We are closing our shop. It has been a tough decision for us, but from an objective point of view the decision has been made already months ago – we just didn’t want to believe it. Since we have always been sharing our progress with you, and you have been the major factor of our progress, we would like to share our reasoning with you. 

But first, we want to say “thank you” from the bottom of our hearts. Without your trust and engagement, we would have never been able to make the experience that we had. You are the reason, why we enjoyed every single bit of the progress. Together, we created a different way of buying swimwear and later sportswear. Every single progress has been defined by you and our common belief that every body is beautiful and that we can build sustainable products that are better than non-sustainable products if only we listen to what we really need. 

Our values and beliefs have always been the core of our decision-making. Although Kim and I both have a business background and we knew that we could only be sustainable when our business is sustainable as well from a financial perspective, we never wanted to compromise on our values and beliefs. So we made compromises on the financial side. 

Our main aim in creating WONDA was to prove that we can create a value-based company for the sake of proofing and experiencing it. You can believe us, it has been so much worth the experience, but after some time we realized that we could never sustain both of us working full-time for WONDA with the business model that we had created in the first place. 

Roughly a year ago, we had to take a decision: Investment-heavy growth or doing business on the back burner. We decided against growth because we believed that we had to make compromises in sustainability aspects with scale and didn’t want to enforce the emotional trade-off that we already had at that stage. To be honest, two other major decision factors were, that we knew that the fashion industry was not our “home” and that we had no growth experience. 

We started to automise a lot of processes, except for the community support (thanks a lot Lina for all your dedication, at this point), and kept things low-key. Kim and I both got a job to gain growth experience and worked on our own growth. 

The past year brought a lot of challenges, that we didn’t see coming and that basically made us realise that we currently don’t have the energy and dedication anymore to give our company and especially our community the attention that is needed and deserved. 

We still believe strongly that doing sustainable business is the only way to actually do it, and we definitely know what we would do differently next time. We are gathering our experiences and learning and will share them with you next year. If you are interested, we are happy to connect with you on LinkedIn. 

Teresa LinkedIn

Kim LinkedIn

The post Why we are closing our shop appeared first on WONDA swim.

Positive effects from Covid-19 on our environment

The most obvious environmental benefit is that travel has diminished significantly across the globe. Some sources have reported that CO2 emissions dropped by 25 percent on average in urban centers around the world. In Venice, Italy, you could see fish and plants in the canal water for the first time in decades due to decreased boat traffic.

Changes in the fashion industry towards sustainability

Also, the fashion industry contributed its part to allow our planet a respite. In the year of nowhere to go physically, fashion companies introduced new categories and rethought production and raw materials. It was the year of resetting and questioning. According to the McKinsey & Business of Fashion’s “The State of Fashion 2020” report, this was the year that the industry ramped up its sustainable activities. That the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries, second only to oil, has been well-documented. The report says: “Consumers have demanded a clean-up, and 2020 will see the industry accelerate its engagement.”

The change is happening in different ways: Some brands develop new materials and ensure that products can be repaired or recycled. Gucci and Louis Vuitton, for instance, use deadstock for their productions as they had to find alternative sourcing options.

Even some big brands started to go seasonless. In Luxury, Gucci was the first one to go seasonless and cut down its fashion shows from five to two. Globally, brands focused on two prominent seasons and let go of “resort” and “prefall”. Going “seasonless” means that designers focus more on timeless clothing rather than trendy fashion with a short lifetime. This way, personal style gains more attention, and fashion as a service becomes less. This again helps to reduce consumers’ urge to adapt their wardrobe to constantly changing fashion trends and thus reduce consumption.

Some other brands got forced or decided to slow down their activities by reorganizing their strategies and slimming down their mass-consumption or -production concepts. This among others led to another change: concepts with less overproduction, less waste, and more circularity again.

Forced slow-down could become a case study for a future-save fashion model

Covid-19 has brought a new concept to light. Slowing down fast fashion by reducing seasons and focusing on quality instead of quantity. Vivienne Westwood reduced the size of its ready-to-wear business by 37 percent, bags by 55 percent and shoes by 58 percent over the past few years. Their actions proved that reducing speed doesn’t necessarily mean facing a lack of profitability.

“We can sell less, but sell better, and still be profitable.”

Global brand director at Vivienne Westwood, Christopher Di Pietro

Now their concept is the role model for a changing environment. What has been claimed to only work with regulations like taxing those actors more who pollute more, got now a single option to survive the crisis. We hope this need in combination with the already made policies and CSR plans, might lead to a long-term more natural slow down of the industry. We support the optimism of US designer Mara Hoffman who affirms our thesis: “Discomfort can be the greatest catalyst. It’s a gift to us.”.

Though, in a crisis, like the one we are facing, the very first priority is cutting costs. If priorities get shifted away from sustainability efforts, there will probably be no way around incentivizing companies to “build back better” through tax regulations.

Morten Lehmann, chief sustainability officer of the Global Fashion Agenda, is still concerned. He believes that the fashion industry just doesn’t get the urge for change.

“It’s contentious, but we need to explore how we can have a prosperous industry with less volume. The pandemic has only shown companies they have to [think about this] in order to become resilient. They need to prepare for when the climate crisis really kicks in and there’s resource scarcity. We know there aren’t enough resources in the world to continue as we are.”

Morton Lehmann

Massive overproduction triggers new business models

When sales are going down because consumer spending goes down as retail stores remain close, overproduction reaches a new level. Huge warehouse clearings with elusive discounts, like on Black Friday, led to impulse buys online. A rise in burned excess inventory fostered an already existing threat to our atmosphere and climate. But now, massive excess inventory brought not only the environmental but also the financial impact of it back to the center of attention – luckily. Revisiting business models in order to minimize excess inventory and to efficiently dispose it, became crucial. This need to simply survive the economic downturn will drive positive change in the long-term.

