We know we’ve been harping on a lot about seaweed and underwater forests lately! But, we didn’t even touch on the clothing benefits.

Our friends at AIME have created a fully compostable hoodie. How? Well, it’s made of that sweet, sweet, stuff: seaweed!

Technically it’s a PYRATEX® seacell fabric, a yarn created from mixing cellulose with seaweed, a natural fibre that could be the future of sustainable fashion.

But AIME isn’t just flexing what these materials can do. Like us, they’re selling the Sea The Weed Hoodie to raise money for Operation Crayweed to restore Sydney’s seas. What can I say? Great minds think alike!

Read more: We Raised $42K to Reforest Sydney’s Seas!

AIME is helping make seaweed as a fabric mainstream and hoping to bring the price down and popularity up so manufacturing industries can tap into healthier fabric and solid supplies of it.

 

How does seaweed become clothes?

For seaweed to become clothing, it’s a bit of a process and includes another unsuspecting natural material, wood. Yep, wood and seaweed together can be wrangled into fresh ‘fits.

First seaweed is harvested in a gentle and selective process that only removes the part of the seaweed that is able to regenerate. In this case, the Sea The Weed Hoodie it’s from the sparsely populated fjords of Iceland.

Iceland’s a magical place, but I’m sure their seaweed still stinks. So, there’s more to the process. The seaweed is washed, dried, ground, and then added to a eucalyptus wood cellulose solution. This is done in a carbon-neutral, closed loop with no chemicals released as waste and the positive properties of seaweed are permanently preserved within the final fibre, even after multiple washing cycles.

But does seaweed actually make good clothes?

With all that seaweed goodness infused, the fibres contain anti-oxidative properties that protect your skin, as well as being packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. This can help with cell regeneration, potentially relieving skin diseases and reducing inflammation and itchiness – which sounds perfect for all my itchy eczema gang out there.

 

Innovation (this hoodie) Doesn’t Come Cheap

When you don this hoodie, you’ll be yarning to your mates about clothing innovation, the waste caused by the fashion industry, and the good work of Operation Crayweed, all in one, instead of raving about a bargain.

Making compostable garments ain’t cheap and getting your hands on this innovative piece of clothing comes in at $500.

AIME are straight shooters, so they’ve laid out where that cash is going. Simply put, half to hoodie-making, half to underwater forest planting:

  • Secell fabric base – $120
  • Secell cleeve patch – $55
  • Biodegradable screen printing – $65
  • Sea vessel shipping – $10
  • Seaweed forests of Sydney’s coastline – $250

How do I get one?

You can snag a hoodie and learn more about AIME’s Sea The Weed Campaign over on the site.

They’re hoping to find 2,000 people who want to support this cause, which will result in $1 million being raised and 23 beaches being reforested. Mega!