Collection: Vitamin A

"We’re all about feeling good, looking good, and doing good. From design to production, distribution, and charitable partnerships - Vitamin A is the sustainable choice".

 

Before Vitamin A, Amahlia worked on a design project with Patagonia founder and environmentalist Yvon Chouinard whose company’s use of recycled plastic bottles in their technical fabrics inspired her to attempt something similar in the swimwear space.

However, when Amahlia began to research the options, she was told by fabric suppliers that there was “no market” for swimwear made from recycled fibers — so she decided to design the fabric herself, working with the top mills in Italy, Canada and California to create EcoLux™ — the first premium swim fabric made from recycled nylon fibers.

Since then, the company has incorporated several more sustainable high-performance fabrics along with eco-conscious textiles like organic cotton, linen, recycled cotton and Tencel®. All materials are certified to meet the global Oeko-Tex standard for safe textiles.

 

Producing products locally dramatically reduces their emissions for shipping and transporting raw materials. It also allows them to take the time to get to know the people who make their goods.

They are proud to know firsthand that their manufacturing teams maintain the highest standards of workplace ethics and environmental responsibility. They work, whenever possible, with vertically integrated facilities where everything from dyeing to knitting is done in one location, further reducing their products’ carbon footprint. And since they produce and do business in California, which has the strictest environmental laws in the nation, they are held to the highest possible standards.

For some of their products that cannot be made in California, they partner globally with fair trade artisans to produce their materials ethically, providing women with fair-wage jobs in safe working conditions. They also visit these factories and remain in constant contact with their partners to ensure that they are meeting these same high standards.

Operating Guidelines
Their production process is geared to reduce waste and energy use wherever possible. They strive to ensure all workers receive fair treatment and compensation.

They have close relationships with all the factories they work with and visit them regularly to ensure employees are being treated and paid fairly and the working conditions are clean and safe.

Vitamin A uses digital printing for the majority of their prints. Compared with traditional wet printing, this process reduces water use (since it requires less wash and rinse cycles) and fabric waste (since we can adjust a print to fit a garment]. There are also no screens or colorant baths that need cleaning.

All of Vitamin A's swimwear is made in the United States and the majority is crafted locally in California. Domestic production not only supports the economy and ensures employees are protected under USA labor laws, it also contributes to far less carbon emissions and pollution than companies who rely on an international supply chain.

 

Vitamin A is committed to sustainability in every aspect of operations. They’ve implemented a variety of measures at their headquarters and warehouse to reduce our overall environmental footprint. 

 Packaging

Vitamin A is as vigilant about their packaging as they are about their garments themselves. They research and source the most sustainable materials they can find and they never use more than needed, especially when shipping.