Where to Start Your Sustainable Underwear Journey

You may be in the process of starting to familiarise yourself with sustainable underwear brands in an effort to make your wardrobe more eco-conscious - welcome to the club! While antique and secondhand clothing, shoes, and purses are available and a popular option, most people prefer to buy their intimates new for hygienic reasons. This is why it is so important to understand what your underwear is made of and what actually makes it sustainable. 

Despite the enormous amount of brands and designs available when shopping for a new bra or underwear, eco-friendly alternatives are still a fairly new phenomena. So what is it that makes your lingerie sustainable?

About Sustainable Underwear

Between 2000 and 2018, the annual production of new clothing globally more than quadrupled, rising from 50 billion to over 100 billion units which is putting a massive strain on our planet. 

Sustainable underwear aims to establish an industry dedicated to evolving fashion towards a more ecologically and socially responsible future. This type of underwear is designed by firms that pay employees a fair wage, provide safe and healthy working conditions, use more sustainable materials and production practises as well as utilises green shipping options.   

Sustainable Underwear Fabrics

Biodegradable underwear that you can toss in the compost is still a theory. However, the underwear that you buy can be environmentally-friendly.

Given the current issues of recycling, when selecting underwear firstly it's important to think about lifespan and to choose high quality products. Remember to research the materials that are used to produce your underwear in order to make a more environmentally friendly buy. That includes choosing TENCEL™, recycled elastane, ROICA Eco-Smart, organic cotton, and recycled nylon.

The ongoing need for improvements in this field is also presenting some exciting new innovations. Seaweed for one, is now used by some brands for underwear because it uses substantially less water than traditional cotton. 

To call out a few watchouts, it is best to avoid underwear that is made out of synthetic fibers, virgin polyester, and nylon - unless they are recycled which means that it helps divert waste from going to landfills. 

Sustainability Is the Future

Annually 92 million tonnes of garments are arriving to be burned at landfills every second. Fast fashion has enormous environmental and social consequences. However, the future of fashion and its possibilities of becoming more sustainable is looking more and more promising.

Starting with little steps like lowering your fashion consumption and choosing a high quality-long lasting product that has been produced responsibility will benefit not just you but the entire world.

Where to Start?

Best start is to act now and support ethical companies that generate sustainable goods. 

Brands such as So.Me use organic cotton, TENCEL™, recycled elastane, ROICA Eco-Smart, and recycled nylon. We believe in producing a sustainable garment without compromising on style or comfort. 

You can check out the So.Me range on our Shop page. Don’t be shy and find out more about our Sustainability practices.