Our Story
Our Planet
We love exploring the world and enjoy everything that travel brings us, from the colours of new cultures to those lazy coastal days. Yet, a walk on a beach also opens the eyes to the plastic waste spectacle that is present everywhere around the world. While tourism plays an integral part of the economies of many countries, it also contributes to a staggering amount of solid waste generation, including marine plastic pollution, loss of biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions.
Our Mission
The Summer Chaser is an Australian brand based in Melbourne. We are inspired by the Sea, the Sun and the desire to wander.
Our mission is to reduce the impact of plastic waste on our planet by offering premium travel towels that are stylish, versatile and easy to carry.
We believe in making the most out of the resources we already have. That is why our towels are made with GRS certified post-consumer recycled plastic waste.
Turning trash into treasure cleans our planet, weakens dependence on petroleum, saves energy and vastly reduces carbon emissions.
“A towel is normally not on anyone’s packing list due to its bulkiness. Yet,
it is a necessity for any adventure. My idea was to create a functional, stylish towel, that is easy to bring anywhere and is also a better option for our planet.”
- Anara,
Founder of The Summer Chaser
Our Fabric
The Summer Chaser is pioneering the use of a revolutionary fabric that supports the removal of post-consumer plastic waste. About 85% of the fibre content in our towels consists of PET waste such as recycled plastic bottles. The waste that could have ended up in the landfill, or worse - in our oceans, can now serve you for years to come in the form of a beautiful towel. By regenerating waste, we’re not only making it new again, but we are reducing dependence on petroleum and saving energy while also reducing carbon emissions.
Our Recycling Process
Plastic bottles are cleaned and shredded into flakes and then pulsed through hot air, converting the chips into pellets with hard shells. The pellets are run through a dryer to eliminate any moisture that could weaken the final product and then they are melted into a thick liquid. Finally, the molten material is turned into stable felt-like fibre that is spun into polyester yarn.
Our Production
Our towels are made in China by industry's leading manufacturers to fabricate our products.
The innovative fabric that is used to produce our towels is manufactured in Quanzhou by an incredible facility with the production capacity of the whole industrial chain from bottle sorting, cleaning, shredding to yarn spinning and fabric weaving. The company adheres to the concept of low carbon, environmental protection and resource regeneration, and is committed to the research and development of waste resources recovery and recycling technology. The factory complies with European Union ROHS, EN71, REACH standard, and passes the Chinese environment mark product certification, ISO9001, ISO14001 certification. Their recycled yarns are certified under the Global Recycled Standard and are tested for harmful substances by OekoTex Standard 100.
The printing and assembly facility is located in Guangzhou, 700 km away from the textile manufacturer. It is a family-run business that produces for many renowned brands, and we are honoured to work with them. Their highly-skilled team uses low-impact sublimation printing and assembles our towels by hand. Beyond their skill, we are grateful to have partners who understand our values and share our commitment to quality.
We have been asked why we do not produce in Australia. When we started, we sought out the Australian manufacturers certified by Ethical Clothing Australia and were unable to find a factory with the capacity, ability to scale, and equipment required. Not to mention that there is no facility in Australia that turns plastic waste into textile. We have decided to look abroad and got in touch with countless factories before finding the right fit for our values and needs.
For details on the issues covered by the GRS, go to https://textileexchange.org/integrity/
For details on Oeko-Tex Standard 100, go to https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/our-standards/standard-100-by-oeko-tex
For more details on plastic pollution, visit https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/
Plastic-free & 100% Carbon Neutral Delivery
We keep packaging to a minimum - only recycled paper wrapper is used around each towel.
We also broke up with plastic mailers. Instead, your towels are delivered in certified compostable satchels using Sendle - the first postal company in Australia to offer fully carbon neutral delivery services.