KeiSei Magazine
  • Fashion
    • Style
    • Ethical Talks
    • Editorials
  • Beauty
    • Skincare
    • Beauty Edit
  • Lifestyle
    • Wellbeing
    • Culture
  • Inspiration
    • Guides
    • In Conversation With
  • Shop
KeiSei Magazine
  • Fashion
    • Style
    • Ethical Talks
    • Editorials
  • Beauty
    • Skincare
    • Beauty Edit
  • Lifestyle
    • Wellbeing
    • Culture
  • Inspiration
    • Guides
    • In Conversation With
  • Shop
  • ETHICAL TALKS

How These Lingerie Brands Approach Sustainability

  • 4 minute read
How These Lingerie Brands Approach Sustainability
via @underprotection

By Claire Roussel

Making the decision of building a sustainable lingerie brand, as meaningful as it may be, is full of obstacles. But resourceful, committed designers are striving everyday to implement sustainability in their process. 

From fighting waste issues to chemical control, there are many aspects a brand can focus on to have a positive impact on people and the environment ! 

We therefore selected four lingerie brands with strong ethics and aesthetics, to analyze how they dealt with those aspects and what positive practices could be learned from them.

Who Made The Clothes ?

One of the most common aspects brought up when talking about brands’ responsibilities is the working conditions along the supply chain. Some brands dedicate a lot of their initiatives to this important issue, like Nette Rose. As they explain on their website, they work with a very small team making the lingerie sets right inside their studio. They can therefore be completely transparent about the famous question #whomademyclothes? As the craftswomen are literally working 20 feet away from the communication team. 

Nette Rose can manage this high level of transparency notably because they produce a small amounts of designs, allowing them to keep control of their entire manufacturing process. Another way for brands to ensure a responsible production is to partner with certified suppliers. 

This is the way Underprotection is working, as their factories are dispatched around the world. Their suppliers are either WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production), Sedex, GOTS or BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) certified. This helps the brand to know they work with factories ensuring proper working conditions and a fair wage.

nette rose
nette rose

Keeping it natural

Many sustainable underwear brands choose to focus a lot of their efforts on the materials they are using and how they are treated to become garment fibers. As lingerie is really close to the skin, some brands make the use of natural materials and dying techniques an important part of their process. 

Minimalist brand Baserange for example uses organic cotton (which requires much less chemicals and water use than regular cotton), silk and linen, a plant known for its very low water consumption as it can survive off rainwater. These materials’s sustainability is supported by certifications like Global Organic Textile Standard or Oeko-Tex. Regarding the dying, which can have an important chemical impact, Baserange has one of its factories using a natural dyeing process with plant-based pigments.

The initiatives listed above (use of organic cotton, GOTS certification, natural dyeing process…) are fairly common for responsible brands, but sometimes natural materials can come from unexpected sources : Underprotection notably uses banana waste to make one of their fibers. They partner with farmers and collect leftover stalks from banana plants after the fruits have been harvested for food. The fabric resulting from this process is certified 100% natural by the Union of Natural Fibers and Oeko-Tex certified. The brand also uses Lyocell, a soft and breathable material made out of wood pulp. 

Natural materials therefore offer many positive options for creative sustainable brands !

Shop the edit

Baserange | soft cup bralette | £45
Baserange | soft cup bralette | £45
Baserange | bell high waist briefs | £22
UNDERPROTECTION | Luna stretch-lace triangle bra | £45
UNDERPROTECTION | Luna stretch-lace triangle bra | £45
UNDERPROTECTION | Luna high-rise stretch-lace briefs | £35
UNDERPROTECTION | Luna high-rise stretch-lace briefs | £35

Opportunities in circularity

Finally, circular practices are an important part of sustainability for lingerie brands. Indeed, many of them can choose not to work only with natural fibers, but with upcycled or recycled ones. This is the case of French label Jolies mômes : they source their materials from French brands deadstock and upcycle these into glamorous lingerie sets. 

They also tackle waste issues by producing limited series only, encouraging a mindful consumption for their customers. This way, they avoid materials to be wasted before and after transforming them for their designs.

Some brands think even bigger and go for circular solutions outside of the textile industry. Underprotection uses milk (yes, the drink) from the dairy industry to develop a bacteriostatic fiber, perfect for underwear manufacturing. In order to achieve this, the brand extracts a protein from sour milk that is transformed into a shiny fiber later used as fabric. As this process requires almost zero chemicals and is Oeko-Tex certified, it is a clever way to use food waste for a responsible purpose.

