DAY 1: ETHICAL UNDERWEAR AND SWIMWEAR

Welcome to day 1 of the series! Below are some incredible underwear and swimwear brands! Most of these brands aren’t limited to only these things, while some are! My priority in shopping is always that those who have made my clothing have been paid fairly so you will see that all of these brands mentioned here, and across the whole series mention explicitly on their website or in answer to my questioning on emails or Instagram that they pay a fair wage, a living wage or above. Feel free to dig into these brands yourself though and ask them the questions you need to ask that allow you to feel comfortable in buying.

Emjoy! Let me know any others you may know of! Also let me just say…bamboo underwear= game changer.

Organic Basics*

Who: Men and Women

What: Underwear, everyday basics, and activewear

Where: Based in Denmark, made in Portugal, Italy, UK and others

Favourite items: Cotton rib socks, Invisible bra, Tencel lite briefs

Price: ££

  • Bcorp

  • They only ever look for the most responsible fabric material and technology available- use a high volume of recycled materials

  • High level of transparency on their website where you can see their factories, their certifications, working hours etc. and measure their environmental footprint

  • Workers paid a living wage

  • New circular denim line

  • Low impact website

  • The company is also carbon neutral and sells carbon credits from Chooose that shoppers can purchase themselves as well.

  • They support grassroots environmental initiatives through the Organic Basics Fund. A certified 1% for the planet member which means that they dedicate at least 1% of online sales to environmental causes.

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Stripe & Stare

Who: Men and Women

What : Underwear

Where: Based in the UK, made in China and Leicester

Favourite items: Khaki Knicker, Black Four Pack Knicker Box, Cami-sand

  • All products made with TENCEL™ Micro Modal (wood pulp)

  • All packaging is 100% biodegradable

  • All workers paid the living wage or above

  • Close relationship with their factories in both China and Leicester- you can see images on their website.

  • Many certifications from Oexo-tex and sustainably sourced materials certified.

  • Partners with Ecologi, an amazing initiative, helping to take on the climate crisis in the form of planting trees and reducing our carbon footprint. For every order placed with us, they plant a mangrove tree in Madagascar.

  • 5% of profits go to women’s empowerment charities

Use MEGAN10 for 10% off your order

Dilling*

Who: Women, men and kids

What: Wool Underwear and basics

Where: Based in Denmark, produced in Europe

Favourites: Ribbed merino wool midi briefs- dark grey melange, Ribbed top-sand, Cotton thong-rose

Price: £-££

  • Happy sheep for the production of their organic merino wool from Patagonia, Argentina.

  • No heavy metals in any of their production

  • Fourth-generation company lead

  • Their dyehouse is Nordic Swan Ecolabel certification (strict demands for eco friendly production) - the only dyehouse in Denmark to hold that certification

  • All Clothing produced in Europe with fair pay- you can see more about where their products are manufactured here

  • only use the purest materials

  • Oekotex 100 (confidence in textiles)

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Elliot Organics

Who: Women

What : Lingerie and intimates

Where: Based in Brighton, made in Barcelona

Favourite items: Annie and Bettie set, Leila and mia set, Hattie cami

Price: ££

  • Premium organic fabrics

  • Made in limited numbers

  • GOTS certified

  • Fabric sourced from co-operatives in Uganda and Kyrgyzstan

  • Paid a fair wage

  • Female founded

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Boody

Who: Women, men and baby

What: Basic essentials

Where: Founded in Australia

Favourites: Full brief, Everyday sock, Seamless bra

Price: £

  • Founded in 2011 by two best friends

  • Ecocert certification / WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) (products made under ethical and human conditions)

  • Pay workers a fair wage

  • Their products are made from organic toxin-free bamboo plants

  • Eco-friendly processing system and zero waste manufacturing

  • Donating some profits and bras to UK charities

BOOB design

Who: Women

What : Smart double function clothing for pregnancy and nursing

Where: Based in Sweden produced in Portugal, Turkey, Italy, Greece, India and Morocco

Favourite items: Fast food bra, Fastfood classic, Maternity tights

Price: ££

  • The idea of boob was born in 1999 when founder, Mia, watched her sister breastfeed her newborn son with the wind sweeping around her bare waist. She said: ‘There and then, I realised that mothers, like all superheroes, deserve the right gear.’

