Aktiiv wants to get you out of your plastic pants

AKTIIV

The brand that wants to get you out of your plastic pants

As a fitness professional I have destroyed my share of activewear by doing what I love, working out. Plenty of the industry’s most beloved brands rely on synthetic fabrics like polyester, nylon, and spandex, which are chosen for their moisture-wicking, quick-drying, and stretchy properties. One of the clothing industry’s worst offenders is bamboo which can be a relatively eco-friendly crop but the production process for bamboo fabric uses toxic chemicals, which cause massive environmental damage, endanger the workers who produce the fabric, and potentially leave traces on the fabric itself. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to put together that we might not want to wear things made of such toxic materials and science is backing that up.

“A widerange of chemical additives such as flame retardants, plasticizers, pigments,and fillers are often incorporated in plastics during manufacture to impart specific properties. Most of these additives, particularly in the flame retardants group, …. have been found to cause adverse health effects including endocrine disruption, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, and cancer. 8”

I went looking for better option and discovered aktiiv, a “plant-based, ecodegradable™, high-performance activewear—engineered for a better planet and a better you.” Then as any extrovert would do I sent the brand a dm and asked some questions, I had already been looking for better options and the loudest “eco-friendly” producers are using viscose, bamboo in its most carcinogenic form. Maybe having the last name Sherlock lends me to be on a data driven mission at all times, I’m absolutely motivated to make the healthiest decisions I can with the knowledge I have available.

Here is the highlight reel of a wonderful conversation I had with the voice behind aktiiv’s social media who very generously opened up to me about their product.

“That's it, the brands claiming natural fabric (cotton/hemp) and then blend it in with a 10-15% spandex blend that is not only not certified, it's fully petroleum based and spandex (elastane) is plastic which means it sheds microplastic and it's against your skin. It's like someone feeding you a New York Steak that is 85% organic grass fed with the remaining amount being antibiotic, hormone loaded, synthetic fed blend inside it. It doesn't even make sens

Every brand will market their hero yarn (it takes two or three yarns to make a blend) most use two blends but only talk about their one hero yarn that is organic, certified, you name it. All three of ours every yarn used in our Proterra and Element Fabric is OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certified (Annex 6, Product Class I) literally infant safe the hardest cert to get. We won't even touch a yarn unless it hits this standard. When brands put OEKO-TEX® certified they won't even tell you which level because they don't want you to ask. There is a reason.

That's what this greenbiz.com article is going to be about. The industry as concentrated on carbon credits (the big big brands) and have put a stake in the ground what about human pollution? So we want to be the perfect balance of good for the planet and good for human being. Neither can be polluted And a brand says it, can they prove it.” http://greenbiz.com/

Aktiiv is going far beyond fathomable expectations in its carbon neutral mission:

“äktiiv uses certified compostable shipping mailers for all outgoing orders. These mailers are made from a plant-based film designed to degrade safely and completely under both industrial and home composting conditions. They serve as the outermost layer during shipment and are fully distinct from the inner apparel packaging. All claims made about the shipping mailers are backed by third-party certifications and global compostability standards.”

The McKinsey wellness report clocks the wellness industry valuation at over 2 trillion dollars and growing. We vote with every dollar we spend and we need to do our best to invest in the best future for ourselves and the planet. I signed up to be an affiliate with aktiiv so my readers can get 10% off by using the code MEGANSHERLOCK10 when they shop https://aktiivwear.co I try to highlight brands doing good things that will echo into the community like this one or health trends I want the people I love to be aware of. This will always be a labor of love first. I love you, your health is worth the effort.

Novel Insights into the Dermal Bioaccessibility and Human Exposure to Brominated Flame Retardant Additives in Microplastics

Ovokeroye A. Abafe, Stuart Harrad, and Mohamed Abou-Elwafa Abdallah

Environmental Science & Technology 2023 57 (29), 10554-10562

DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c01894

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.est.3c01894?ref=article_openPDF

Megan Sherlock is a wellness professional passionate about somatic movement and holistic healing. She combines her expertise in fitness, yoga, and nutrition with the transformative power of energy work to help clients reconnect with their bodies and emotions. Megan holds certifications in NASM CPT, RYT 200, CGFI, CNC, BCS, CF1, ViPR, TriggerPoint SMR, Usui Reiki Master, and PN1.