arena oceans clean-up mission with Healthy Seas

We love water. We live water. That’s why we’re proud to continue our partnership with the Healthy Seas Foundation in its mission to protect and clean the seas to safeguard the marine environment and the species that inhabit it.

arena and Healthy Seas volunteers during the oceans clean-up mission

Our clean-up mission

This past 24 May in Krnica, Croatia, we carried out our first clean-up mission of the year in collaboration with Healthy Seas and the special leadership of open water swimmer and arena ambassador Andy Donaldson.

a volunteer diver from Ghost Diving swimming underwater

The results

With the invaluable support of Ghost Diving volunteers, the team successfully retrieved a significant quantity of harmful marine debris, including:

A long 70m² fishing net
A large fish cage
A smaller fishing net (approximately 10m²)
Various longlines entangled in the first net

From fishing nets to swimsuits

We especially love this collaboration because the nylon ghost nets recovered, along with other nylon waste, are transformed into a high-quality, 100% regenerated nylon yarn (ECONYL®). This innovative material is then used to create our Powerskin ST Next, the first ever World Aquatics-approved racing suits made with recycled fibres!

By supporting Healthy Seas, arena contributes to the recovery of discarded fishing nets from the sea which, together with other nylon waste such as carpet flooring and industrial plastic, are transformed (the ones suitable for recycling) by Aquafil into ECONYL® yarn.

Andy Donaldson wearing an arena wetsuit holding a fishing net

Our commitment to protecting oceans

Our clean-up mission in Krnica was the first of four planned this year with Healthy Seas — a powerful step in our continued commitment to protecting oceans and promoting sustainable action.

Here are some thoughts Andy shared with us after the mission: «For me, it was such a massive eye-opener as someone who spends so much time in the ocean… not just to witness the scale of all the waste… but also to meet so many passionate people working so hard to protect it and do their part. It was hugely motivating and inspiring, and I can’t thank arena enough for the opportunity to have been a part of it»