It is encouraging to see, that there are new business models evolving that were built to fight these issues. Queen of Raw is an online marketplace for deadstock resulting from overproduction. Stephanie Benedetto, one of the two founders of Queen of Raw, told us that they got a massive push from the crisis since a whole industry had to start looking for raw materials and supplies online. Since their launch in 2018, their platform enabled fashion companies to save 500 million tons of deadstock from being burned.

Spotlight on the brand-supplier-relationships forces transparency

Similarly, more public review on the relationship between brands and suppliers can push brands to act more responsibly. Reports of retailers canceling orders and delaying payments to suppliers in the wake of Covid-19 has brought into spotlight, how brands manage their relationships with supply chain partners. As a result many companies, from H&M to Primark, got pushed to announce that they are going to “honor their commitments“. However, details got swept behind the curtain so that we can just hope that the ones that already suffer from normal conditions don’t get treated even less fair due to savage cost-cutting initiatives.

Covid-19 brought minimalistic habits

Spending much more time at home than usual, consumers got confronted with their “stuff” more than ever. Possession and consumption got questioned, which resulted, among others, in huge wardrobe clearings. Globally, second-hand, subscription, and rental were the three fastest-growing retail categories, according to McKinsey, and thus also clothing disposal got in the center of attention. Unfortunately, the majority of sorted out clothes still lands in the regular household trash. This is mainly because there is still a huge lack of awareness for the ecological impact of textiles and it’s proper disposal. This is a tragedy. In fact, the burning process does not only release a lot of carbon and other greenhouse gases in the air but burning polyamide fabrics also releases plastic microfibres and other toxins that might be harmful to us and our wildlife.

Nevertheless, the textile collection and sorting companies had a big year as well. They were widely overwhelmed with the run on containers and Co. and kindly asked consumers on their websites to wait a bit before giving away their clothes as they couldn’t handle the masses of used clothes. For some people, the lockdown and home office have brought a new realization: You can easily live with much less and there is no vital need for shopping new clothes 60 times per year (indeed, this is the average fashion consumption per inhabitant in Europe). Let’s hope that the wardrobes didn’t get cleared to fill them with new stuff once we go back to offices and events. Let’s hope that people got more conscious of what’s essential.

An enduring fashion legacy from 2020: The face mask

Nobody in 2019 would have ever guessed that the No. 1 fashion item of 2020 would be a face mask. Some fashion companies with own production facilities were able to quickly change their productions from sportswear or shirts to face masks and managed to succeed from the sprung-out-from-nothing market. During the year they turned out to be a piece of solidarity. Not only because of the obvious reasons but also because they were an instrument for supporting consumers’ favorite brands and companies.

Sources:

https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Retail/Our%20Insights/The%20state%20of%20fashion%202020%20Navigating%20uncertainty/The-State-of-Fashion-2020-final.ashx

https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/fashions-post-growth-future-covid-19

https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/fashion-revolution-transparency-index-2020-covid-19

https://www.corporateleadersgroup.com/reports-evidence-and-insights/news-items/leading-businesses-urge-uk-government-to-deliver-resilient-recovery-plan

https://www.bbcearth.com/blog/?article=will-fashion-firms-stop-burning-clothes

The post Is Covid-19 a chance for sustainable fashion? appeared first on WONDA swim.

Environmental impact of tetra packs

Did you know that tetra packs, like oat milk packs, are usually disposed of in a completely wrong way? As a result, a proper recycling of the packages is prevented. Beyond that the food industry acts barely transparent by claiming that a whole 71% of a tetra pack is being recycled. The Environmental Action Germany DUH on the other hand states that solely 36% of a tetra pack is recycled in total. In comparison to the food industry the DUH also takes it’s disposal  (e.g. missorted packs), the plastic and aluminum proportions and the sealing cap (which accounts for 20% higher greenhouse gas emissions!) into consideration. Due to it’s lavish composition tetra packs cause a total of 721.000 tons of plastic each year!

Our fellow companions

Subsequently we got in touch with local cafes who confirmed us that all those empty milk packs cause a vast amount of waste on a daily basis. Just take a moment and image the enormous wastage worldwide. However, we decided to team up with cafes in the surrounding of our office in Hamburg, such as the Nord Coast Roastery, Was Wir Wirklich Lieben, Copenhagen Coffee Lab and Soul – Vegan Coffee Bar. These committed cafes decided to support the matter and provided us with quite some quantities of oat milk packages.  

Eco-friendly packaging process

And what now? To guarantee a hygienic and clean packaging we contrived a process concept for each milk box. Starting with cutting it open at the back end and scrubbing it out in a water-efficient way. The next step requires a disinfectant spray, which consists in a natural-based liquid.

Wake Up call for the Fashion Industry

As mentioned above we designed a sticker in order to create more transparency regarding the ongoing events of the fashion industry. As we decided to use Oatmilk packs as our new packaging design we especially got inspired by Oatlys message printed on it’s carton. Oatly demonstrates perfectly the food industry’s intransparency when it comes to it’s damaging impact on our environment in terms of the numbers of greenhouse gas emissions amongst others. For instance, did you know that the food industry accounts for twice as many greenhouse gas emissions as all transportation combined? Yet most companies still dont’t see why they should communicate the carbon emissions for each of their products in order to provide comparisons between various products and spread awareness towards the endconsumer. The same goes for the fashion industry. Though many fashion companies claim to operate sustainably, only a moiety does so. The PVC-free stickers we designed for our packaging contain our callout for change to the industry and a warning to our customers and everyone who reads it to be careful with the industry’s sabotage! Here is what we claim:

HEY FASHION INDUSTRY,
STOP FOOLING EVERYONE!

