With temperatures predicted in the mid 30s across the UK this weekend, it is officially summertime.
Perhaps your way of ushering in the most footloose and fancy-free season of the year is with a paddle and/or frolic in the sea? Or perhaps - for us urbanites - just the local Lido.
Whatever your water source, there's is an issue surrounding how unsustainable swimwear is.
Plastic-based synthetic fibres like nylon and polyester are popular in swimming garb because they stretch well, wick moisture and dry quickly. But polyester and nylon - both of which are non-biodegradable - are also derived from petroleum and their creation requires a large amount of water and energy.
While for women, there's a surplus of cozzies and bikinis that are as pleasing to the eye as they are the environment, for men, there is a considerable dearth of sustainably-made swimwear.
Spurred on by this gaping hole in the ethical trunks market, these brands were all born in response to the lack of sustainable swimwear and ethical no-frills trunks. Before testing the waters, think of the planet and treat yourself to a pair of oh-so-green trunks.
Riz
Every pair of Riz boardshorts is tailored from 100 per cent 'rizcycled' and 'rizcyclable' fabric, which itself is crafted using plastic bottles. As if that wasn't eco-friendly enough, for every pair sold, Riz donates £1 to the Marine Conservation Society so that the waters you splash through in your Riz shorts are just a little bit cleaner and less plastic-polluted.
Once you've worn out one pair, simply send them back to the brand and it'll offer you 25 per cent off a brand new pair! What could be better?
Prices start from £45, rizboardshorts.com
NAECO
NAECO (ocean spelled backwards) offers some seriously dapper no-frills trunks. Each pair of its tailored trunks is made using approximately 15 recycled plastic bottles which is no small feat, and neither is the fact that the trunks are then recyclable at the end of their lives too.
Even better is that all of NAECO's pieces are made in the UK.
Prices from £160, naeco.co.uk
Panareha
Lisbon born and bred sustainable trunks company Panareha hand makes all of its trunks in Portugal which it also crafts using recycled plastic bottles. Panareha's pieces are then delivered in entirely recyclable packaging.
Prices from £69, panareha.com
Finisterre
Finisterre trunks are the epitome of beach-to-bar perfection. Having been in the green trunks biz for over 15 years, the brand crafts its trunks using ECONYL - the Prada-approved material that's comprised of recycled nylon waste - and has a kooky collab with the Natural History Museum under its belt. We'll take a pair of the Darwin trunks, thank you very much.
Prices from £60, finisterre.com
Bluebuck
Shocked into action by the waste peppered along British shores, Bluebuck crafts its trunks using upcycled marine waste. The shorts are certified SEAQUAL, which is an organisation that collaborates with fishermen and small charities to instigate large-scale beach clean ups. The non-biodegradable debris collected on these missions is sorted, cleaned and recycled, before being transformed into yarn. This is spun in Spain and woven into fabric in Portugal, before it provides us in Britain with stellar swimming shorts.
Prices from £75, bluebuck.net
