We use earth mined limestone to replace petrochemicals in our neoprene. It comes form nature and has less environmental impact.
ECO CARBON BLACK.
Carbon Black, one of the key ingredients of neoprene, is now be pyrolyzed from scrap rubber tires. This significantly reduces energy consumption and cuts CO2 emission by 200g per wetsuit.
DOPE DYED YARN.
All black, dark grey, and navy wetsuits, black inside liners, & Neo 2.0 super stretch black tape are dope dyed. Dope-dying infuses dye pigments into molten plastic solution to produce coloured yarns without the dying process. This saves tremendous amounts of water while reducing energy consumption and water pollution.
Their fabric mills have received the bluesign System Partner certification. In addition to monitoring the reasonable use of chemicals, the partnership ensures that their manufactuerer's energy and water resource utilization efficiency and waste disposal all comply with the most demanding standards in the global textile industry.
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The story as per VISSLA...
For starters, all of the wetsuits are handmade in Japan. Our polychloroprene is made of limestone. Polychloroprene (Neoprene) is normally made of petroleum through a chemical process. BEWET does not use petroleum. The limestone is sourced in the Kurochime Mountains area in Niigata, Japan. They were originally plankton piled up over 300 million years ago in the Pacific Ocean, making it one of the highest degrees in purity. The limestone is heated with cokes (fuel with few impurities) to make a carbide bond. Then the carbide is processed with acetylene gas and hydrochloric acid to make polychloropene. To heat the materials, our factory uses only hydroelectric power that comes from 15 power stations located in the Hida Mountains. This makes it self-sustainable and eco-friendly. Corn oil is used as softener instead of petroleum additives.
The remnants from BEWET’s factory as well as used wetsuits are collected from customers and carried to a thermal power station in Tomakomai City, Hokkaido to generate electricity. BEWET’s Factory is also powered by a solar power system. More than 60% of the electricity is powered by solar panels on the rooftop of the factory (100% on a sunny day!).
OUR POLYCHOLOROPRENE IS MADE OF 100% LIMESTONE
• Polychloroprene (Neoprene) is normally made of petroleum through a chemical process. We do not use petroleum. The limestone is sourced in the Kurochime Mountains area in Niigata, Japan. They were originally plankton piled up over 300 million years ago in the Pacific Ocean, making it one of the highest degrees in purity. The limestone is heated with cokes (fuel with few impurities) to make a carbide bond. Then the carbide is processed with acetylene gas and hydrochloric acid to make polychloropene.
CORN OIL IS USED AS A SOFTENER INSTEAD OF PETROLEUM ADDITIVES
• Through 1 and 2 above, we achieved to reduce 75.5% of petroleum use to make a wetsuit.
OUR FACTORY IS POWERED BY A SOLAR POWER SYSTEM
• More than 60% of the electricity is powered by solar panels on the rooftop of the factory (100% on a sunny day!).
NO WASTES
• All the remnants from our factory as well as used wetsuits collected from customers are carried to a thermal power station in Tomakomai City, Hokkaido to generate electricity.
THE WORLD'S BEST NEOPRENE
• Lighter, warmer, stretchier... This is not a marketing gimmick...