Why Fabric Matters: The Science Behind Akkim’s Non-Toxic, High-Performance Materials
In the world of activewear and swim, fabric isn’t just a design choice, it’s a health decision. Most people don’t realise that every time they sweat, their pores open to release toxins… while their clothing silently puts chemicals right back in. Synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon shed microplastics, leach petrochemicals, and break down with heat, friction, and UV exposure. For anyone who trains hard, sweats often, or lives in a warm climate, this creates a daily exposure loop the wellness community has barely begun to talk about.
Akkim was created to break that loop.
Our mission is simple: high-functioning, non-tox garments that protect your skin, hormones, and long-term health without sacrificing design.
And it all starts with our fabric selection.
The Problem With Conventional Activewear
The $350B global activewear industry is dominated by fossil-fuel textiles. Polyester, nylon, elastane, and blends of these plastics make up more than 60% of gym apparel worldwide. They’re cheap, stretchy, quick-drying… and problematic in three major ways:
1. Microplastic shedding
During sweat, movement, and washing, synthetic fabrics release microplastics, tiny fragments linked to endocrine disruption, reproductive issues, inflammation, and skin barrier damage. These particles can enter the bloodstream and lymphatic system.
2. Chemical leaching
Many synthetic textiles are treated with anti-odour, anti-bacterial, and anti-wrinkle coatings. These treatments often contain phthalates, BPA derivatives, PFAS (“forever chemicals”), and heavy metals.
3. Heat reactivity
In saunas, hot yoga, Australian humidity, or intense gym sessions, petrochemical fibres become more reactive, accelerating both microplastic release and chemical transfer into the skin’s open pores.
This is the biohacker’s blind spot: detoxing on the inside while being re-exposed from the outside.
Akkim’s Solution: certified Non-Toxic Fabrics
We spent two years researching plant-based alternatives that are high-performance, naturally non-tox, and strong enough for training, sweating, and heat exposure. The result is our custom active and swim fabrics built from:
• 100% Organic Cotton Inner Layer
This is the part that touches your skin in our saunawear. It’s breathable, hypoallergenic, and free from petrochemicals. Organic cotton fibres allow the skin to regulate heat and moisture naturally, supporting the body's detox pathways rather than blocking them.
• 100% Wood Pulp Layer.
Bamboo viscose is prized for its softness, durability, moisture-wicking properties, and natural antimicrobial characteristics. Crucially, our bamboo is renewably sourced, biodegradable, and gentle on sensitive skin, using less 8% elastane.
No nylon. No polyester. No elastane. No hidden synthetics.
This dual-layer structure gives you the performance of modern activewear but with the purity of natural materials. Triple-lining in high-exposure areas prevents transparency even when wet or under infrared light, essential for sauna, hot yoga, humid-city living, and high-heat environments.
Why This Matters for Your Skin, Hormones, and Long-Term Health
Your skin is your largest organ. On average, it absorbs 60% of what it touches. Heat increases absorption even more.
In a sauna where temperatures can reach 80–100°C, synthetic fibres begin releasing microplastics at exponentially higher rates. This is we Akkim designed the Sauna Collection using natural fibres that stay stable under heat.
Natural fibres are:
Skin-supportive — allow sweating, cooling, and detoxification
Hormone-safe — no endocrine-disrupting chemicals
Heat-stable — minimal structural breakdown
Non-tox — no toxic compounds
Biodegradable — reducing environmental microplastic load
In essence, every piece is designed to support your biology, not fight it.
Our Fabrics Are Certified to the Highest Global Standard: OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100
This certification is one of the world’s most rigorous textile health standards. For a fabric to pass, every single component—fibres, dyes, threads, trims—must be tested for more than 350 harmful substances, including:
• PFAS
• Heavy metals
• Pesticide residues
• Formaldehyde
• Carcinogenic dyes
• Plasticisers (phthalates, BPA derivatives)
STANDARD 100 tests far beyond typical regulatory requirements, ensuring the textiles are safe even for babies' skin. That threshold is the benchmark we use for biohackers and wellness-focused individuals.
Translation:
If it’s safe for a newborn, it’s clean enough for your lymphatic system, endocrine system, and long-term performance.
You can learn more directly from OEKO-TEX® here:
https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/our-standards/oeko-tex-standard-100/
Why We Selected These Materials for Akkim
Our fabric choices weren’t just aesthetic—they were physiological.
We selected these fibres because they:
• minimise microplastic exposure
• reduce toxic load on the skin
• support detox, sweating & high-heat training
• remain durable under friction and moisture
• offer luxury texture and high comfort
• align with longevity science & low-tox living
• meet global safety certification standards
• avoid endocrine-disrupting chemicals
• biodegrade without polluting the environment
Most importantly, they don’t undo the hard work of your wellness routine.
The Future of High-Performance, Non-Tox Design
The wellness world has upgraded nearly everything, skincare formulations, water filters, cookware, deodorant, home products. Clothing is the last frontier. What you wear daily, sweat in, sleep in, and perform in matters more than people realise.
Akkim exists to close that gap.
High performance. Slow production. Future-proof materials.
No shortcuts. No cost cuts for profit.
Our fabrics are an investment in your skin barrier, your hormones, your long-term health, and the planet you live on.
This is our standard for activewear and swim, clean enough for biohackers, elevating your fashion, and built for a world that demands better from what we wear.
