New Patagonia wetsuit has less environmental impact

Patagonia has reinvented the wetsuit. The traditional neoprene wetsuit has dominated the category for years. The material works, but it’s a petroleum-based, nonrenewable material that requires lots of energy for manufacturing. Now there’s an alternative, as Patagonia as teamed a company called Yulex to create a plant-based material with the same attributes of neoprene but with much less of an environmental impact.

The suits are made from a natural rubber source that comes from trees that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, meaning they are farmed in a sustainable way that doesn’t contribute to deforestation. Patagonia launched the material this summer, offering 21 different full-length wetsuits with the new Yulex material for men, women and children.