There are a lot of women on Earth and most are in need of under garments. There are cheap alternatives for them, undoubtedly, but those lingerie pieces can be harmful towards Earth. When a woman has nine bras, it means that there are 18 billion bras which may end up in landfills.
And we know that landfills are huge problems for Earth. So Stephanie Devine, a social entrepreneur, comes up with a great solution. She made bra collections which come in 24 sizes, don’t have wires, toxins, and waste, and they’re made from botanic fibres from sustainably-farmed Eucalyptus trees. She named her brand The Very Good Bra.
The bras are the world’s first zero waste lingerie line. They will break down naturally without giving out toxins that will definitely harm living things. So even if these bras will end up in landfills, at least they won’t leave negative impact on the environment.
Read also: Eco-friendly coffee cups that you should start using.
Devine got the idea of making the bras when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. During that time, she couldn’t find cotton, non-wired bra for her chemotherapy session. She explained, “12 years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer and I couldn’t find an non-wired bra in my cup size that was lined with a natural fibre like cotton, which I had to wear during treatment to go through radiotherapy, that wasn’t a maternity bra.”
It was during the hardships that Devine thought about the things she had been putting on or in her body. Then she thought about developing organic cotton bras for herself and other women. At first she didn’t realize this, because of her cancer but it all changed.
“I didn’t do anything immediately because you don’t really think after that you are going to live. But five years on, I thought hang on a minute I’m still here. I should do something about this,” Devine shared her experience.
“So I started working developing organic cotton bras. Not for people going through cancer specifically but quietly fit for purpose because I never wanted to be ‘the cancer person’ with ‘the cancer bra’. I wanted them to be beautiful but also practical in their circumstances so that’s how it started.”
At first, she only made non-wired organic cotton bras. But as she learned deeper in the apparel industry, she found out that this industry is the second largest polluter on Earth, just behind oil and gas.
“There was so much that was wrong. In fact all cotton takes 20,000 litres of water to grow one plant, whether it’s organic or not. And that made me really decide to focus on this and start understanding about the circular economy and the cradle-to-cradle movement,” said Devine.
After she discovered the sad part of clothing industry, she really focused on solving the problem and she made her zero waste bra. Devine explained that 80% of a product’s environmental impact was determined at design stage, and she redesigned her bras.
She searched for zero-waste materials for her bras. She wanted to have elastics made from sustainably farmed rubber trees, organic cotton, organic sewing thread, organic inks, and compostable packaging. It sounds easy, but it wasn’t for her. “It’s been incredibly hard,” said Devine.
Read also: You can also recycle your bras and undies.
She managed to find a provider, but more problem came. The materials are hard to find, meaning that they’re much more expensive than mainstream products. For example, the elastic costs 100 times more than regular strap.
Then, she couldn’t get eco-friendly hooks and eyes from China. She had to go back to traditional lingerie making in France and Italy, where they don’t glue or laminate the hooks/eyes. Her organic cottons are sourced in Turkey, so you can imagine the expenses.
Initially, there are concerns about how the public would respond to expensive material and pricey products. But apparently a lot of people (or women perhaps) realize how important it is to have environment-friendly lingerie. Her $20,000 Kickstarter goal was achieved only in 48 hours.
Devine’s plan for the future include low waste and recycled options as well as underwear for men. She wants her brand to “Just provide an undergarment that actually sits next to your body and is a really clean, pure product.”
The brand’s conceptualizer reiterated that she didn’t mind having a rather small company, because it’s not about being big. It’s about having a purpose and spreading awareness.
She said, “People need to be aware of the choices that they make when they buy things. Everything should be made with it’s end in sight, because we are getting to that point in life where China is no longer taking our rubbish, neither is Africa and if we make our own bed we have to lie on it. So we need to be really careful what we create and what it’s going to end up as.”
It’s really inspiring to see a cancer survivor change the world, isn’t it? This shows that even though we face challenges, there are always ways to get what we want in the end. If The Very Good Bra isn’t available around you yet, there are other ethical, green lingerie brands that you can choose.
1. Naja
This brand’s way of caring for the environment is by using digital print to reduce water waste and they have fabrics which are made from recycled plastic bottles. And for each product you buy, you’re going to contribute to saving the environment and make other women’s life better. Naja employs only single mothers and they empower women by allowing them to find employment opportunities.
2. Eco Intimates
This brand’s designer, Madonna Bain, sampled the collections herself. Each of her lingerie collections uses GOTS certified organic cotton and silk. For coloring, the brand uses dyes with low impact. Also, her pieces are all handcrafted from Bali in small quantities (only 30 pieces per design).
3. Hara
Hara, established in 2016, is another brand with Bali as its production base. This brand uses bamboo fiber and natural dyes from plants so that they won’t contaminate water. What’s good about this brand is that they make comfy, soft lingerie while they also empower lives and help restore Earth.
4. Luva Huva
Handmade and ethical are Luva Huva’s strong points. The UK-based brand produces stunning lingerie and loungewear without damaging Earth. This brand carefully sources materials and they only partner with local suppliers for fabrics and trims. For your information, the products contain bamboo, organic cotton, soy, tencel, and hemp.
5. Lé Buns
This brand doesn’t only sell lingerie, they sell swimwear too. The Australian label makes organic cotton lingerie (which I bet would be so comfy and useful in hot areas). The products’ great points are that they use plant-based fabrics and they’re sustainable, cruelty-free, and vegan.
Do you think ethical lingerie will lead the market soon? Or do you know mainstream lingerie brands that are actually eco-friendly? Tell us what you know in the comments below. If you want to read other environment-friendly stuff for your daily life, click this article.
Source(s)
https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-very-good-bra
https://www.whimn.com.au/look/fashion/the-worlds-first-zerowaste-bra-is-here-and-well-take-two/news-story/eb2fa68ff9ddc55d6b298c82e7b74a05
http://www.mariefranceasia.com/id/fashion-id/serial-shopper-id/shopping-guide-id/9-ethical-eco-friendly-lingerie-brands-288132.html
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