Our Power, Our Planet: Why I’m Still Talking About Sustainability

By Helen Banks, Founder of Imperfect Pointes

Imperfect Pointes is the UK’s first sustainable dancewear brand, making leotards, unitards and mens tights entirely from recycled materials in Yorkshire since 2020. Premium convertible tights were added to the mix in 2023.  In this Earth Day 2026 message, Founder Helen Banks reflects on why sustainability in dancewear still matters - and what Imperfect Pointes is doing about it.

Every year when Earth Day comes around, I remind everyone why I'm doing this .....but I have a confession. This year I wondered what's the point. 

Why am I still talking about this?

Not because I’ve lost faith. But it's hard to talk about sustainability when the world is literally on fire! There’s A LOT going on. Wars (okay even more wars). Cost of living. The relentless news cycle. I know that when you open an email from a dancewear brand on Earth Day, “sustainability” might feel like the last thing you have headspace for. 

And yet. Here I am. Still yapping about it.

This year’s Earth Day theme is Our Power, Our Planet. And that really resonated. For me, that’s exactly what this has always been about. 

The thing is - nothing has actually changed much in the dancewear industry. The same fast fashion model that frustrated me enough to leave a perfectly good marketing career and start Imperfect Pointes in my living room in 2020, is still running at full speed. New leotard drops every week. Virgin nylon. Cheap manufacturing. Mountains of dancewear getting thrown out.

The number of garments made from nylon has doubled since 2000. £140 million worth of clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year. That mountain includes a lot of leotards and tights.

So no. I haven’t stopped talking about it. I just refuse to.

Why Does Imperfect Pointes Name Products After Polluted Places?

Here’s something I’ve never properly explained, and Earth Day feels like the right moment.

Every product we make is named after a place suffering from plastic pollution.

The Barcelona leotard — Barcelona’s beaches have been choked by plastic waste for years, one of the most polluted coastlines in the Mediterranean. The Alexandria — named after the Egyptian coastline on the Mediterranean, heavily impacted by ocean plastic. The Po Delta — our men’s tights named after the river delta in Northern Italy, one of Europe’s most polluted waterways. And our newest camisole, the Cali — named after the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the largest accumulation of ocean plastic on Earth.

These aren’t just pretty names. They’re a reminder. Every time you pull on your leotard or pull on your tights, you’re wearing something made from the problem. Our leotards and men’s tights use ECONYL® yarn, regenerated from fishing nets, fabric scraps and industrial plastic. Our convertible tights are made from Q-Nova - another premium recycled nylon. it's not a perfect solution but everything we do we consider the planet first. 

That’s not just marketing — it’s about highlighting the issues.

What Has Imperfect Pointes Actually Achieved in Five Years?

When I launched on Instagram in May 2020, I didn’t know if anyone would care. I was a redundant sportswear marketer with a ballet-mad daughter, a Cambridge sustainability qualification, and a burning frustration at an industry that wasn’t asking enough questions and passively not taking any action.

Five years later, here’s what I know:

Our community does care. Deeply. At the end of the day, every dancer wants stylish dancewear that makes them feel confident — but it’s even better when you know where it was made, how it was made, and who made it. You send your old tights back for recycling. You choose us over cheaper options because you understand what’s behind the price. That means everything.

Since 2023, every order placed with Imperfect Pointes has funded responsible reforestation projects through our partnership with Ecologi. In 2025 alone that included mangrove planting in Madagascar, forest restoration in Kenya, community-led reforestation in Uganda and Gewocha Forest in Ethiopia. And from this month - April 2026 - we are also funding carbon removals. Every order, doing more.

Since 2024, every swing tag carries a QR code that takes you straight to our full sustainability credentials. No digging around. Just scan and see exactly what we stand for.

Our dancewear has been worn on stage at the Royal Opera House. The Royal Danish Ballet and English National Ballet switched their company dancers’ performance tights to ours. These aren’t small moments - they’re proof that the professional dance world is beginning to take this seriously.

What Is Imperfect Pointes Working On Next for Sustainability?

We recently ended our tights collaboration with Swedish Stockings. It was a brilliant partnership-but it ran it's course but helped Imperfect Pointes launch the world’s first ballet tights from recycled materials. But we’re not standing still.

We are now in the early stages of an exciting project with The Royce Institute in Manchester, exploring how old tights can be upcycled into products relevant to the dance industry itself. Nothing to announce yet, but I wanted you to know it’s in motion. Closing the loop completely has always been the goal.

Why Does Sustainable Dancewear Still Matter in 2026?

Because someone has to.

Because the dancewear industry won’t change itself. Because every time you choose a leotard made with purpose from recycled ocean plastic over one made from virgin nylon, from god knows where, that’s a vote for a different way of doing things. Because your tights staying out of landfill matters. Because coastlines matter. Because the Great Pacific Garbage Patch matters.

And I started this brand for my daughter. I want her to inherit an industry - and a planet - that’s at least trying.

This Earth Day, I’m not asking you to do anything dramatic. I’m just asking you to use your power. Share this. Pass it on to one dancer, one dance mum, one teacher who might not have thought about where their dancewear comes from.

Our power. Our planet. That’s not just a theme. That’s the whole point.

Still on a mission. 

Thank you for being part of this imperfect journey.

Helen

Founder, Imperfect Pointes

Ready to wear your values? Explore our full sustainable collection at imperfectpointes.com