Sustainable sun safety wrapped up.
The Waverley Wrap Wrashie® is a wrap swim top designed to bring a splash of style and sustainability to sun safety. Made ethically in Australia in an extensive size range from 6-24, the Wrashie was created to be worn with your own swimsuit to help cover up in the sun, in or out of the water. Easy to take off after you’ve been for a dip, our unique Wrashie can be tied in several ways, depending on your mood or look (you do you!).
Made from recycled nylon (from discarded fishing nets and carpets), the Wrashie has sustainable sun safety all wrapped up!
☼ RECYCLED ☼ SUN SMART ☼ BEAUTIFUL ☼ SUSTAINABLE ☼ MADE IN AUSTRALIA ☼
ABOUT US
Made well.
Waverley swimwear is sewn locally by a husband and wife team in a small home-based manufacturing business in Brisbane, Australia. All parts of production have been kept local so far - from the design, patternmaking, cutting and sewing. As we grow, this may change out of necessity – but ethical production and transparency will always be one of our key values.
Our range is carefully and meticulously made in small quantities to avoid overproduction and excess stock. Our Wrashies are made with extremely high quality standards - they are designed to fit beautifully, and to last.
The timeless base colour range is designed for longevity, and also to more easily match your current swimmers. Special limited edition prints will released in small batches starting in late 2022.
From rugs to wrashies.
Our swimwear is made from ECONYL® regenerated nylon. You might have heard that ECONYL® (by Aquafil) is partly made from reclaimed fishing nets from the aquaculture and fishing industry and also discarded ghost nets. Aquafil’s aim is to clean the oceans and seas of marine litter such as derelict fishnets responsible for the needless death of marine animals. But a lesser known fact about ECONYL® is that it’s also made from discarded carpets. Each year in the U.S., 4 billion pounds of carpet is sent to landfill. Aquafil recycles up to 36 million pounds of carpet annually, breaking down old carpets to use for ECONYL® nylon and other products.
Our fabric also has certifications from OEKO-TEX®, Global Recycled Standard and The Higg Index and is part of the Healthy Seas initiative.
Size matters.
It was important to us to try and include as many sizes as possible - we are proud of our size range that fits from 6-24. It was also important to us to get the fit right. We didn’t just grade up like many brands do - we changed the fit and style so bigger bodies were properly catered to, and were not just an afterthought. All sizes went through extensive fit testing, especially the plus-sized range. While we realise that we can’t cater to all sizes, we have worked hard (as a small brand with limited resources) to have as inclusive a range as possible.
As the Wrashie is a wrap, it also helps make it more flexible for different sizes and shapes. We recommend a snug fit through the arms so it feels like a second skin in the water, but if you’d like a looser fit then size up.
Leaving only footprints.
The creation of Waverley with a minimal footprint was a non-negotiable. All care has been taken with our precious environment in mind, from sourcing fabrics and local production to packaging and postage.
All orders are shipped via Carbon Neutral delivery company Sendle in plastic-free, recycled cardboard, compostable packaging created for us by noissue through their Eco-Alliance initiative.
Most of all, we’re super proud to be donating $5 from every sale to Groundswell - a giving platform to amplify climate action by funding strategic, high-impact climate advocacy. We’re also a Stripe Climate Member; we contribute 0.5% of our revenue to carbon removal projects.
Here comes the sun.
Talking about sun safety is never sexy. But the importance of protecting ourselves from the sun is not something that should be overlooked. Australia and New Zealand hold the unenviable title of having the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. According to SunSmart - two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the age of 70 and about 2,000 Australians will die from skin cancer each year. That’s 2000 too many.
Our Wrashie has a UV rating of UPF50+ and helps to minimise your sun exposure. We are also working on a matching high waisted bikini (pictured right!) with a back-to-front reversible top that has the option of extra chest coverage - keep an eye out for it later in 2022!
OUR FOUNDER
From me and the sea.
The Waverley Wrap Wrashie® was dreamt up by me late in 2020. Having spent too much of my life without sun protection, I started to realise (mostly too late!) that I needed that to change. But I have always hating pulling wet rashies over my head, and zips are also not my friend. Plus - so many rash vests are just not very stylish or cool; I had many friends tell me that they don’t wear rashies because they don’t like how they look (and I concur). I started to think that a wrap rashie seemed like such an obvious solution - my husband Glen agreed and so together we embarked on the Waverley journey. After 12 months designing, perfecting, testing and retesting - the Wrashie was born.
Given my background in sustainable fashion (as the founder of Peppermint magazine), making sure that Waverley was created as a slow, sustainable, inclusive and ethical brand was a must. It hasn’t been an easy journey, as clothing production in Australia is a tricky road to navigate. I’m eternally grateful to the immensely talented Thuy Nguyen of Fashion360 who worked with me to help bring my little label to life. Her fierce fussiness matched my picky perfectionism and she helped me produce Waverley with the highest standards possible.
So why Waverley? I grew up in the suburb of Waverley in Invercargill, NZ, and went to Waverley Park School. I did competitive swimming when I was young and have always felt that being in - or near - water soothes my soul.
I’m super excited to share my unique Wrashie with the world - I know it has stylish, sustainable sun safety all wrapped up.
Kelley xxx