Nearly every fashion brand claims to be „sustainable” these days. But what does being sustainable in fashion actually mean? Like for real! Not just on a campaign title or an Instagram caption. The truth is, it can mean so much, yet so little. Fast fashion brands fool its customers by only telling them half of the truth. Sustainability has too many facets to express its meaning in just one word. Most facets get concealed behind misleading marketing campaigns.* We have this vision of being a company that creates for the better instead of profits. One that is fully transparent and approachable so that you can be part of our journey. We also wanted to prove for the sake of an industry change that it is possible to build products, a brand and a company based on social values. That belief gave us the strength to create WONDA as a symbol for the power of honesty, true relationship, and empathy, portraited in timeless slow fashion products that stand for jointly working on a better future. Be part of the change by staying persistent and demanding. And please, dear fashion industry, let’s be honest… Get your shit together!

*The fashion industry produces 10% of all humanity’s carbon emissions, is the 2nd largest consumer of the world’s water supply, while polluting our biggest water reserves with microplastics and toxins (sources: UNEP, IUCN, UNECE).

To conclude, we saw the opportunity to make the world a bit better by taking advantage of an obvious win-win situation: reusage of waste, extending the lifetime of each tetra pack and an original packaging concept.

The post Unusual yet thoughtful Packaging appeared first on WONDA swim.

Let’s not cause huge quantities of wrapping paper waste considering it’s single use. Let’s not throw away tons of food, because of a lack in meal planning or storage issues. Let’s not buy an artificial Christmas tree, because we think the carbon emissions are lower than getting a real one. They’re not. Let’s not purchase new Christmas decoration items, because we got tired of the ones from last year. Let’s not gift unwanted presents, which end up in the farthest corner of the cupboard or – even worse – become garbage. 

Let’s do better.

A massive ongoing waste generation worldwide is undisputable and there are no signs for it slow down. On the contrary, the overall estimated amount of municipal solid waste will reach 3.4 billion metric tons in 2050, which would represent an increase of 70% according to a prognosis from statista. However, during Christmas season consumption and a resulting waste generation reaches it’s peak.

ABOUT SUSTAINABLE WRAPPING ALTERNATIVES

For instance, producing 1kg of wrapping paper takes 50 liters of water and 5 kilowatt hours of energy. According to this roughly 435 million liters of water and 43,5 million kilowatt hours of energy are consumed. This equals approx. the annual energy demand of a small town with 12.500 inhabitants. Aren’t those numbers shocking? But – no worries – I’ve got good news for you: we can do something about it.

In the first place, switch to recycled wrapping paper. There are lots of beautiful designs! Producing recycled paper takes half as much energy and only a third of the amount of water.

Consider wrapping up your presents in magazine or book papers. Your present will definitely stand out this way!

Upcycle (brown) paper bags or spare craft paper and paint it yourself for an individual touch. This way you can also include nice illustrations!

Buy vouchers of your favorite restaurant, café, cinema or clothing brand. Thereby you support your locals, avoid a bad buy and you won’t need to make use of any wrapping paper at all.

You even have some fabric leftovers? Great! Why not reuse them as attractive wrappings?

ABOUT A LOW WASTE CHRISTMAS FEAST

Let’s talk about Christmas dinner, which for most people is the favorite part during the festive days. Sole in Germany the food industry, retailers, distributors and private households dispose 12 million tons of food waste every single year. Private households account for a whole 55% of it, which results in 82 kg food waste annually per person. In Europe a total of 80 million tons of food waste arises per year. Wasted and lost food along the supply chain account for a 10^th of all our greenhouse gas emissions. However, a big part of the primarily presumed waste is still edible at the moment of it’s disposal. Hence we came up with some suggestions in order to do our part in minimizing those numbers and to help you reduce food waste this Christmas. 

Lots of supermarkets are likely to use discounts during the festive season in order to maximize their selling volume. Give it a thought and weigh up if you truly need those discounted food items or if it’s just for the sake of getting a discount.

Involve family and guests in the meal planning and start on time. This way there won’t be unwanted food options and intolerances are considered, as well as other food remainings are spared.

Organize your fridge before going Christmas shopping and check out Respect Food’s manual in order to use your fridge more efficiently.

If you choose to cook without recipes, make use of an online food planer such as Eat Smater, which calculates portion-wise.

Buy regional and seasonal food, in order to keep transport ways as short as possible and CO2 emissions accordingly low. You can look up the seasons of various food types in online season calendars.

In case leftovers arise anyways, save them from going to waste by freezing them. You can easily look up how to store them correctly and for how long. Still Tasty shows you what has to be considered.

There are also lots of ways to reuse leftovers for distinct recipes. This guide from FOODAL provides you with some ideas regardingly.

ABOUT ECOLOGICAL CHRISTMAS TREE OPTIONS

And what about a nice-looking Christmas tree? Wouldn’t it be more eco-friendly to get an artificial one? The answer is no. A real conventional Christmas tree of 2 meters actually has a comparable low carbon footprint with 16kg CO2e, if disposed of in a landfill. However, if you dispose of the tree in a proper way by burning it on a bonfire, planting it or having it chipped, the CO2 emissions total sole 3.5kg. Meanwhile, a same size artificial tree, which usually consists in PVC and metal, accounts for a whole 40kg CO2e. Owed to the energy-intensive production processes involved, the CO2 emissions are approx. 10 times higher than a properly  disposed of real one. Also the the process of growing a Christmas tree to optimum height takes around 8 to 10 years in which oxygen is produced and is replaced with a new seedling after deforestation.

Thus, when purchasing your Christmas tree pay attention that it is locally sourced and grown in order to ensure a shorter transport distance and support your local business owners.

Also you can buy a potted Christmas tree in order to reuse it the year(s) after. This isn’t only cost-efficient but also extremely eco-friendly.

