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Choosing a good pair of underwear can be tricky. You want comfort and style, but have you ever thought about your underwear as being sustainable? The truth is, many underwear brands are made from synthetic materials that are not only harming your health, but harming the planet. Here are 8 sustainable underwear brands for you to consider next time you are buying a new pair of panties.
What to Look for When Buying Sustainable Underwear?
When buying organic and sustainable underwear, we look at material, useful life, and ethical production.
Material
Realizing that many brands use polyester (plastic) for their underwear is quite scary. The Center for Environmental Health have recently found a high level of BPA (a hormone-disrupting chemical) in undergarments.
When BPA comes in contact with us, it can leach into our skin. So you might ask yourself "why would companies produce a toxic product that we use to cover the most sensitive areas of our bodies?" That is simply because most companies don't have the consumers' best interest at heart.
Choosing a brand and product that is safe is not the easiest task. It's recommended to buy non-toxic materials such as cotton, wool, hemp or linen created without pesticides, bleaches, dyes, and so on.
Useful Life
Synthetic materials made nonrenewable fossil fuels are going to last forever. And not in a good way. These products end up in landfills, polluting our air and water, and will never breakdown.
However, products made from materials that aren't plastic, have a much greater chance of breaking down and contribute to a brighter future.
Ethical Production
Undoubtedly, by now, we have all heard of fast fashion. It's the same deal with our underwear. Underwear like many other garments are produced in unethical and unsafe conditions. Workers are paid very little and are not given reasonable time off. This goes for many (let's be honest, MOST) of the big name brands we are all used to hearing about. I don't know about you, but a company that cares for not only the planet, but the people is a company I want to buy from.
Sustainable Underwear Brands
Kent
This brand starts the list off strong. Kent is a stand-up company using only 100% plant materials that is GOTS certified with no trace of plastic. These organic underwear will return to their natural state after their useful life.
Committed to being completely non-toxic, their products do not include any spandex, polyester, nylon, elastane, acrylic, or acetate whatsoever. The land, in Peru, that grows their organic cotton is free from chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and insecticides.
Soft, stretchy, and sustainable these underwear check all the boxes.
Subset
Subset, formerly Knickey, focuses on "environmentally responsible processes, low-impact fabrics and ethical manufacturing". A company committed to transparency, Subset releases a thorough impact report each year that lays out every step of their business and how it affects people and the planet - talk about impressive. Additionally, they spent the last year reevaluating their carbon emissions measurement, making it more accurate than ever before.
Furthermore, 92% of their fabric is GOTS-certified organic cotton with no harmful chemicals or toxic pesticides. My favorite thing about this brand is their commitment to the product after their sold. Subset has partnered with a group called supercircle. This collaboration has managed to recycle over one million items, including underwear, bras, socks and tights.
Clearly, I can't even begin to touch on all the wonderful things this company is doing. But, I encourage you to check their sustainable underwear out for yourself! Use my referral code for 20% off!
Proclaim
Proclaim is another brand that we love. Using fabric like Cupro (cotton waste), organic cotton, hemp and Tencel™. They also use recycled polyester, helping solve the problem of plastic water bottle pollution. Although we typically want to avoid polyester, this polyester is created in such a way that it is OEKO-TEX certified. In other words, it's free from hundreds of harmful chemicals.
Wama
This sustainable underwear brand is different from the rest as hemp is the star of the show here. Hemp is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-odor. Great for underwear. Grown on small organic run farms, free from pesticides, herbicides and other harmful chemicals. This brand runs OEKO-TEX certified factories, and uses eco-friendly dyes, meaning they don’t contain any harmful or toxic substances.
Overall, these eco-friendly underwear are as natural as they come.
Boody
Boody is a brand crafting intimates from bamboo. Bamboo is breathable, thermoregulating, odor resistant, and super soft. This bamboo is grown without pesticides making it organic and OEKO-TEK certified.
Boody does a good job at giving back to its community. Through programs such as Goodbye Malaria, a non-profit fighting to eliminate malaria in South Africa.
Similarly, Boody has also partnered with ReTold Recycling which gives old textiles a second life by turning them into insulation, carpets, and so on.
The Very Good Bra
The Very Good Bra is an eco-lingerie brand that uses no "polyester thread, nylon labels, synthetic elastic or spandex/elasthane". They are proud to say you can BURY your bra after its useful life and worms will break it down within 8 weeks! How incredible.
This Australian company strives to minimize waste as much as possible. Highly conscious of who they do business with, The Very Good Bra chooses all natural components for fabric, thread, labeling, and accessories. They only use 100% botanically sourced materials, synthetic free, with no toxins, that can be completely composted. Both OEKO-TEK and GOTS certified, check out their website for more details on their supply chain.
Huha
Huha, what a fun name. Created with the intention of doing better for women, Huha is made from TENCEL™ and smartcel™. These plant materials are spun with zinc oxide, keeping your panties free from bacteria and fresher, longer. It also helps keep you free from vaginal infections. Read more about that here.
This Canadian brand is OEKO-TEX certified, gives back to the community, and is a big advocate for women's health.
Brooke There
Lastly, Brooke There says "our core fabric is organic cotton made from GOTS-certified yarn, milled and dyed in California." This company operates in the US and avoids the environmental impact of shipping overseas.
Brooke There uses organic cotton, linen, and silk and teaches customers how to care for pieces in order to extend their life.
Use the Shop Brooke There button below for $25 off your first purchase!
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