  • Entire collection is made of sustainable materials that are all traceable from fibre to final garment including recycled materials and leftover matierals.

  • You can see more about their factories on their website.

  • GOTS certified

  • Customers in Sweden have the opportunity to rent garments rather than buy

  • If you no longer need a ‘BOOB’ garment you can send it back to them to keep it in the loop.

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WORON

Who: Women

What: Underwear and loungewear

Where: Denmark made in Turkey, Italy, Hungary and Germany

Favourite items: Lace trimmed soft-bra, Low rise undies venus lace, Socks- dusty rose

Price: ££

  • Copenhagen based company started by two sisters

  • Oeko Tex standard 100 and GOTS certified

  • Cruelty free

  • Fair wage

  • The Base Collection is sewn from Lenzing Modal (beech wood) and cotton

10% off when you sign up to their newsletter

Lara intimates

Who: Women

What: Underwear

Where: Based and made in London

Favourites: Ava bra, wren bra, thong olive

Price: ££

  • All female team

  • Everything made in house in London

  • Offer one of the world’s widest range of sustainable bra sizes, from 26A-36GG

  • They work with a UK supplier who sends them perfect, unused surplus luxury lingerie fabrics that would have otherwise gone to landfill.

  • Fair wage paid

Other brands to check out: The white briefs, Swedish Stockings, Hara, Kind socks, Clo stories, modibodi, Thought clothing, Rapanui, Project Pico


Swimwear

Narah Soleigh

Who: Women

What: Apparel and swimwear

Where: Based in Germany, Produced in Portugal

Favourites: Giulia bikini top, Mary bikini, Rachel bikini top

Price: £-££

  • Only use organic or recycled materials

  • Nearly 100% of the energy needed for the production of our swimwear is generated by the factories' own solar panels.

  • Swimwear made of ECONYL® (regenerated nylon made from fishing nets/waste)

  • Ship 100% carbon neutral.

  • Fair wage paid

  • Oeko Tex Standard 100

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You Swim

Who: Women

What: One size fits all swimwear

Where: Based and made in the U.K

Favourites: Aplomb one piece, Eva high waist two piece, poise one piece

Price: ££

  • production runs entirely in England — everything from the weaving of the fabric, to the production of the plastic-free packaging.

  • Fair wage paid

  • Made using nylon- which the brand recognises is not a very sustainable option so are looking to switch this as soon as possible to recycled nylon.

  • high focus on inclusivity

Stay Wild

Who: Women

What: Underwear and swimwear

Where: Based and produced in London

Favourites: Nomad bikini top, Odyssey one piece, Lunar one piece

Price: ££

  • Swimsuits made of ECONYL® - which is made from unwanted waste from around the world, such as fishing nets pulled from the ocean and fabric scraps left over from industry (their other products are made of natural or recycled fibres too)

  • Sedex member and SMETA certified

  • Carbon neutral shipping

  • Fair wage paid, and high level of care for employees

  • Everything is made to last

  • They are working on becoming circular

  • They are taking your old swimwear to recycle

Batoko

Who: Women

What: Swimwear

Where: Designed in Padstow, made in China

Favourites: Lobster, Squiggle, Cockatoo

Price: £

  • Makes all its swim styles from 100% recycled plastic waste

  • Collections are small and they ensure they never over produce.

  • Have done a collaboration with the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow, Cornwall; as the conservation of the European lobster becomes increasingly important (stocks have collapsed in the Mediterranean), for every piece sold, a baby lobster is reared and released back into the sea.

  • Fair wage paid

  • workplace powered by renewable energy

  • zero waste packaging


Other brands to check out: Girlfriend collective swim, Finisterre, Deakin and blue, Ruby moon

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DAY 2: ETHICAL FOOTWEAR

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ETHICAL BUYING: a 9 day series