Meanwhile there are various local services, which offer a Christmas tree rental during the season.

Regarding it’s disposal, check out Christmas tree collection services. They pick up the trees and recycle them, which leads to new production since it is a renewable resource.

ABOUT ECO-FRIENDLY GIFTGIVING

What would Christmas be without presents? Yes, we all love to give and receive presents underneath the Christmas tree. But what about all the gifts that are unwanted or simply not used? Sadly, surveys state that more than 50% of the respondents receive unwanted gifts on Christmas.

So if you go Christmas shopping, why not get a voucher? This way the recipient can freely choose the product, color, size and style that suits her best. Especially these days a lot of business owners are more than thankful, if you support them by getting vouchers.

In case you have no slightest clue on what to gift, don’t speculate and end up with a bad buy. Rather ask the person directly, cause they know best what brings them joy and – let’s be honest – we always have some ideas in mind.

Make use of your creative streak and handcraft something yourself. Good Housekeeping provides you with some great DIY projects, such as Christmas cutout candles, filled glass ornaments or lavender sachets.

If you receive unwanted gifts anyways, there are options to reintegrated them into the cycle by returning it, swapping it, donating it or trading it. Have a look at this guide for more ideas.

Still in need of some eco-friendly gift ideas? Here you go!

LEO zipped-wallet BLACK croc

55,00 €

MADE IN SPAIN

100% LOCALLY HANDCRAFTED BY SKILLED ARTISANS

TIMELESS & CLASSIC DESIGN, WHICH TRANSCEND SEASONAL TRENDS

EXCLUSIVE LIMITED EDITIONS FOR SPECIAL AND UNIQUE PIECES

RESPONSIBLE & ETHICAL MATERIALS SOURCED FROM EU-BASED COMPANIES

LEATHER AS BY-PRODUCT FROM THE FOOD INDUSTRY

SHOP HERE

FELICIANA Bombonera TEJA velours

185,00 €

MADE IN SPAIN

100% LOCALLY HANDCRAFTED BY SKILLED ARTISANS

CLASSIC & TIMELESS DESIGN, WHICH TRANSCEND SEASONAL TRENDS

EXCLUSIVE LIMITED EDITIONS FOR SPECIAL AND UNIQUE PIECES

RESPONSIBLE & ETHICAL MATERIALS SOURCED FROM EU-BASED COMPANIES

LEATHER AS BY-PRODUCT FROM THE FOOD INDUSTRY

SHOP HERE

KANKEN Re-Wool Sling

120,00€

MADE WITH RECYCLED WOOL

65% POLYESTER AND 35% ORGANIC COTTON

BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCED

TIMELESS DESIGN TO EXTEND IT’S LIFETIME

EXTREMELY DURABLE

SHOP HERE

Backpack – INKI

170,00€

HANDMADE PRODUCT

FAIR WORKING CONDITIONS IN PRODUCTION FACILITY

USE OF 100% RECYCLED NYLON IN PRODUCTION

INNER LINING CONSISTS OF RECYCLED PET-BOTTLES

ALL KAALA PRODUCTS ARE VEGAN

SHOP HERE

Fanny Pack – Pinqponq Nik in Sunsand Apricot

30,00€

CONSISTS IN 100% RECYCLED PET-BOTTLES

FAIR PRODUCTION

SUSTAINABLE & ECO-FRIENDLY MATERIALS

DURABILITY FOR AN EXTENDED LIFETIME OF THE PRODUCTS

SHOP HERE

Scrunchie Lavender

9,00€

MADE IN POLAND

GIVES OFFCUTS (LEFTOVER FABRICS) A NEW LIFE

MADE OUT OF 98% CERTIFIED ORGANIC COTTON SWEAT & 2% ELASTANE

VEGAN PRODUCTION

SHOP HERE

INTI KNITWEAR Mütze Madellin silver

39,00€

85% MADE OF FINE ALPACA WOOL, 9% ACRYL & 6% NYLON

FAIR AND SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION

ETHICALLY CORRECT WORKING CONDITIONS

SHOP HERE

VEST DUMBO FLEECE LIGHT GREY

115,00€

100% ORGANIC COTTON CERTIFIED FLEECE FABRIC

COTTON GROWN IN EUROPE

ZIPPER AND LABELS MADE IN GERMANY

VEGAN PRODUCTION

SHOP HERE

NÖ by LOVE IT GREEN – Sweater

80,00€

CONSISTS OF 85% ORGANIC COTTON AND 15% RECYCLED POLYESTER

GOTS CERTIFIED

FAIR WEAR & PETA VEGAN APPROVED

SHOP HERE

WONDA FACE MASK

14,00€

HANDMADE IN PORTUGAL

CONSISTS OF 78% ECONYL REGENERATED NYLON

RECOVERED YARN FROM LOST FISHING NETS, INDUSTRY TEXTILE AND OTHER PRE- & POST-CONSUMER WASTE

FABRIC MADE IN ITALY WITH OEKO TEX STANDARD 100

SHOP HERE

The post Green Christmas at WONDA appeared first on WONDA swim.

Christmas is just around the corner but while it’s the most wonderful time of the year, it’s not the most environmentally-friendly. The festive season is traditionally the period of peak consumption when we go all out on gifts and food to impress our guests. So the madness begins: Shopping, shopping, shopping. Consumption is rising to a whole new level within this time. What people tend to forget is what negative impact it has on our environment. So why not make this year our most eco-friendly, sustainable Christmas yet.

How to celebrate more consciously?