Circular practices can therefore be used by brand as a whole business model or as solutions to particular situations. In any case, it is appreciable that brands stay transparent on the matter. This is the case of Nette Rose, who explain on their website that they produce small quantities of textile waste but do not yet know how to reuse them. They are therefore storing them for the moment while waiting to find a nice way to upcycle them!

@jolies_momes
@jolies_momes

As these four brands show, responsible practices can come in any shape and form for a lingerie label. We wanted to show how each of them, thanks to the creativity and commitment of their teams, managed to incorporate some into their manufacturing process.

The industry should hopefully see this kind of initiative multiply, to create an always more meaningful fashion.

Claire Roussel

Claire Roussel

Claire Roussel is a Paris-based writer dedicated to sustainability and social issues. She uses her passion for writing to tell the stories of the people fighting to make the fashion industry a more responsible one.

***

This article may contain some affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, KeiSei Magazine receives a small percentage of the sale price, or some brands may have paid a small fee to be featured. We only recommend brands that match our sustainable and ethical criteria and that we truly believe in. 

Claire Roussel

Previous Article
Models wearing Skall Studio AW21 Collection for Copenhagen Fashion Week
  • ETHICAL TALKS

Copenhagen Fashion Week Embraces Sustainability And Digital For AW21

View Post
Next Article
London Fashion Week AW21: Pandemic Pressures & Gender-Neutral Innovations
  • ETHICAL TALKS

London Fashion Week AW21: A New Agenda Of Opportunities

View Post

KeiSei Weekly:

Sign-Up For A Weekly Dose Of Sustainable Lifestyle Inspiration

You May Also Like
How Can Ethical Fashion Empower You?
View Post
  • ETHICAL TALKS

How Can Ethical Fashion Empower You

  • Lola Connelly
  • February 28, 2021
London Fashion Week AW21: Pandemic Pressures & Gender-Neutral Innovations
View Post
  • ETHICAL TALKS

London Fashion Week AW21: A New Agenda Of Opportunities

  • Charlotte Hope-Shannon
  • February 26, 2021
Models wearing Skall Studio AW21 Collection for Copenhagen Fashion Week
View Post
  • ETHICAL TALKS

Copenhagen Fashion Week Embraces Sustainability And Digital For AW21

  • Daisy Wallis
  • February 9, 2021
Understanding Gender Neutral Fashion
View Post
  • ETHICAL TALKS

Understanding Gender Neutral Fashion

  • Miko Takama
  • January 30, 2021
Intentional Shopping: How To Shop Mindfully On A High Street Budget
View Post
  • ETHICAL TALKS

Intentional Shopping: How To Shop Mindfully On A High Street Budget

  • Charlotte Hope-Shannon
  • January 22, 2021
Can The Future Of Fashion Become Carbon Negative
View Post
  • ETHICAL TALKS

Can The Future Of Fashion Become Carbon Negative?

  • Kacie Wedel
  • January 14, 2021
FILIPPA K | TRUMPET LEGGING | £95
View Post
  • ETHICAL TALKS

How To Easily Care For Your Sustainable Sportswear

  • Kacie Wedel
  • January 14, 2021
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day
View Post
  • ETHICAL TALKS

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

  • Tess Hardy
  • January 10, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

KeiSei Weekly

Sign-Up for more Inspiration on Sustainable Living and Style Direct to Your Inbox

Fashion is more than just about clothes. As a consumer we have the power to bring about change to disadvantaged women and ask important questions. ⁠⁠
Did you catch @londonfashionweek this year? LFW AW21 was much more than just a symbol of change but one of universal anxiety. With the fashion industry already facing a sustainable pandemic of its own much was in question about its future...
Are you looking for a fresh new hairstyle? Then look no further than our new article which discusses our best tips and tricks for more natural hair dying at home. ⁠
All hail Squalane!⁠
Want to know how your underwear can be more sustainable and ethical?⁠
This Valentine’s Day we have something extra special to share with you. Yes, that's right, our chat with @emmabreschi is live on site NOW! ⁠⁠
KeiSei Magazine
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Terms of service
  • Privacy policy
© 2020 KeiSei Magazine Ltd.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT