Coastal Cool uses recycled plastic waste to create swimwear

HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. (WTVD) -- Bright, vibrant, and sustainable.

"We're not just selling a product, we're selling a mission. And we're allowing that customer to connect with us and build a community around the brand," said Holden Bierman with Coastal Cool.

Using recycled materials, Coastal Cool swimsuits take plastic waste and turn it into swimwear-all while keeping their "one pound promise."

With every purchase, Coastal Cool partners with Tidey Ocean to remove one pound of plastic. And in the last two years, they've helped to remove more than 80,000 plastic bottles and 3,000 pounds of plastic.

"Doing numbers like that is pretty cool," said Bierman. "But also being able to connect that to an impact is also even cooler, so it's been awesome."

And it's an impact he has made at a very young age.

"Coast Cool started my sixth-grade year of middle school when COVID happened," said Bierman. "I was 12 years old and it was straight boredom."

Working exclusively out of his family home in Holly Springs, Bierman started making shirts and hoodies for his friends in the neighborhood. Now, he's the CEO and sole employee of Coastal Cool-all while starting his senior year of high school.

"It's a lot. But I followed my passion. I took a risk early on, and I just continued it," Bierman said. "There were multiple times that I could've failed, but I had this vision to grow this brand and be an entrepreneur at such a young age."

His passion is now making the world cleaner, one swimsuit at a time.

"It's beyond just swimsuits at this point; it's a community," Bierman said.