Sustainability

Patagonia’s latest sustainable innovation? A first-of-its-kind ‘reincarnated’ wetsuit

The new innovation is the result of a years-long initiative by Patagonia to eliminate much of the waste that accumulates when a surfer buys a new wetsuit

Dulce Soto, Lead Prototype Engineer, works on the design of a new wetsuit prototype at the Wetsuit Forge at Patagonia's Great Pacific Iron Works in Ventura, CA on Tuesday. Picture by Alex Welsh for Bloomberg

Starting next year, Patagonia’s wetsuits won’t just be recycled— they’ll be reincarnated.

At the company’s ‘Wetsuit Forge’ repair and design centre, located a few blocks from the beach in Ventura, California, a first-of-its-kind wetsuit is draped over a table.

The suit looks and feels like any other, but it’s made in part from used Patagonia wetsuits broken down at a molecular level. It too will be melted down at the end of its life and reborn ...