What Is Seawool? Is It From Sheep That Live Asea?
The first time you hear the term "Seawool," you might think to yourself, "Is that some kind of fiber made from the wool of sheep that live in the ocean?" No, Seawool doesn't come from sheep that swim, but it's just as novel a concept. So what is Seawool then?
Seawool is an upcycled fabric made from oyster shells and recycled plastic bottles. The result is a texture that feels like wool yet doesn’t itch. Seawool is antibacterial, anti-static, soft to the touch, and insulates, making it an excellent choice for activewear.
Today, when producing activewear, the materials you choose matter more than ever before. This guide to Seawool will help you assess its viability for your athletic apparel lineup.
Seawool - A Fiber Born of Plastic Bottles and Oysters
Who would have thought that oyster shells and plastic bottles would beget a strong, soft, and sustainable fiber? Yet that’s exactly what Seawool is.
These two ingredients are unique beyond what you might expect.
Yes, there's the obvious - one's an oyster shell and the other is a plastic bottle, both never intended to become a garment. But that's not what we're referring to.
The most unique feature of Seawool is that both its ingredients, plastic bottles, and oyster shells, are post-consumer waste. They've already served their intended purpose and would otherwise be discarded.
The Upcycling Nature of Seawool
And while recycling is always the preferred option for post-consumer waste, upcycling is even better. Upcycling is the process of taking waste materials and turning them into something of higher quality or value.
To obtain the oyster shells used in Seawool, Creative Tech (the parent company of Seawool) joined up with an oyster farm based in Taiwan. The farm happened to be located near a Creative Tech production facility, so the arrangement worked out beautifully.
All the oyster shells collected and used in Seawool yarns are sustainable. As post-consumer waste, they’ve been stripped of the seafood inside. The shells would have otherwise sat unused, but now they’re being recycled and repurposed.
The second part of the equation is plastic water bottles that are recycled and given new life.
Many water bottles are made using polyethylene terephthalate or PET plastic. Upon recycling, this becomes polyester - also known as recycled polyester; a popular alternative to virgin polyester.
You've heard the horror stories of plastic water bottles in the oceans. Recycled polyester is one way that companies are trying to combat plastic single-use waste, by giving it new life as apparel.
How Is Seawool Made?
With seemingly incompatible materials, Seawool would appear to be entirely impossible to create. However, in an oversimplified view, there are three steps involved in making Seawool:
Harvest the Materials
Create Polyester Thread
Heat-Treat the Oyster Shells
As you can imagine, there's more to each step, so let's further dissect the process of making Seawool.
Step 1 – Harvest the Materials
All post-consumer oyster shells are sustainably harvested and collected from oyster farms. These are the same oyster farms that provide seafood to some of the top restaurants around the world.
The plastic bottles used in Seawool are recycled from water and soda bottles. While most of these bottles are collected through waste management programs, a small portion is sourced from beaches where they might otherwise end up polluting.
In recycling plastic water bottles, they’re spared from spending hundreds of years in a landfill, in fact, it can take 450 years for plastic bottles to break down.
Step 2 – Create Polyester Thread
Upon arrival at the production facility, the collected bottles are cleaned and processed. The plastic bottles are chopped into small flakes, which are then melted and forced (extruded) through tiny holes to create long polyester threads.
These polyester threads will eventually be used as the yarns that form the foundational structure of Seawool fabrics.
The process of converting single-use plastic into recycled polyester is fascinating, but also requires a bit of further background. For the ins and outs of recycled polyester, be sure to check out Sport Casuals' article Is Recycled Polyester Sustainable?
Step 3 – Heat-Treat the Oyster Shells
The shells are first heated to over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (538 degrees Celsius) for around two hours. They’re then cooled and crushed into a fine powder using a hammer mill.
The resulting oyster shell powder is what gives Seawool its unique flecked look and also provides a natural source of minerals and nutrients for the yarns. These powders are then blended with recycled polyester threads to create the final Seawool yarns.
And finally, the yarns are twisted into a rope-like form, which is then woven or knitted into finished soft goods.
Oyster shells and plastic water bottles don't exactly give off comfortable clothing vibes. And wool is already notorious for being itchy and clammy (seafood pun) - so is a Seawool garment even comfortable?
Is Seawool Itchy or Soft? Is It Warm?
