Nearly fifty years ago, 20 million Americans took to the streets with a unified purpose to see environmental protection on the political agenda. They were fed up with oil spills, deforestation, and a host of other environmental disasters being ignored and even encouraged. This was the start of Earth Day - a global event that inspires people to take part in the largest civic-focused day of environmental action in the world.

Let’s take this opportunity to find out exactly what happens on Earth Day and look at some eco-friendly tips to improve the way we swim.

What is Earth Day?

Today, over a billion people and 192 countries take part in Earth Day, which takes place on April 22nd. It raises public awareness of the wonders of our environment and how to protect it, along with increasing consciousness about the dangerous direction humanity is taking.

What to do on Earth Day

Action on Earth Day varies from raising public awareness to direct action. Some groups march, some sign petitions, and some discuss the issues with politicians. Others plant trees and clean up their local communities, parks, and rivers.

Earth Day 2019 is the perfect opportunity to make green changes in our daily lives and habits, including the way we swim.

Greener transport to the pool

The transport sector, including road vehicles such as cars, is one of the biggest polluters and contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Wherever possible, use public transport to get to your swimming pool. Even better, you could warm-up by gently running, cycling, or walking to training.

This isn’t always possible and sometimes a car is the only form of transport you can take. Don’t worry - there are always things you can do to help. Ride-sharing is another great way to reduce the number of cars on the road.

Refillable bottles and eco-friendly swimwear

Plastic pollution is detrimental to our oceans and landscapes. By using a metal bottle to drink water from, you can use it over and over during training without worrying about single-use bottles ending up in the ocean.

Discarded plastic fishing nets and other items are a threat to the delicate ecosystem balance of oceans all over the world. Scientists have spent years working on helpful solutions to combat this problem. High-end regenerated yarn, such as ECONYL®, are made by taking ocean waste such as discarded fishing nets and making it wearable. This reduces plastic in the ocean and protects marine life. By using swimwear made from ECONYL®, you’re taking steps to help keep the ocean clean and healthy.

Whether it’s changing the way we travel to training or the equipment we use, we can all do something this Earth Day to help protect our environment.

When we design our high-quality swimwear, we do it with sustainability in mind. We want the generations of the future to live in a world with clean and sustained oceans. Our high-tech Black Pack swimwear range is perfect for the beginner to the professional swimmer and is made using life-saving ECONYL® yarn. You can shop our full range here.