Small changes already make a huge difference in reducing our environmental footprint during the festive break. With this in mind, here are 5 ways for a more sustainable Christmas season:

Gift smartly

Finding the perfect Christmas present is never easy: Something the person actually needs, really likes so that it’ll be used for a long period of time. Especially gifting clothes can be very difficult because taste differs and we can never be sure about the exact fit. So this year why not give something that your friend likes and that actually fits? One of our very personalised WONDA vouchers. We know that maybe vouchers can sometimes come across as not personal enough: Not with us! You can choose the individual voucher value and make the voucher card super personal with sending us a photo that we will integrate into the card. We also offer a free 15-minute, personal, zoom consultation session for your friend. In this way, we will make sure that she’ll find her perfect fit and a piece that she actually loves. A Christmas present that couldn’t be more thought-out and sustainable.

WONDA gift voucher [Digital]

Choose the value that you want to offer.

20,00€ – 100,00€ inc. VAT

Shop now

Rent a Christmas tree

Even though on average seven million real trees are being dumped in January, they are still far more sustainable than artificial alternatives. So how about the most sustainable option: Renting a real tree. After the festive season it gets picked up at your place and will be replanted. Win, win.

Choose the right wrapping paper

Time to get creative. Either re-use last years wrapping paper, or if you buy a new one, opt for recycled wrapping paper, brown paper or tissue. Maybe your pillowcase does its job here as well.

Send eco-friendly Christmas cards

Make sure to use certified or recycled cards. Also, recycle or compost the cards you receive in January or why not turn them into decorations for next year.

Reduce your (food) waste

Try to get creative with your leftovers. There are enough apps and blogs that help you create something amazing from your leftovers. There are also food waste apps that you can use. They connect you to people in need in your local area. You simply list what’s available, snap a photo and share your location with other app users. When going food shopping (and shopping in general) try to bring your own shopping bags, avoid plastic bags and plastic-wrapped products. Small steps already make a great impact if we all do them.

Happy holiday season!

The post It’s time to say ‘Merry Christmas’ appeared first on WONDA swim.

Why are we celebrating such a sad occasion like a farewell? Isn’t it hard enough to leave your comfort zone, your friends, and the place you know behind? Why confronting yourself with that struggle?

You usually leave your comfort zone because you want to start a new adventure. A new job. A new city. Maybe even a new country. A new relationship. A fresh start. Because for most people change is a challenge, who could support and encourage you better than your closest friends?

A farewell is a great opportunity as well to look back and be thankful for the time and the people you leave behind. Those people will be the ones who know you the best and they are the ones who can build you up and make you face the challenge with arm wide open and with confidence.

And in fact, nowadays a distance is not really a reason anymore to not stay in touch and to keep each other updated. Therefore, you can easily put the new adventure in the centre of attention and celebrate the experiences that you are going to make. Sharing your excitement. I couldn’t imagine a better reason to celebrate actually.

How to find the right gift?

2 options: You either get something that remembers your friend about you and the time that you spent together and or you give something that reminds her of you. Something that she will find useful for her upcoming journey and that accompanies her in her day to day life. Something that makes her feel strong and confident. For the first option, we can’t really help you. Collect some pictures, videos or things that connect you. But for the second option, we have got an idea for you!

A gift that sticks and lasts: Our WONDA voucher

Our high-quality swim and sportswear products will be definitely something that accompanies your friend for several years as they are made to last! All our products are designed with body diversity in mind and are made to feel confident and powerful! Gift vouchers are a safe choice when it comes to gifting. Therefore, with one of our WONDA gift voucher, you can make sure that she will find something that she will love – not only this season but for ages! If she appreciates timeless high-quality designs from a sustainable brand built on values instead of profit, there is nothing that can go wrong with this choice.  

We know that vouchers may come across as not personal enough: Not at WONDA though! You can choose different voucher values and make the voucher card super personal. Just send us a picture of you and your friend, add a personal note and we will do the magic. We also offer a free 15-minute, personal, zoom consultation session for your friend. In this way, we will make sure that she finds her perfect fit and favourite piece. Every time she wears this timeless piece, she will be reminded of you.

WONDA gift voucher [Digital]

Choose the value that you want to offer.

20,00€ – 100,00€ inc. VAT

Shop now

Collect memories

Yes, it is true that recalling all the great memories that you had together, won’t make it easier to say goodbye. But: it is not to be foreseen whether everything will run super smoothly in the new future or if it takes a bit to get used to the new environment. In situations which let you feel lonely or a bit depressed, it is great to remember that you have a bunch of people behind you that believe in you no matter what. During the farewell party (this also works virtually as we can’t really make parties nowadays), collect little notes from everyone in a jar with the best memories they had with the person who leaves. In the future, whenever there is a little sign of loneliness coming up, you can then take a “bite” from the memory jar and you’ll know that you are not alone.

The post It’s time to say ‘goodbye’ appeared first on WONDA swim.

When was the last time that you showed someone your gratitude?

Not only that you make that person smile, there is so much in for yourself as well!

It strengthens your relationship towards the other person because it expresses your respect for his or her actions. This then builds confidence and prosperity – 2 of the basic need of a person that will not only make their life better but also will come back to you especially when this person is closely connected to you.

On top of that, showing gratitude helps your own psychological well-being as it makes you consciously feel thankful. Why is this so important? Thankfulness is one of the key factors of luck, happiness, and fulfilment. Therefore making yourself conscious about what you are thankful for and expressing it by making a thank you gift or by writing a thank you note will eventually make you feel happier and more satisfied in life!

How to find the right gift?

Giving is easy when you know exactly what the other person likes or needs. Being attentive to little hints is crucial to succeed smash hit gifting. But let’s be honest: We know that is really tough to hit the nail on the head from the experience we have from receiving gifts.

The right gift though expresses empathy and can strengthen your relationship with the other person even more and also helps not to boost overconsumption. So how can we make sure to find a thank you gift that is useful and has a personal touch?

