The Seea Co-founder and designer, Amanda Chinchelli, was always suspicious of the omnipresent odor one smells when entering any store packed with wetsuits – this very distinct and unmistakable odor couldn’t be a good thing. Always curious about materials and textiles, she decided to do some research and found numerous articles about the toxicity of conventional neoprene and the awful impact of chloroprene on the environment. With these revelations, she knew she had to dig a bit deeper to find some alternatives, and through this process found her way to the Patagonia’s Yulex collaboration and Yulex plant-based foam technology.
After finding some alternatives to conventional neoprene, including limestone, Amanda reached out to Hub Hubbard, Patagonia’s wetsuit developer, to learn more about Yulex. The initial conversation with Hub would prove to be very enlightening for Amanda, and she was sent home with a few sheets of their Yulex wetsuit foam to test. The decision to move forward with Yulex was an easy one because Amanda knows how rigorous Patagonia is in making their material choices and ultimately decided to opt for a product made from a renewable resource, versus an extractive one (limestone). She was also very inspired that Patagonia would so generously make this material publicly available to any brand who would want to use it.
The Seea launched their first Yulex collection in 2018 and have since been neoprene free!
“Fits beautifully, gorgeous colors, very comfortable! Now I want the matching bottoms.”
“Love at first try on. This looks great but the really wonderful thing is you can move comfortably - no wedgies - what a gift.”
“Best Spring Suit! I love this suit… fits perfectly and is easy to put on and off. Excellent quality material. Please make more colors, so I can buy another one!! When I am surfing, I am no longer thinking about swim suit adjustments, just surfing.”
