Bra Va

Ask Umbra on eco-undies 14

Q. Dear Umbra,

I’ve converted myself to clothing made in the USA, hemp, organic cotton, etc. The issue I am struggling with is the panties and bras. I am a 34D, and I need a decent amount of support. Even sports bras do me no justice (I usually wear my regular bra under them when I mountain bike or hike). Are there any good alternatives for bras and undies? Any advice would be helpful.

Coree

A. Dearest Coree,

Underwear and socks are sticking points in the overall attempt to make a greener wardrobe. Buying other people’s discarded bras and underpants is not so tasty. To me, anyway. Others might find it a useful route, and it’s feasible that some secondhand socks are not worn to the quick. On the upside, the washing and maintenance of clothes is often the highest-impact life phase, and few underpants and socks need to be dry cleaned.

bra shotThe bust intentions.Organic, hemp, and made-in-USA underpants are easier to find than bras. I would even say they are easy to find, on the internet if not at actual stores near you. Amazon is always stunning me with the amount of stuff they carry. Which I guess is why they are Amazon—but in any case, from Amazon to Fairies Dance, there are plentiful organic cotton underpants for the ladies and the gents. I also had some luck finding Made in the USA products, and a couple of union-made sites.

In general, we know to buy used clothing and not buy items that need dry cleaning, and we also know we are meant to buy fewer clothes (fewer defined in contrast to the commercial imperative to seasonally refresh our entire wardrobes). Again, undergarments provide a challenge here, because in theory the more underwear we own, the less often we need to do laundry, the less heat and water we use, and the higher our general quality of life. But buying 20 pair of ecologically correct underpants can set a person back hundreds of dollars. Perhaps it’s something to chop away at bit by bit, rather than to tackle whole hog.

With bras, of course, as Oprah says, we need only three of top quality: one to wear, one to wash, and one in the drawer. The three will perhaps also cost quite a bit, but they should last longer than a set of underpants. If any readers know where to find three decent, supportive, organic or fairly traded bras that fit anything above an A cup, write in immediately. One union-loving vendor offers union-made bras for large-busted women, but many “eco” sites offer the same series of cotton bras, which don’t look particularly supportive. Look for yourself at Gaiam and the above-mentioned Fairies Dance and see what you think. As an aside, I have to mention one hemp bra I found on the internet, which time-travelled here from a 1960’s macramé workshop.

Another option, after you exhaust your fingers typing “organic bra”: handmade bras and underpants. Etsy.com is full of handmade items, including “intimates,” and you may come across other sites from there. And my final offer as we wait for reader input: make your own underwear! All you need is fabric, elastic, and a sewing machine, and the bra and panties of your dreams can be ... somewhat re-created. I think underpants are feasible for the beginner, though I am quite daunted by the bras. But perhaps other will rise to the challenge. Sweatshop-free, made in the USA, and organic if you can get it. Or you can knit your own hemp hippie throwback, as above.

Hopefully,
Umbra

 

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Send your green-living questions to Umbra.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

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  1. NTMel Posted 6:20 am
    03 Jun 2009

    While it may be a bit more expensive, many larger cities have special "intimates" shops that custom make bras & such.  That's especially helpful for us larger &/or hard to fit ladies.  They may not all offer organic or recycled materials, but at least it's locally made, and they tend to be a better quality, so they last longer, resulting in having to buy fewer bras, ergo less waste, etc.

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  2. LFLindell Posted 6:36 am
    03 Jun 2009

    Decent Exposures make custom-fit bras, including organic fabric if you
    choose (current colors for organic cotton with lycra are cream and
    blue; or for plain organic cotton are cream, blue, pink, black.)  These
    bras are very comfortable in my experience, but  fit in the category
    Umbra describes as probably not-particularly-supportive, along the lines of the Gaiam and Fairies Dance ones, although with a much greater range of sizes.

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  3. texasjenny Posted 6:53 am
    03 Jun 2009

    I appreciate your work on this question, but I think that you could have chosen a more work-appropriate photo. Thanks!

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  4. cathschuy Posted 7:35 am
    03 Jun 2009

    Another vote for Decent Exposures (http://decentexposures.com/), with a comment that they served me extraordinarily well as a well-endowed nursing mama. 

