Since the 1960’s wetsuits have been made with neoprene. Neoprene is a man-made rubber also known as polychloroprene, it is an oil-based derivative. Its excellent stretching and warming qualities resulted in many uses including wetsuits, sports supports, braces and more recently in the baby swimming industry for swim nappies and baby wetsuits. We even have a coffee pot warmer made from it here in the office.
Here at Konfidence (nestled in beautiful Cornwall) we have kept up the search for a 21st Century alternative to this oil-based material. We wanted something better for the environment, so we created a new material to replace neoprene. With many of the characteristics of neoprene we are now delighted to have created e-Flex™ to offer the wearer comfort, support, flexibility and security.
We have been looking at hard at how we can limit the environmental impact we have on the planet and e-Flex™ is a step in the right direction. Our sales manager, Max Patey could not have put it any better; “We have been looking at every aspect of our products; materials and packaging. We want our baby swimmers to inherit a clean and safe planet,”
Product development is a difficult trick to pull off. Blue sky thinking can generate amazing, quirky and just occasionally useful ideas. But really great products must meet needs and desires. At the same time technology must play its part too. The right tech needs to be available to allow the design of the product to be realised. The iPhone™ would have been a great idea in 1980 but the tech didn’t exist then.
As we near the start of the 3rd decade (that’s right…3rd!) of the 21st Century, climate change and plastics in our seas is a daily topic and recurring theme. The use of single-use plastics is not just frowned upon but seriously unwelcome now.
Ensuring that both product and packaging are robust enough to handle the challenges of retail sales while at the same time is recyclable, means treading a fine line. So we have developed e-Flex™ material. Similar in nature to traditional Neoprene materials e-Flex™ offers everything you need and come to expect, flexibility, stretch, warmth and comfort, but with the bonus of being made with recycled materials (and love)!
Faced with Nylon and lined with plush, it is pliable and comfortable like neoprene, but its core is recycled plastic and not new oil based foam. In the next decade many single use plastic products will find their way into garment materials and some of them we anticipate into the Konfidence e-Flex™ range of baby swimwear.
Launched in 2019 at the September edition of the Kind und Jugend fair, we showcased our new e-Flex™ swim products including the Splashy ™ swim nappy™, the Splashy™ swimsuit and the Splashy™ wetsuit for Toddlers and up.
Andy Regan, MD of Konfidence sums this up perfectly for us.. “We want to tread as lightly as possible going forward, to reduce our footprint on this beautiful plant of ours.”
Say and say hello to our new Splashy™ range made with e-Flex (and of course love!) Click here to see the range!
The Konfidence Family x