When it comes to sourcing our clothing I am trying my best to seek out either pre-loved or sustainable items because I no longer want to contribute to the fast fashion industry. The damage it causes to our planet, the pollution, the unethical practices involved including unfair pay and poor working conditions for staff are something I think we all need to be aware of in order to be able to make informed decisions on where to spend our money and I know it isn’t always overly clear but I promise with a little bit of digging you may begin to think about shopping very differently.

Luckily, there are now plenty of companies who are both sustainable and ethical, who want to provide well-made clothing without damaging our environment and who care about their workers, their consumers and the planet. Jody and Lara are one such company, providing sustainable swimwear for kids that you will just love.

About Jody and Lara

Jody and Lara is a new brand which has been created by Mum of 3, Lucy, after she saw a gap in the market, particularly for girls. A lot of girls swimwear have a lot of straps, are 2 pieces or don’t give much skin coverage. This leads to fiddly suncream application, burning from the sun if the costume moves and the children being distracted by their swimwear due to this movement. Lucy wanted to create a range that would not only be safe to wear in the sun but also functional for running around, splashing about, taking part in water sports and so on. With 25 years of experience in the world of clothing manufacturing, she decided to take the plunge and launch her brand Jody and Lara… And, on top of ticking all the boxes for kids swimwear, she also knew that it had to be ethically and sustainably made which includes using recycled materials.

All of the swimwear is made from what is called post-consumer waste. This means that the plastic used comes from what somebody has already used in the form of a plastic bottle. A bottle that may end up in landfill or our waterways is taken, cleaned, stripped of contamination and recycled as polyester that can be woven into other materials to create a usable, stretchy fabric which is perfect for kids swimwear.

“Environmental awareness is more important than ever before, and I want Jody and Lara to lead the way when it comes to ethical and sustainably made swimwear whilst advocating gender equity for girls and boys“

Jody and Lara

This swimwear also has one of the lowest carbon footprints on the market because the fabric is printed and not piece dyed which is often used and is an incredibly energy-intensive process.

The Jody and Lara kids swimwear is designed to be comfortable, fitting, UPF 50+ and ideal for use at the beach or in the pool.

We were sent a set for Jake to try out and here are our thoughts…

The Review

First Impressions

The swimwear arrived in a lovely cardboard box lined with blue tissue paper which immediately made me feel as though we were getting a really great product. As soon as I pulled our chosen swimwear out of the box I could feel that it was of high quality and as soon as I laid my eyes on the stunning nautical design I just knew that Jake would love it. I also really liked the touch of adding tags to provide information on the bottles and process used:

The Fit

Jake is 7 and was sent the 6-7 years sized long sleeve rash top (£39.97) and shorts (£24.97) from the Sea Breeze range.

The top fits by going over the head and zips up from the upper back up the neck. The shorts pull up and can be adjusted using the drawstring. The overall fit on Jake was perfect and he was over the moon with the design and he also noted that he could wear either both together or separately depending on if he wore it to the beach or to his swimming lesson.

Wear Test

Now that the weather has warmed up we had the perfect opportunity to put the Jody and Lara kids swimwear through its paces down at the beach. And when I say through its paces I really mean it with Jake as he is an extremely active person who will spend the entire trip to a beach playing football, running around, going on his bodyboard, jumping waves, building sandcastles and so on. He rarely stays still!

The swimwear allowed Jake to move freely as he ran about, it protected his skin from the sun and sand and it didn’t move about or cause any chaffing. He kept telling me how soft it felt against his skin and how much he liked the items which is a big positive coming from a 7 year old.

He was straight into the sea, splashing around and running away from the waves. He was comfortable and protected which I was very happy about considering how hot it suddenly became.

He dug in the sand, rolled in it, dug a hole and sat in it and at no point did he feel irritation. He even proved how athletic you can be in the Jody and Lara swimwear…

And you can see that you can easily just wear the shorts on their own…

They aren’t designed for keeping your child warm like a wetsuit but the shorts were worn under his wetsuit easily and comfortably.

Care

The swimwear can be hand washed or popped in the washing machine on a 30 then allow it to air dry. I always make sure I give a cold rinse to all of our swimwear after use to remove salt or chlorine which will prevent any damage or wear. Jody and Lara do state that if you experience any stains you can safely wash on a 40 or 50 and they assure their customers that no fading will occur even if laid out in the sun.

Overall Thoughts

I love everything about this brand; the fact that it was started by a Mum, that she has spent a lot of time and energy in finding an ethical factory, she has used plastic that would otherwise go to landfill and has taken everything children require from their swimwear and applied it to her designs. Jody and Lara ticks every box.

To find out more and to view the full range you can head over to the Jody and Lara website here.