A gift that sticks and lasts: Our WONDA voucher

Give options! Gift vouchers are a safe choice when it comes to gifting. Identify what brands she may like. Wouldn’t it be great if she could then choose something that lasts for years and will always remind her about your special unexpected gesture? You should consider gifting our WONDA vouchers of different values. Timeless high-quality swim & sportswear from a sustainable brand build on values instead of profit will definitely make her happy for several years. Is that concept s something that she would identify with? As we based our product development on loads of research you better trust us with what women really need.

We know that vouchers may come across as not personal enough: Not at WONDA though! You can choose different voucher values and make the voucher card super personal. Just send us a picture of you and your friend, add a personal note and we will do the magic. We also offer a free 15-minute, personal, zoom consultation session for your friend. In this way, we will make sure that she finds her perfect fit and favourite piece. Every time she wears this timeless piece, she will be reminded of you and your gratitude.

WONDA gift voucher [Digital]

Choose the value that you want to offer.

20,00€ – 100,00€ inc. VAT

Shop now

Food is always a good idea

Food is a great idea because everyone loves it and it is definitely no waste as it gets consumed. Your friend is a Pizza lover, has a sweet tooth or loves to enjoy a well-mixed drink? What about a surprise delivery that speaks for itself? Pizza services nowadays deliver personalized messages with their food. Let it drop at your friend’s house or office right before lunch or dinner. Leave a thank you chocolate like this eco-friendly version from nu-pro on your colleague’s desk or a cupcake with a thank you topping.

Make it easy

We know, pictures say more than a 1000 words and so do actions, but sometimes words can be powerful too. Let your friend, colleague,… know why you appreciate her. Write a letter, hide notes with different statements all over her belongings, or make it public on social media, so that others can profit from your positive vibes and might get infected by your enthusiasm.

Happy gifting!

The post It’s time to say ‘Thank you’ appeared first on WONDA swim.

How to find the right gift?

And there is usually no better way to do so than with a great birthday present. However, when it comes to finding the perfect gift, I think we can all agree that at times it can be a bit of a struggle. To find that perfect birthday present. To find something your friends actually needs. Something she really likes. So that she’ll use it a lot and for a long time. Pretty much finding something that is really worth investing your money in.

The risks of gifting clothes (for our planet)

Especially when it comes to clothes, taste differs and we never know what exact size will eventually fit. And even if you go all in and purchase a piece for your friend, it is often the case that they are too shy to tell you they might not like it or that it doesn’t fit. And we definitely don’t want this to happen, the piece will end up in your friends closet and will never be worn. Not nice for you, your friend nor our beloved environment. Over 40% of people own clothes that are not worn because they’ve gotten it as a gift and they either don’t really like it or it doesn’t fit. This is definitely something that should be avoided.

A gift that fits and lasts: Our WONDA voucher

So why not give something that your friend actually likes and that really fits? Because she can choose it herself. Why not give something that lasts? Because it gives her access to high quality timeless designs that she can use for several seasons and years. One of our WONDA vouchers. We know that maybe vouchers can sometimes come across as not personal enough: Not with us! You can choose the individual voucher value and make the voucher card super personal with sending us a photo that we will integrate into the card. We will also offer a free 15-minute, personal, zoom consultation session for your friend. This way we make sure that she’ll find her perfect fit and a piece that she will love for ages. A birthday present that couldn’t be more thought-out and sustainable.

WONDA birthday voucher [Digital]

Choose the value that you want to offer.

Happy celebrations!

20,00€ – 100,00€ inc. VAT

Shop now

Eco-friendly surprise party alternatives

And if your friend is still unsure what to do for her birthday, here are 3 ideas for some fun activities that at the same time do good for our beloved environment:

Clothes swap. We all have clothes that have been sitting in our closet for a while now because we don’t like to wear them anymore. This doesn’t mean that your friends don’t. Invite your girlfriends over and ask each to bring 10 items from their closet. Happy swapping!

Host a (dinner) party. For this, you only need to adjust your mindset for a couple of things in order to least impact our environment. Use only reusable and no disposable decoration, cups, cutlery etc. Ditch Balloons. Serve healthier treats. Maybe even opt for a specific theme where you ask each one to read himself into a little so that you can have some interesting, rich conversations around it.

Clean Up. If the weather plays along why not spend your birthday outside for a nice walk at one of your favourite spots? It doesn’t matter whether its the beach, forest or just somewhere in the city center – anywhere you like. Combine it with a super fun clean up. Just bring a bag and a glove for each of your friends and you can all together pick up a piece of trash here and there on your walk. An easy, active and cheap activity. So much fun, believe us!

The post It’s time to say ‘happy birthday’ appeared first on WONDA swim.

I still haven’t been able to shake off one of my favourite recent dreams. A trip to the beach ended with me holding the sea above my head on a sunny day. There was no sound, birds, fish or other organisms, just the dry sand on my feet and more dry sand where the sea had been. A silent, thin, crispy sea that did not hurt my arms and rather covered me from the bright sun. The sky looked as real as ever.

When I had my very first surf lesson and boasted about it to a friend, his only remark was “Wait, you can’t swim and yet you went surfing?” I laughed and said, I know, right? Hadn’t even really thought about it until then. And no one knew. The board, the wet suit, not being alone – all this helped. Having fun helped for sure. Dating a surfer for half a year before and hearing about it constantly, too.

It’s been more than a year and I have not pursued surfing despite being offered free lessons and although I seem to surround myself more and more with people who do this challenging sport. I can get by for a day but to continue I would eventually need to know how to swim properly. Well, I do get in the water and love it but would never consider myself a swimmer. Some people can swim but cannot float and some people float and pretend to swim. For a year I lived nearby a swimming pool yet I did not enroll, just kept telling myself that one day I would. We often tend to do so when it comes to self love.

