From passionate surfing, water campaigns and yet prefer to grow bigger – a conversation with the sustainable swimwear label Mymarini

Our author Sabine interviewed Mareen, the founder of the Hamburg-based sustainable swimwear label Mymarini. Since 2013, Mymarini has not only been producing beautiful functional bikinis and swimsuits, but has also been promoting sustainability and education in the surf and sports sectors. Read more about Mareen’s story and the projects she has in mind in the interview.

Mareen, of course we are first and foremost interested in how you found the way to your sustainable swimwear.

Mareen: Actually, I am a trained graphic designer and started working for a Hamburg fashion label through a lateral entry in sales. But at some point that didn’t make me happy anymore, I didn’t feel comfortable and asked myself if that was really all there was to it! The work in the sales department was not easy at all and that’s why I wanted to have a break, that was 2012. I decided for my great passion, surfing, and went to Colombia.

In addition, I decided to learn Spanish, but this was more of an alibi! Life there was like Robinson Crusoe for me, very simple. For board and lodging I waited in a surf hostel and also gave surf lessons. We lived there very close to nature. We cooked on the fire, drank from coconuts and all unnecessary consumption was forgotten.

Because of all the surfing I noticed that my swimwear was worn out and faded quite fast. There I started to question for the first time where and how the textiles are produced.

After such a drastic life experience as in Colombia I could not come back and continue as before, it was clear that my new professional orientation had to be sustainable.

Then the headstone for your new project was laid in Colombia. What were the next steps after that?

Mareen: I even started writing a business plan in Colombia, which is what I meant by a business plan. In other words, I summarized my idea. When I came back to Germany in 2013 I immediately started to implement my plan. The first three years I also did everything by myself. But my parents were completely behind me. They thought the idea was a bit weird, but they believed in me and supported me in all activities.

In the beginning I only produced on order. I had an online shop and a tailor in Stuttgart worked for me. Slowly the press started to take notice of me (Brigitte, Süddeutsche Zeitung) and then Mymarini grew quite fast.

So how were you able to handle the rapid growth?

Mareen: I couldn’t handle the increasing orders from home anymore, but my mother offered to take over the logistics. She had her own shop where she used the back room as a warehouse. At some point the warehouse got bigger and bigger, she closed her shop and only took care of the logistics.

The warehouse in the Black Forest is now 250 square meters large and a team of five people is employed there. And then my partner William has joined us. Finally he quit his job as a mechanical engineer and joined Mymarini completely.

In which shops you can find Mymarini ?

Mareen: On the one hand, there is our own shop in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel since 2018 and then we are represented at over 50 other retailers. We need the power of larger orders and the visibility that comes with it to grow even more and to really make a difference.

For every swimsuit that hangs from us on the floor we displace an unsustainable swimsuit. For a while I didn’t realize that at all. I was satisfied with what I had built up, but in certain shops you have to be represented to be taken seriously and thus get your message across to even more customers. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t want to miss the concept stores that we have been working with from the very beginning. They are incredibly important to me.

How many people do you have on your team now?

Mareen: We are 13 people (incl. warehouse), with freelancers 17 (such as pattern maker, sustainability officer). This is another important point why we want to grow.

It is important to us that we can hire people, that we are a good employer, that employees have time for their families and friends and that flexible working hours can be used sensibly. We were even able to hire more people in the warehouse during the Corona phase. We encountered some really emotional moments there. It’s great to see when employees are happy and we can provide unpredictable opportunities. These are reasons to grow up and dedicate yourself to personal destinies.

Would you like to tell us a little bit more about the choice of materials and your production?

Mareen: The fibre Econyl is used for our fabrics. This is a regenerated yarn which is obtained from fishing nets, carpet scraps and plastic waste. We work together with a fabric manufacturer in Italy that has been around for over 100 years.

Meanwhile we have built up a very good stock of patterns, which we can fall back on and create variations from time to time. We also have to be really careful that our bestsellers are not copied. The special thing about our cuts is a kind of mini-shape effect. A double-layer workmanship with which you always feel well dressed.

The production is in Croatia and we have our new organic cotton collection produced in Portugal. The fabrics for it even come from Germany. We have a very good relationship with our suppliers and have built up a great deal of trust over the years. We are in daily exchange and could stop by any time. Actually, we had planned a production trip with our employees this year, but it had to be cancelled for the time being.

What can you give other upcoming founders as a tip?

Mareen: So what you definitely need to be grounded is also luck! Being in the right place at the right time. The Croatian producer, for example, found me. He contacted me when the number of orders started to grow and the tailor couldn’t make it on her own anymore. And of course my instinct helped me too. The decision to continue working with this producer was a valuable decision for the company. I could trust him and he helped me with my problems concerning the production.

Swimwear is more of a summer product. What do you actually do in winter?

Mareen: There is no autumn/​winter collection. It is a collection for the whole year. The summer season is quite long and goes at least until October. In January the shops already want the new collection. We had already considered offering functional underwear in winter, but we quickly put the project on hold again. We focus on ladies and girls swimwear. From time to time we fill one or the other gap in the assortment (like with the cotton collection) or create something on customer demand. In that case I also like to give my employees a creative task.

Mymarini is also involved in various projects. What exactly do you do there?

Mareen: Firstly, there are the Mymarini Retreats. In cooperation with selected partners we offer Surf, Yoga and Meditation Retreats in Europe. There is also a little missionary story behind it. We explain about the product and make the differences to conventional swimwear clear. This is a great addition. We have been offering these trips for four years now and you always have great, exciting personalities with you.

Furthermore, we are currently planning the educational campaign with ​“Water is Love”, which is all about water. This year we have planned a great campaign in which we compensate our water consumption by planting trees. We organised this event together with the organisation Klimapatenschaft Tourismus GmbH. We are working on making our entire production water neutral.

In the future we will publish a magazine once a year to show what we are doing and what else Mymarini is producing. We want to bring people more on our channels!

If one listens to Mareen in this way, it is in any case worthwhile to buy more bathing suits. Her plan for the future is to grow the company to create good things. We are happy to help and are already looking forward to the next collection colours!

Find out more: https://​www​.mymarini​.com