Our Story
Jeux De Vagues was created by Katherine Terrell: Designer, surfer, mom, and activist. At Jeux De Vagues, we believe that quality is the sum of choices you make. Our solid fabrics are made with ECONYL® , a 100% regenerated nylon fiber made from pre- and post-consumer materials. Our printed fabrics are made from recycled water bottles. From the fair labor factory in Los Angeles where our bikinis are made, to our dissolvable, fully biodegradable hangtags, we aim to benefit people and planet. We are committed to giving back to the environment, and are a proud member of 1% For The Planet.
Why Recycled Nylon?
When we set out to design our bikinis, our first priority was to work with a material that comes from recycled nylon.
Nylon and spandex free us up to play in unabated in the ocean, but they come at a price. In 2010 alone, the US and EU produced approximately 1 million tons of textile waste from virgin nylon. Nylon is a synthetic fiber made from plastic, and plastic is a non-renewable resource which simply does not biodegrade.
It is estimated that by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. Plastic production continues to increase exponentially, yet only 5% of it is recycled. The rest ends up in landfills, or as marine debris.
With so many stresses already upon the world’s oceans, the introduction of ECONYL® gives us an opportunity to quell this waste stream. ECONYL® is made from recovering abandoned fishing nets, which are then broken down with pre- and post-consumer waste, and made into a textile fiber that could be fully and endlessly regenerated. Not only is ECONYL® sustainable — it performs just as well as virgin nylon.
Using recycled nylon as our base material is by no means the perfect solution to the problem, but it is a start. And we hope that with every Jeux De Vagues bikini you wear, you can begin a conversation with your friends about what you can do for the health of our oceans.
A Word from Our Founder
I created Jeux De Vagues for women who want to feel good about the bikinis they wear — without compromising fashion, fit, or how their choices define them.
I am influenced every day by the sisterhood of women surfers who bring power, grace, and beauty to the lineup. Women also impart a softness to surfing that we should not only embrace, but amplify.
I graduated from Cranbrook Academy of Art’s MFA program in 2D Design. Leveraging my career as a graphic designer, I bring a nuanced understanding of form and color to create exclusive prints and fashion-forward styles for the brand.
As an activist, I worked with local grassroots organizations to ban the plastic bag in Los Angeles and California, and was a proud recipient of Surfrider Foundation’s Wavemaker of the Year Award in 2011.
That same year, I sailed to the island nation of Kiribati on an expedition to study plastic pollution. A mere four years later, at the COP 21 Paris conference, the Kiribati people stood at the forefront of Pacific Island nations demanding that governments keep global temperature rise below 1.5 C. Climate change was nowhere near our minds when we sailed through Kiribati. This experience showed me the inextricable connection between all environmental movements, how quickly things have escalated, and the urgency to act on them.
It is my hope that we can reach beyond our lives as waveriders and connect to the global movement to protect and preserve the oceans that we love.