A few months ago, my dear friend Lilit asked me if I would like to model for a bikini brand. She would shoot the photos and the brand, she confirmed, was the one I was thinking about. Sometimes I get reminded by people browsing the website that I had already been part of another of Lilit’s endeavours: her AirBnB experience where she takes people on photographic tours around Lisbon and to which she invited me to model for as well. 

As for Wonda Swim, I had seen some posts on social media, visited their website, and appreciated the beachy happiness of the models. I had been pleasantly surprised about the sustainability, timelessness and made-to-last vision of Wonda Swim. But I had not, for sure, seen myself as more than a sure customer someday. So my reply was not an immediate yes. I instead let my self-consciousness and lack of self-love take the best of me up until the very day of the shoot, thinking of giving up one too many times. Not that I am not aware of the body positivity movement around the world in the past few years, with Instagram being the catalyst for the plethora of plus-size models, singers and actors who took over and are giving other models a run for their money. 

SELF LOVE

From Missy Elliott (now at her thinnest but a long time “thick girl” who needs tempo) to Nadia Aboulhosn to Gabi Fresh to Ashley Graham to Lizzo to  Barbie Ferreira, we are faced with more types of bodies than ever, with several instagram accounts dedicated to the not so mentioned kinds of the spectrum, as middle sizes sometimes don’t get enough love, only the extremes, either the skinny of the plus size. And don’t forget even other types of bodies, the ones with missing limbs or other limiting physical conditions, recently consecrated by Sephora or Miley Cyrus in her Mother’s Daughter video. I get chills thinking that we just recently lost the intrepid Mama Cax. 

Makes us wonder what is healthy, and what is not, and why we go about celebrating famous people we don’t know or friends who are influencers and well known in a certain niche. Do we celebrate ourselves enough or at all, though? Are we celebrating our friends’ bodies and beauty?  Do they celebrate ours, too? When we vouch for natural and beauty in the same sentence, do we think of ourselves or are we still slaves to the culture? How about the gym? If both thin and thick girls hit the gym, where does the difference lie? On the plate?

But I digress. I found myself obsessed with Ashley Graham’s semi-naked profile photo of her already pregnant self, flaws and all, and as I do with classical paintings and photos of friends and celebrities, I felt this urge to recreate it. We look so similar. Love handles, stretch marks, scars, I have it all. Minus the pregnancy and the self-love. So there I was, looking like a model who had been on the cover of Sports Illustrated and would soon be on the cover of Vogue. And still, I was hesitating to be shot for a bikini catalogue.

Before I published my first book, my mother would ask me what I would do with so many photos and I would joke around saying they would be very useful when my career started because I had a model book before I had a career as a writer. I wasn’t wrong. I like taking photographs much more than being photographed, however, in the last few years, I was blessed enough to have been approached by photographers who took an interest in working with me, just for the sake of beauty. Just because we could. I am dressed in all of them, of course.

An overthinker but mostly a thinker, in the past year I had quit acting in a play that required full nudity, mostly out of fear, and proposals to do nude or close to photoshoots, even with friends, out of just not being ready. 

It is hard enough to be brave in the intimate sphere of the image era. But what is readiness other than being presented with opportunities or jumping right in front of them? Glennon Doyle Melton says that all successful women she knows show up before they are ready, even if they have no idea of what they are doing. This “I will do this… when I am…” philosophy, according to Melton, is a little too safe and an excuse to not get started on the work of your life, since we will never surpass our imperfect condition as human beings. It makes you postpone your life and your potential and hide under the self-improvement armour. 

WE SHALL OVERCOME

I’ve been through it all: having an athletic, fit body which led people to ask what sports I did and the answer being none (I take after my tall, former Judo teacher father), being a teenager who people would say to “you should be a model”, attracting undesired attention from the opposite sex to the point of wishing to be invisible, dealing with depression, becoming an emotional eater, gaining the extra weight of 60 kgs and dealing with the fact I had eaten the weight of a slim person with that person actually being my pain I could no longer hide.

The list goes on: going through a gastric sleeve and in the meantime dealing with myself, the scale, exercise on my own, the gym, the fashion industry (at the time I gained weight only H&M had big sizes, Mango hadn’t created Victoria yet and Zara wasn’t even an option as their sizes only went up to L), several mirrors and photos in which I did not recognize myself, my family and friends who had known the elegant me all my life, other people who only new the obese me, and then people who came along after the stomach surgery and the meanness, the support and the opinions, thoughts, reflections and sitting with my feelings and reviewing my relationship with myself and food from day one.

Of the many stories I hope to tell about this entire and ongoing process, I’ll leave you with just one. After losing a family member on Christmas, I went to her daughter’s house where many other relatives already were. A couple of minutes in, I realized an uncle was having lunch at the table near me and said hi. He did not recognize me at all. Then, my cousin explained that yes, it was really me. My uncle was stunned.

We had not seen each other for a very long time, however I remember very well the last two times. One, I was still obese. The other one, I had already gone through surgery and lost a great amount of weight. When he saw the obese me, we had not seen each other since I was a teen. He was shocked and could not hide it nor tried to, making hurtful remarks with his eyes and his words.

Now, he could also not hide how surprised he was that there was nothing, or at least that there was less to criticize. Ironically, these two encounters occurred on the backstage of a fashion show, for my aunt’s brand (she is a former model turned designer).

On a sunny October Sunday, us girls got together for a Wonda Swim shoot. It was one of the best days of an already inexplicably amazing year. I was still self-conscious, sleep-deprived from months of working the night shift. This led to not eating properly and feeling bloated. I was feeling too tall, too big, too fat, too much in my own head. Comparison will kill you if you let it.

At some point, I just decided to turn down the volume on all the negative voices, internal and external, past and present. I turned up as loud as I could all the compliments, supportive words, directions and laughs I shared with the new friends I made that day. It has lasted so far, so much that I took on a job as an extra for a music video… Shot in a swimming pool.