Seawool is a soft and comfortable fiber that doesn't cause itchiness. Softer than conventional wool, Seawool feels more akin to merino wool. Despite having wool in its name, and being created from rough objects like oyster shells and plastic bottles, Seawool is a soft, itch-free alternative to wool.
These are certainly important questions to ask, as you don’t want to produce itchy activewear, and your consumers won't want to purchase uncomfortable apparel.
Once the water bottles are melted and extruded, the recycled polyester end state is identical to the functional properties of conventional polyester. Meaning it's soft.
Crushing the oysters leaves no scratchy or itchy shell residue, and when the crushed shells meld with the polyester, it’s like they aren’t even there. All you feel is plushness.
So, how warm is the material?
The “wool” part of the Seawool name is not a catchy marketing slogan. This material is quite warming, making Seawool an ideal fabric choice for jogging on cold mornings with an eco-friendly disposition to boot.
How Is Seawool Good for Activewear?
Seawool is a soft, comfortable alternative to wool that's sourced from sustainable materials and processes. Specific to activewear, a category that requires performance technology, Seawool offers several functional benefits, including:
Anti-Static Properties
Odor-Resistance
Quick-Drying Capabilities
Moisture-Wicking
Thermoregulating
Let's explore each benefit in more depth, so you have a better understanding of how Seawool-based fabrics could fit into your portfolio.
Anti-Static
Static occurs when negative and positive charges are unbalanced. This scientific phenomenon is more likely to occur in the winter when the air is drier. The lack of moisture allows static to accumulate in garments, especially as they tumble around in the washer and dryer.
Considering that Seawool is recommended for cold-weather wear especially, it’s highly beneficial that the fabric is static-free. You can pull a Seawool hoodie or shirt right from the dryer and put it on without the garment clinging to your body, causing static shock and frizzing up your hair.
Odor-Resistant
The oyster shell construction of Seawool goes a long way toward preventing unwanted body odors. The oyster shell powder stops bacterial cultures (among other cultures) from spreading. This limits the capacity for odors, making your Seawool garment smell fresher for longer.
Wrinkle-Free
Waking up before the sun to go on a morning run doesn't leave spare time for ironing leggings or a sweatshirt. Fortunately, Seawool fabric is wrinkle-free. Consumers can take their Seawool garments straight from the dryer to the drawer.
Days later, when it’s time to hit the gym or the running trail, the garments won’t have creased or wrinkled. They’re ready to wear right away.
Quick-Drying
Sweating happens when you work out or compete intensely, which is why people wear athletic apparel. But in the wrong fabric or garment, sweating can cause real issues.
When sweat soaks through fabrics, it can cause chafing, skin irritation, and body odor. Fortunately, Seawool is a quick-drying fabric.
Whether sweating on a cold run or caught in a downpour, once Seawool fabric gets wet, it will immediately begin drying to prevent that sticky, saturated feeling.
Moisture-Wicking
The twin-headed defender of sweat resistance, along with quick-drying, is moisture-wicking. When you begin to sweat, the perspiration is pulled by the fabric toward the outer surface.
This not only aids in quickly drying the garment but also prevents Seawool from becoming soaked in sweat (or water in the case of a downpour).
Thermoregulating
Seawool also boasts thermoregulating properties that make it suitable for usage through all seasons.
In the cold, when you begin sweating, Seawool will hold onto those vapors to retain more body heat. This creates an overall warming effect even when wearing lighter layers. Then, in warmer months such as the spring or summer, thermoregulation transfers more vapors away from your body to keep you cool.
Is Seawool the Right Choice for Your Athletic Apparel Business?
If your brand is looking for a sustainable, performance-enhancing fabric to use in your garments, Seawool should be at the top of your list. Especially if you're looking for a winter line material to anchor hoodies or sweatshirts around.
There are many sustainable performance materials on the market that are in high demand, but Seawool is uniquely positioned for cold-weather apparel.
And while other fabrics like it do exist on the market, Seawool has the unique distinction of coming from upcycled sources, including sustainably-harvested oysters and recycled PET plastic from water bottles. A great story for your brand to tell.
Seawool has all the traits of long-lasting activewear that consumers love, including moisture wicking, thermoregulation, softness, warmth, quick drying, and wrinkle resistance.
So whether you’re starting an athleisure brand from scratch or want to add Seawool fabrics to your current product line, reach out to us and see how we can help get you started.