Impact Report

How Sustainable Is Vitamin A?

Founded in 2000 in California, USA by Amahlia Stevens, Vitamin A is a women’s swimwear brand with a long history of sustainable materials sourcing.

Vitamin A is an impact-driven women’s swimwear brand and one of the first to prioritize sustainable material sourcing in a category typically dominated by fossil fuel-based conventional synthetic fibers.

1. Environmental
Sustainability

Vitamin A’s environmental efforts focus on material sourcing, with a significant share of preferred fibers in its collection. However, data and targets surrounding annual emissions remain missing.
IMPACT AREA 01

Materials
& Sourcing

  1. The item-level raw material composition in all Vitamin A items is fully transparent and available online for all products. However, the brand does not publish a detailed overview of its brand-wide fiber portfolio.
  2. According to our data analysis, about 85% of Vitamin A’s fibers in its current product collection are preferred fibers. Recycled synthetics like nylon, polyester, and elastane make up 53% of its fiber use, followed by linen (17%), organic cotton (12%), and recycled cotton (3%).
  3. Non-preferred fibers make up roughly 15% of Vitamin A’s fiber portfolio, including conventional elastane (9%), conventional cotton (3%), conventional nylon and polyamide (2%), and unspecified metallic fibers (1%).
  4. Some of Vitamin A’s organic cotton is GOTS-certified, while others are OCS-certified. GOTS is considered a more holistic socio-environmental sustainability standard than OCS. A significant portion of its recycled fibers are GRS-certified.
IMPACT AREA 02

Climate
& Emissions

  1. Vitamin A does not publish regular sustainability reports, and no company-wide emissions data or reduction targets, such as a net-zero by 2050 commitment, could be found.
  2. Vitamin A uses a significant share (~84%) of low climate impact fibers in its collections (as measured by Higg MSI: Global Warming Potential and Doconomy’s 2030 Calculator).
  3. One of the brand’s stated continuous goals is to work with vertically integrated manufacturing facilities that combine processes like dyeing and knitting to help reduce its carbon footprint.
IMPACT AREA 03

Water
& Chemicals

  1. Vitamin A uses a high share (>50%) of fabrics certified by third-party safe chemistry standards, namely OEKO-TEX Standard 100, which tests for harmful substances in finished textiles.
  2. Vitamin A also uses a small (~12%) share of organic, either GOTS- and OCS-certified organic fibers, which are grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers and support safer water and soil management.
  3. No quantifiable water reduction targets or water use data could be identified.
IMPACT AREA 04

Circularity
& Waste

  1. Vitamin A’s packaging, hangtags, and mailers use 100% recycled fibers.
  2. Vitamin A uses a high share (~56%) of recycled fibers in its collection, including recycled nylon/polyamide, recycled polyester, recycled elastane, and recycled cotton.
  3. Due to the brand’s heavy reliance on synthetic fibers (~64%), microplastic waste release from repeated washing is a concern. However, as a swimwear brand, Vitamin A’s use of synthetic, technical fabrics is standard practice and to be expected.

2. Social
Sustainability

Vitamin A is a women-led brand with part of its supply chain in California. It prioritizes fair trade labor and fair wages but lacks full supply chain transparency.
IMPACT AREA 05

Animal
Welfare

  1. Vitamin A is a fully vegan brand, with no evidence of animal-based materials used in its collections. This is to be expected, as animal-derived materials are generally uncommon in beach and swimwear.
IMPACT AREA 06

Workplace
Practices

  1. Vitamin A’s design, fitting, and product development are done by a team based in California, USA.
  2. Glassdoor reviews from Vitamin A employees are limited, with 9 reviews at an average rating of 3.2.
  3. This section draws from a job posting for Vitamin A’s Marketing Director role in Irvine, California. It lists a $100k to $130k salary, a bonus, and full benefits after 30 days, meeting state pay-transparency laws. The advertised pay is below the regional median for similar marketing director roles, even with bonuses, and the “full package” lacks details on PTO, 401(k), and other benefits.
IMPACT AREA 07

Supply Chain
Workers’ Rights

  1. Item-level supply chain information, such as item manufacturing location data, is not publicly available for Vitamin A’s products, except for a small share (<10%) of products noted as made in California.
  2. The brand states it partners with “fair trade artisans providing women with fair-wage jobs in safe working environments.” However, no further details could be found, such as certifications, third-party audit information, facility names, addresses, types of products made, or the number of workers employed.
  3. Vitamin A does not publicly disclose identifiable supply chain facility details such as names, addresses, types of products made, or the number of workers employed.
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Sources

  1. Vitamin A Fabrics Page
  2. Vitamin A Sustainability Page
  3. Vitamin A About Page
  4. Vitamin A 20 Years of Style and Sustainability Blog Post
  5. Vitamin A Inspired by Nature: Sustainability at Vitamin A Blog Post
  6. Vitamin A Fabrics Page Archived (September 2023)
  7. Glassdoor Page for Vitamin A
  8. Vitamin A Marketing Director Job Ad