[bright music]
- Well, hello there.
- Hello, Clara.
- Hi.
- How are you?
- I'm delighted. I'm very happy to be here.
I feel like this is a sort of Charlie's Angel situation.
[man laughing]
You're ready to set me on a mission.
- I'm so thrilled that you're taking over,
"The Extra Mile" series this year.
- Me too.
- What have you got in store for us?
- So I am gonna be meeting some brands,
who are doing things a bit more, I'd say,
in an environmentally responsible way.
My first stop is this ethical swimwear brand,
called, Stay Wild.
They're based in London.
- [Man] I've got a car waiting for you downstairs.
- Love to hear it. Right, I'll see you soon.
- [Man] See you soon.
[bright music]
- [Clara] Zanna, Natalie.
Thank you so much for having me at your glorious factory.
So this is where the Stay Wild Swim magic happens, right?
Why did you launch Stay Wild Swim?
- Stay Wild Swim came from our joint passion for the ocean.
And we ultimately wanted to create a brand,
which, not only tackled the ocean plastic crisis,
but actually provided a solution to it.
We felt like there was a really big gap in the market,
for a truly sustainable swimwear brand,
where every single element of the ethos,
aligned with our personal values.
- [Natalie] Yes, we use recycled materials,
and we use amazing regenerated ocean plastic,
in our swimwear,
but we also use an incredible slow fashion factory,
which is based here in London.
For us, it was important that the garment workers,
are paid well,
that every element of what we do from production,
to the small details, whether that be the thread,
made from recycled plastic bottles, not overproducing,
making sure that we don't have any wastage.
- You guys have been going for about four years, correct?
You met in the most beautiful 21st century way.
- I, one day, just put out this little tweet,
and I said, do you think there's a way?
Imagine if there's a way,
that we could turn ocean plastic into something positive,
and make clothing out of ocean plastic.
And then Natalie just slid in to my DMS.
- Or swam in.
- Swam in like a little dolphin.
- Paddled in to the DMs.
- [Zanna] And she said, Zanna, there's this fabric.
- [Natalie] So, Econyl's the material that we use.
It's made using things like fishing nets,
and it is really great.
So we partner with a company in Italy.
For us, it was really important that we used recycled.
A material that worked so well.
- [Clara] We see these beautiful products,
here in the factory.
You've got to make samples to get them perfect.
So how do you go about making samples,
but doing it sustainably?
- [Natalie] For us, it was about how can we put this,
onto a 3D system.
We can see it on a body,
and that allows us to be as efficient as possible.
- I would love to learn more about your recycling scheme.
You started that fairly recently, right?
- Yeah, so we launched The Circularity Project,
about, just over a year ago.
And I think for us,
it was important that we're not just creating products,
with a purpose, but we have a wider purpose.
We were looking into kind of how much clothing,
gets thrown away in the UK,
and how much of that then gets sent to landfill,
which will obviously take hundreds of years to break down.
Swimwear in particular is quite hard to recycle.
So we take in broken down or worn out swimwear,
from any brand, then that is broken down,
and that's used by our recycling partner,
for eco-industrial materials.
For example, eco-carpet underlay.
And that means that we're taking,
all these precious materials,
which would otherwise be thrown away and go to landfill,
and we are extending the life of those.
- So what does a typical day wild swimming look like?
Is it about how many lengths you can do?
Is it more of a social event?
- [Zanna] Cold water swimming.
I'm not gonna be getting in there and doing lengths.
Especially if it's spring or winter and it's really chilly.
It's more that mental game of getting in, staying in,
trying to be in there for a few minutes,
and then getting out and warming up.
But ultimately it's that mental, physical challenge.
And also, just sharing that with your friends. It's so fun.
I know it sounds crazy, but it is so fun to push yourself,
with your friends next to you,
and just have a little squeal and a scream,
and get in that cold water.
- [Clara] Now finally, because look,
I'm gonna be getting in that cold water.
I need some tips.
So what would you say are the top three tips,
for wild swimming?
- The main one is to make sure,
that you're swimming in a clean body of water.
So try and go for nice fresh waterways, rivers, streams,
ponds, lakes, the ocean.
And then make sure that you have some clothing,
you can wrap up warm in afterwards.
You need to get warm quickly.
You can't just let yourself stay cold for too long.
And thirdly, bring some chocolate or a sweet treat,
or something.
Because I like to think that scientifically,
it helps you realistically.
It's just a good mental thing to say,
after I've got in this cold water,
I'm having a chocolate and a cup of tea.
So, yeah.
- What she said, basically.
[all laughing]
- And that's why you're great partners.
Thank you so very much for having me.
It's really been an education.
Thank you for the tips as well.
Swimming, I'm good to go.
- [Zanna] Can't wait to see you in the water.
[both laughing]
[gentle music]