Social Responsibility

We want you to always know exactly what goes into making your Black Dog Bikini so that you can feel good about your purchase, so if you’re interested in learning about our work + commitment to sustainability, you’ve come to the right place! It’s important to note: although we are selling a product that we love and are proud of, we aren’t romanticizing overconsumption, nor do we support the consumption of slow + ethical fashion at rapid rates- otherwise it just becomes fast fashion. What we do support is buying from brands that reflect your values when you decide you do need an item.

Sourcing

We purchase all of our supplies from small shops in the United States, with the exception of our swimsuit elastic which we purchase from a woman in Canada (with carbon offsets!). Sourcing our materials as locally as possible reduces the carbon footprint of our supplies, which reduces the carbon footprint of your bikini! Our patterned fabrics are printed using organic ink and are OEKO-TEX certified, which means they are free from hazardous chemicals.

Shipping

All of our shipping materials are virgin plastic free! We use recycled and recyclable poly mailers, paper tape and tissue paper, recycled sticker paper, and recycled and recyclable shipping labels + thank you cards! This means that when your bikini arrives in the mail, you can throw all of the packaging in the recycle bin. And a bonus: we use soy-based ink pads for our stamps!

Scraps

We literally don’t throw away any fabric scraps! We use bigger scraps to make patchwork bikinis, medium/smaller scraps to make scrunchies, teeny tiny scraps and threads for pillow stuffing. Excess material is only trash if you’re boring and uncreative, and Black Dog Bikinis is neither of those things! Scrap scrunchies can be found for purchase here .

We encourage you to reach out to us if you ever have questions or concerns about our product - we wholeheartedly believe that transparency is an integral component of ethical fashion.

To that point, 'The True Cost' is a documentary that sheds light on the many issues prevalent in the fashion industry. Watch the trailer below (and the full film on Netflix!) to learn more about the ethical, environmental, and human rights crises perpetuated by our fast fashion culture.

Thanks for caring :)

xo, Mallory and Shannon