Your purchases have donated $412,888 to marine science research and education!
Hey, we're Waterlust
We're in business to build a more sustainable world by bringing environmental science into your life in creative ways.
★★★★★
Waterlust is the best!
Great products, great customer service, great mission! Worth every penny.
- Michelle Rumbaut, TX


















Educational resources & donation included with every purchase. Learn more.
When you’re ready for the best day ever and want a pair of shorts that are fun, supportive, and equally comfortable on land or in the water.
Known for the psychedelic patterns found on their inner shells, abalone (sea snails) feature unique colors that are created by nacre, hexagonal platelets of aragonite also known commonly as “mother of pearl” and found on a variety of mollusks. Our print features the piercing blues of New Zealand’s Pāua, the Māori name given to three species Haliotis iris, Haliotis australis and Haliotis virginea. 5% of sales will be donated to Get Inspired, a non-profit organization dedicated to abalone restoration and education efforts in California.
Built for those who refuse to choose between comfort and toughness. Our boardshort fabric has just enough stretch to move with you and enough grit to outlast everything you throw at it — from the boat ramp to the bar.
The built-in liner uses our silk-weight fabric which is feather-light, silky smooth, and cool to the touch.
Main fabric: 88% Repreve® RPET (recycled polyester made from post-consumer plastic bottles), 12% spandex
Liner fabric: 91% Repreve® RPET (recycled polyester made from post-consumer plastic bottles), 9% spandex
Eyelets: brass
Drawstring: high tensile strength nylon paracord
Zipper: polyacetal resin (tough, high-strength thermoplastic)
Safe, premium performance yarns: Our high-quality, fully traceable yarns are sourced through sustainable partners in the U.S. These materials meet rigorous chemical safety standards and are independently verified for over 1,000 harmful substances like BPA and PFAS through OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certification.
High-quality, responsible printing: Our products are printed using heat transfer sublimation, a printing technique that is widely considered to be the safest for both workers and the environment. It requires no water, eliminates dye from entering water systems, and minimizes ink and fabric waste. All the inks and dyes we use are also OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certified.
Recycled materials, minimal waste: Our commitment to environmental responsibility starts with sustainable fibers and yarns. We use synthetic yarns made from recycled plastic bottles, which helps remove and repurpose existing plastic.
Learn more about our environmental impact and manufacturing here, and our materials here.
Flat $5 shipping on every U.S. order. Shipping is a real cost, we keep it low, flat, and honest. No inflated prices hiding “free” shipping, no pressure to over-buy to hit a threshold. Just a simple $5 that encourages more intentional ordering, which means less waste and fewer emissions. International orders just pay cost to ship, which is calculated at checkout.
Orders are lovingly packaged using minimal packaging and eco-responsible materials, and shipped from our wonderful partner warehouse in Pennsylvania within the same or next business day. We’ll email you with your tracking info as soon as your order is shipped.
Learn more about shipping, exchanges and returns here.
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Abalone is the common name for a variety of marine snails that are found throughout the world’s oceans. Sought after for their meat and their beautiful shells, populations have declined rapidly and some species are now critically endangered.
Growing juvenile abalone. Once they reach adulthood, they’ll be released into the wild along southern California’s coast.
High school student divers trained by Nancy to participate in the abalone restoration efforts.
The next generation of scientists measuring abalone in their classroom nursery.
Our relationship with abalone illustrates the challenges of overexploitation of the marine environment. Until the 1980s, it was widely thought that abalone populations were resilient and could effectively rebound from harvesting activities. Unfortunately, that has not proven to be true.
Abalone are “broadcast spawners,” meaning that two individuals must be within three feet of one another to sexually reproduce. This type of reproduction makes population recovery very challenging, driving the need for humans to intervene.
“Our partnership with Waterlust helps us spread our message of conservation across the globe far beyond our reach. It is a great example of how one small organization with one employee can only do so much but by working together we can do more, reach more, spreading knowledge, happiness, beauty, and hopefully compassion for our ocean animals.”
Nancy Caruso
Get Inspired
Get Inspired is a non-profit organization that specializes in marine conservation & education, founded by Marine Biologist Nancy Caruso. Besides physically growing juvenile abalone along California’s coast and populating them back into the coastal kelp forest marine habitat, Nancy recognizes that protecting the ocean in the future requires educating children today. That is why she has launched a 10-year initiative to grow 100,000 abalone in classrooms across the golden state and restore them along the southern California coast, inspiring and utilizing the help of the next generation of scientists along the way. 10% of profits from your purchase will be donated to this restoration effort.
I've gone through so many swimsuit bottoms that were uncomfortable but now I've found it! I'm never buying anywhere else
I love Waterlust swimwear SO much!!! I had been looking for so long for a swimsuit that covered my whole butt, and had a comfortable top to go with it. I just prefer practical clothing in general. When I found this company, I was so happy because not only did I find the kinds of suits I’d been searching for, but they supported the environment in a multi-faceted productive way! Combining clothing with marine education was such a brilliant idea, and I just love the prints on top of all that. And I look forward to the Sunday emails with marine updates that I otherwise wouldn’t probably hear about exactly. As an animal lover, I just can’t get enough. As an environment lover, I also can’t get enough. When it comes to the fit of the suits, they’re perfect. I normally wear a medium in the best day ever shorts, but being pregnant the larges fit perfectly! I love to sit and look for shells, as well as look for them on beach walks, and the shorts make the job so comfy. Okay, I’m done, just get your suits here and you won’t be disappointed 🩵💙🩵
Bought for a marine biologist friend and he's stoked about the look and fit so far!
Purpose-Driven, Family-Run
Advocate for Marine Conservation
Donate to Research + Education
Eco-Responsible