Two girls in Pera Sport bikinis leaning against a stone wall

Fabric & production

SUSTAINABILITY

The most sustainable swimsuit is the one you don't have to replace. So we made ours from one of the most durable swim fabrics in the world, run everything as a presale first, and only order what you need.

Girl in the Bad matcha Pera Sport bikini holding a volleyball on the beach

Our world

We're a small label making a small number of things. Swimwear becomes waste when it stretches out, goes see-through, or dies in a chlorinated pool after one summer. Every decision we make starts there: build a piece that survives the wear it was made for, so it doesn't need replacing.

The fabric

Every Pera piece is cut from the same recycled Italian fabric: an 80% recycled nylon / 20% elastane charmeuse at 190 g/m². That's heavier than the thin jersey most fast-fashion brands use, so your bathers stay fully opaque when wet and stretched, and don't thin out down the line.

It's rated chlorine ultra resistant, and it also resists sun cream, body oils and pilling. In practice that means lap swimming, spas and sunscreen don't chew through it the way they do a cheap nylon-spandex blend. It's bi-elastic with UV protection, so it moves in every direction and springs back.

The nylon is regenerated from waste rather than spun from virgin petrochemicals, and it's knitted and dyed at a certified Italian mill rather than the cheapest available. We chose it for the same reason we chose the heavier weight: longevity is the environmental decision.

Design philosophy

Short production runs made to demand rather than to a forecast. No deadstock warehouse, no clearance sale to clear last season's mistake.

It costs more per piece and it's slower to make. It also means we can fix a fit issue before we've made thousands of something, and everything we do sell was made properly the first time.

Presale first

We open every drop as a presale first. That means you order before we cut the bulk run, and we only produce what's been requested. It keeps us from over-ordering, sitting on stock, or discounting deadstock into landfill six months later.

The trade-off is patience: your piece is made after the window closes, not pulled from a warehouse shelf. For us, that's the point. Presale lets a small brand make exactly what its customers want, and it means nothing is made for the bin.

Packaging and shipping

Orders ship from Sydney in recyclable, plastic-free mailers. No polybags, no tissue you'd bin, no printed inserts. Care instructions come in every order, because how you wash swimwear affects its lifespan more than almost anything else we can control.

Making it last

Rinse in cold fresh water after every swim. Never wring and never machine dry. Instead, press the water out and lay it flat in the shade. Keep it out of hot tubs, rotate between pieces if you swim daily so each one dries fully, and wash separately from anything with a zip or velcro. Do that and the fabric will hold shape season after season, which is the entire point.

LONGEVITY IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION.

Recycled Italian fabric · 80/20 · 190 g/m²

Sustainable swimwear, asked and answered

What makes swimwear sustainable?

Mostly how long it lasts. Fabric quality, knit weight and chlorine resistance decide whether a swimsuit survives three seasons or one. Packaging and production volume matter too, but durability does the heavy lifting.

What fabric is Pera swimwear made from?

A recycled Italian charmeuse — 80% recycled nylon, 20% elastane, 190 g/m² — rated chlorine ultra resistant and resistant to sun cream and body oils.

Is it chlorine resistant enough for lap swimming?

Yes. The fabric carries a chlorine ultra resistant rating, which is the reason we selected it — it's built for pool use, not just beach wear. Rinsing after every swim still makes a real difference.

What does presale first mean?

Presale means you order before we cut the bulk production run. We only order and make what has been requested, which keeps us from overproducing and avoids deadstock. Your piece is made after the presale window closes, so delivery times are longer than off-the-shelf shipping, but the environmental cost of unsold stock is removed.