’s Mum, who was quite possibly even more excited about the new venture than we were. 

From the beginning we aimed to create through the lens of Scandinavian simplicity, focusing on flattering and comfortable cuts rather than following trends. Six years later we still love learning how we can best make all of our products as sustainably and ethically as possible. 

Honing Production In Line With Our Values

Our first production run began in a place we have a long-running connection with – Sri Lanka. We would spend many long, hot days engaged in the production process. But as time progressed we felt we couldn’t guarantee the level of fair treatment and wages for staff that we were comfortable with. 

We were also acutely aware that our air travel, and the air freight to transport the finished suits to our warehouse, wasn’t very aligned with our environmental conservation intent. 

So, we moved production to a small family-owned factory in Portugal, where we can easily spend extended periods of time with the staff during production to make sure the working conditions are as they should be.  

Product Testing (or, The Reward)

Possibly the most rewarding part of the whole process is the adventures we get to go on with our friends when testing and shooting the latest versions of our suits. 

There is a unique joy to gathering your friends together and handing them the product of years of cumulative work. Seeing them test the item out, exploring the fits, the technical details, the feeling of the fabric, all in real life situations – this is what we’d worked for.

Our Guide to Surfing In Oman

Oman was the first place we took OHOY suits out into the world, to try them on, test them in the water and shoot them. 

Driving over the border, you leave behind the modern world and pick a point on the map to hopefully come across some ‘undiscovered’ corner of the grand landscape that stretches in every direction before you. You instantly reconnect with the present moment. 

But Oman isn’t just big open spaces and hypnotising desert calm. We love it for its hidden surf spots with long rolling waves, stunning hikes through wadis (canyon-like fresh water pools connected by rivers), great rock climbing and sailing trips through desert fjords in Musandam. 

The people of Oman are also wonderfully humble and kind, with their hospitable smiles and gentle demeanours.

With such a love and connection for Oman it made sense to gather together our friends, load up our vehicles, and head North to document what the suits have always been intended to be – our adventure companions in and out of the water.

Musandam: A Surfer’s Paradise

For this trip we settled on Musandam, which you access either by driving across the border by car from the UAE, or from driving from Muscat, Oman’s capital (if you fly into Oman from another country).

We drove from the UAE to Musandam’s harbour – a place where the old world and new world are thrown together in striking contrast. 

The dock is lined with dhows — the region’s majestic traditional sailing boats, mostly unchanged in design for over 1000 years (besides modern electronics and an engine). We stepped out onto the deck of the dhow we had booked and began sailing into the dramatically quiet fjords.

The next 24 hours were a dreamy haze of snorkelling, reading, watching dolphins and disconnecting from the stress of everyday life. With camera in hand, we documented the joy of trying on the suits, the satisfaction of them fitting our friends well and being comfortable enough to wear all day. 

Making Memories Without Costing The Earth

After breakfast the next day, we lazily sailed back to the dock and then drove down the coast to find a spot to test the suits in the ocean. We stumbled on a quiet beach with dramatic rock formations that captured our imaginations, pitched our tents and grabbed the camera again. 

Chats around the BBQ turned into quickly falling asleep and we awoke satisfied that the suits had exceeded our expectations.

Driving back to Dubai, although we might not have said it out loud, all of us felt the strengthening of our bond as friends and appreciated the value of the trip. It’s this feeling – of making memories without costing the Earth – that we hope our suits bring to everyone who wears them.