Nomadix is making sustainable towels and beachwear from plastic bottles. Photo editor Peter Moynes took some on a recent lake trip to try them out.

It all started with three friends and a Subaru Outback. Zack Helminiak, Chace Petersen, and Hunter Robinson met at the Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains during the winter of 2008 and decided to road trip across the US together when the ski season was over. The trio were in their twenties at the time and visiting breweries and national parks was at the top of their list of things to do; personal hygiene wasn’t. In fact, they went 17 days without showering at one point and so, naturally, talk turned to towels. They realized their only choices were heavy ones that took forever to dry or pack towels that were more like shammy cloths.

Eventually the three found themselves in San Clemente, California, and decided to create a travel towel they’d happily bring on their next road trip. They took post-consumer recycled plastic bottles, developed a proprietary poly-nylon blend and chose to print their patterns rather than dye them to avoid wastewater pollution. The result was a towel that was absorbent yet quick drying. They called their company Nomadix, launched a Kickstarter campaign, and after receiving 900 orders, got back in the Subaru to deliver the towels across the country.

Since then Nomadix towels have found their way into retailers around the world and the company’s line now includes outdoor blankets, poncho-towel hybrids, and hand towels, all crafted using the same sustainability methods as their flagship model. Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazine photo editor Peter Moynes received some of the Nomadix beach gear before embarking on a recent lakeside vacation here in the area and he and his family took the following pics and vids of the trip.

Afterward the trip with the Nomadix gear he said, “It’s been a pretty hot, dry, smoky summer in the Kootenays so far so I’m feeling pretty lucky for the days spent by the lake. The Nomadix ponchos, towels, and festival blankets proved to be great for the lake-lounge lifestyle it it’s a huge bonus know they’re all made from post-consumer recycled plastic.”

For more about Nomadix, visit the company’s Canadian website at nomadix.ca.