Here’s to celebrating each other. Celebrating self-love, and women being there for one another. Creating safe physical and emotional places and mindsets together. Ah, and don’t forget that cold beer at sunset. Well earned.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gisela Casimiro is a Portuguese writer, photographer and part-time model for WONDA. Her creative, inspiring and beautiful soul is keeping us believe that spreading confidence and empowering each other can make an impact and improve everyone our fellows’ life.

More FROM GI

Instagram

her first book

The post Self-love: When your bikini keeps telling you jokes appeared first on WONDA swim.

Let’s have a look at the status quo of the “situation”, effects of microplastic on living organisms and what we can do to fight the issues that we face.

The microplastic “situation”

What is particularly concerning is what we don’t know yet. Every week there are new scandals popping up, picturing the extent of where microplastic shows up in our day to day life. 

The latest scandal arose in the beverage industry: This study from the US showed that whenever you drink tea from those triangle-shaped nylon tea bags, you consume billions of plastic particles that get released when you pour hot water on the teabag. 
Knowing this, it sounds quite harmless that researchers expect that we are consuming around 52,000 plastic particles with food and beverages each year – 120,000 particles including the particles from the air that we inhale. 

The effects of microplastic on organisms

There are no studies yet on the effect that the consumption of microplastic has on our health. Therefore it is hard to make conclusions on the effects of microplastic. What we already know is that nano plastic – smaller particles that develop from microplastic in a further stage – are able to travel through cell walls. You don’t need to be a scientist to understand that this might impact the way our cells develop.

What is also known, is the impact that microplastic has on other organisms on our planet – for instance, fish and other marine inhabitants. The marine wildlife is massively dying. And yes overfishing is taking its part, but it is proven that marine organisms mistake pieces of plastic for their natural food, which leads to misfunctions of their organs, diminishes hunger, which unpreventably leads to death. 

And the ugly truth is that there is not a single maritime region on our planet anymore in which our ocean does not contain any plastic particles. Currents and winds are transporting the microplastic to all over the world. Take a look at the arctic – where barely any humans live. The concentration of plastic particles in probes that have been taken from seawater and ice are scaring.

But where is the microplastic coming from?

The ocean itself has a high impact on the creation of microplastic. Waves and currents break down plastic items into small pieces – the microplastic particles. You ask yourself how the plastic is ending up in the ocean? It is because humans are stupid and profit-driven. Around 8 million tons of plastic get just dumped in the ocean every year. Winds on land transport the other 4 million that got left behind in nature into our seas. 

There are many many other unfortunate ways how plastic ends up in our ocean. Stupefying cases like inadequate filters while washing plastic garbage in recycling factories for example.

One example that the majority of people don’t know, is that with every use of the washing machine, 17 million microplastic particles are getting released from your polyester sweater or pants. And this unfortunately also happens when you wash your WONDA bikini (it is made from recycled plastic, but it is still plastic). The filters from the washing machine are not (hopefully just yet) able to filter out all the particles. But there is hope and action at the silver lining: A German retailer/ manufacturer called Langbrett has invented a revolutionary washing bad that is capable of filtering these plastic particles. Check their page, to find out more.

GUPPYFRIEND Washing Bag

The first scientifically approved solution to prevent microfibers from entering into rivers and oceans during the washing process.

Get yours >

What can we do about it?

There is not an adequate solution yet that builds on removing microplastic from the ocean (although there are a lot of competitions open to solve the problem, including some space institutions). From our perspective, we should also not focus on getting out what has already been released, but work heavily on not creating more threats. Otherwise, we are will always run behind the problem, but will never be able to really solve it.

This particularly means: REDUCE, REDUCE, REDUCE!

Single-use plastic simply doesn’t make sense. Economically and ecologically the use of single-use plastic is nothing but stupid. Yes, there might be some advantages that relate to hygienes that plastic has compared to other materials, but in fact, the use of single-use plastic is just a way to get products at hand the most convenient possible. By refusing products that make include plastic in their life cycles and companies and brands that make use of plastic in their value chains, the demand will eventually regulate the market offer. 

And for those companies out there that would mean: Get your lazy asses (sorry for my English) up and put a little bit of effort into sustaining our planet in a way that makes it still enjoyable for our kids! There are sufficient alternatives on the market that we can already make use of.

Tips on how to reduce the amount of microplastic that we consume

Although we don’t know the impact of the consumption of microplastic yet, you are well-advised to minimize the exposure just in case that it has a similar effect on us as on fish. Here you have some tips on how to reduce the consumption of plastic particles:

1. Drink water from the tap! This might sound surprising in the first place, but bottled water was found to contain approx. double the amount of plastic particles than tab water.
2. Never heat up food in plastic containers! The heating process releases chemicals into your food.
3. Containers with the recycling codes 3, 6 and 7 should be avoided as they are proven to contain concerning substances.
4. Keep your house clean! Sounds irrelevant, right? But as already mentioned, we are exposed by microplastic just by breathing the air. The more “dusty” it is, the higher is the exposure! Result: cleaning helps!
5. Eat more fresh, non-packed food! This is the most obvious one. However, and to be 100% honest with you, this is just an assumption as the microplastic exposure via fresh food has not yet been tested.

Hopefully, this post gave you a little overview of the microplastic status quo! One last comment from my side: There is no reason to panic, but definitely enough reasons to not continue the way we do! Let’s face reality (even if it’s just your own)!

Sources

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/10/remote-arctic-contains-more-plastic-than-most-places-on-earth/

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.9b02540

https://www.consumerreports.org/food/how-to-eat-less-plastic-microplastics-in-food-water/

https://silentspring.org/detox-me-app-tips-healthier-living

https://guppyfriend.langbrett.com/

The post A snapshot of the microplastic concern appeared first on WONDA swim.