Emroce Eco Friendly Bikinis - Tested

During a recent surf session, I had the chance to meet Julia Ochs, a freelance lifestyle photographer who quickly became a good friend of mine. She was telling me she was looking for a surfer chick to help in a photoshoot in a bikini for an eco-friendly Italian company called emroce. Julia and I hit it off and I loved the idea of an active eco bikini brand so, I decided I would help her out and tried on the bikini.

As a woman, finding a bikini that we like and that fits us is a hard task, but finding a bikini that we like, that fits us and that stays on in the bigger swells is almost impossible! The emroce bikini just slid on and seemed to fit me perfectly (which never normally happens), so I was curious to find out if it would hold on in the waves, I decided to play the game with Julia and get her some good bikini shots.

I really liked the idea of an eco-brand bikini, as we all know that climate change is happening right now and that pollution in our oceans (and everywhere else) is already way too present and directly affects the surfing world. While the majority of surfers around the world are contributing as much as they can to keep our beaches clean and are getting more and more into an eco-conscious lifestyle, the 'Great Surf Industry' is still using way too many environmentally harmful materials. Materials like polyester to make surfboards, neoprene and adhesive used for wetsuits and plastic for the leashes, only to name a few. We all know there are heaps of solutions out there to fight those environmental issues, whether it's on a small or a large scale, and more and more people are getting involved in it in their own way. While our current production and consumer bikini models are damaging to our planet, emroce, an Italian swimwear company, decided to get involved in its own way by creating zero-waste products.

Emroce is an ethical fashion company founded by the New Zealander Emma Churchill. Their swimwear is made in Italy with recycled, high-quality Italian fabrics. In fact, they're made out of Econyl Lycra, a byproduct from fishing nets. During the production process, all the off-cuts are always re-used, which makes emroce a zero-waste and eco-conscious swimwear company. Utilizing this practice emroce can offer a high-quality eco-swimsuit but can also keep the pricing affordable. Yipeee.

Alright, it's all good to be eco-friendly and all that, but is this bikini really comfortable in the surf I hear you asking...?

Well, I have to say, most of the time, when I try a bikini in the waves, I end up with a boob out once I'm riding the wave (which is pretty much when everyone is looking at you, right?), or just completely naked after getting a good set on the head. Not ideal!

I was happily surprised to find out that the top stayed on the whole time in every type of surf session. Super nice and tight! I was, however, in doubt as to how solid the bottoms would be. I am used to pulling the ties tight to make sure I don't end up mooning everyone but there were no ties to tighten. Even so, due to them being high rise style bottoms, they stayed in place for most of the time. There were a few times that they went down to the hips, which can be pretty annoying to pull back up when there's a beautiful wave coming at you, but at least, I never ended up fully naked like with so many other bikinis.

But really, my bikini was just as comfortable as every other big brand out there, if not more. I could feel that the fabric was of a high-quality standard and it was flattering with its sporty and sexy cut. I tried the high rise bottoms, which is usually not what I would go for... but trust me, I totally fell in love with that Bombshell look straight out of 50's. It was giving me that chic and sexy look in the waves, it was a total winner! And it certainly gave me some extra good waves while the guys were all distracted by you know what ;)

Editors Note: After a good amount of testing, Julia Ochs (whose photographs you have been oggling) and Annie gave some feedback to Emma Churchill (designer/founder/owner) at emroce. The outcome of which was a new design which Emma called the 'Julio' after Julia Ochs. It looks awesome (below). It has, not surprisingly, been a huge hit especially for active, water going folk. Great to see design emphasised, responsible eco material use and functional women's water going garments being developed.