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  5. mmhughey Posted 7:48 am
    03 Jun 2009

    I often use "Dear Umbra" as discussion starters for my 7th grade science classes.  I'm glad I checked this before putting on the screen!  My kiddos would have had a field day with the photo - and I'm a bit intimidated by it!  I want to know where I can get the pretty bra.

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  6. Granny Nighthawk Posted 10:00 am
    03 Jun 2009

    I'm one of those that are ridiculously allergic to Latex in all its forms, including Spandex, elastane, etc, and many  of its numerous cross-allergens.For several years I basically gave up on finding a bra I could wear and decided that modesty was the other guy's problem, not mine.Spurred on by this article to try the links, all of them seemed to use elastic in some form as well. Sigh.However, googling latex free bra did find me a possible winner that wasn't available last time I checked. http://www.cottonique.com/collections/nothing-but-cotton-womens/. these bras have drawstrings instead of elastic! there are also other undergarment non-elastic things to browse there.For more than twice the price of cottonique, there is the Neffertiti: http://www.latexfreeundies.com/latex-and-elastic-free-bra.html. It is custom made to even huge sizes.The problem with Decent Exposures is that they have to custom make your bra, based on a fitting in Seattle, and you have to specifically request latex free, so it's not their normal product.I also found this great info page on latex allergy products: http://www.special-clothes.com/latexa.htmLycra claims to be latex-free, but notes that elastic threads are often used in combination with it.http://www.latexallergylinks.org/lycra.html has more info and notes that clothing mfr's are not required to report contents composing less than 5% of the total. It states: "Allergists have indicated that the concentration to which sensitized persons respond is as small as four molecules". Hope that helps.  

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  7. oikophile Posted 10:40 am
    03 Jun 2009

    another vote for decent exposures. i am a 32A but they make bras up to 54L or 60J (and their models are all shapes and sizes). they recommend cotton velour or a lined bra "for firm support without underwires." made in seattle for fair wages. i don't think you need a custom fitting to request latex-free; just write it in the "special instructions" during online checkout.

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  8. Christopher S. Johnson's avatar

    Christopher S. Johnson Posted 11:58 am
    03 Jun 2009

    Love the photo.  Keep being Grist and not a safe and boring lowest common denominator. 

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  9. d10is Posted 12:12 pm
    03 Jun 2009

    The best I have found in eco-friendly undies are from UranusApparel.com  I ordered their soy-shorts that are the most comfortable underwear I have ever worn.  They have a great fit and are made from soy and organic cotton.  

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  10. Wrightsfd Posted 2:58 pm
    03 Jun 2009

    I have to say that I clicked on the link just to see the boobies. If I were at work I would not have done so and the banner on the page I was looking at was pretty revealing for work too. Maybe next time however Grist could stick with the eco-formula and not show us boobies stuffed with silicone!

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  11. solargroupies's avatar

    solargroupies Posted 5:58 pm
    03 Jun 2009

    Good to see that Grist sees itself as a "beacon in the smog" for eco-undies. And the number of comments hints at what the green blog is has been missing!

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  12. silvergirl8318 Posted 6:39 am
    04 Jun 2009

    I can't vouch for the sustainabily of their manufacture, but I have found fantastically comfortable and supportive bras for the larger bust (I'm 32DDD--try finding that at K-Mart!)
    For normal bras: Wacoal.
    For sports bras: Moving Comfort   Their sports bras have built-in underwire and don't try to smoosh the boobs out of existence like some "compressive" sports bras...

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  13. everydaydan Posted 8:01 am
    04 Jun 2009

    I had three thoughts after reading this article and comments. 1. Sounds like a lot of folks are on the computer at work. 2. How can it be that a photo of a bra covering a womans breasts can be so shocking? I would not advocate walking around naked for a number of practical reasons but seriously people, we need to get over our body-phobia in the States. Kids are going to be scared of thier own bodies. and 3. I've never seen another site tackle this question so Go Grist!

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  14. antoinejcb Posted 1:45 pm
    06 Jun 2009

    What's up with the "Made in USA"?Distance? Many points in the US are closer to Canada and Mexico than other points in the US.Labor conditions? Most of the industrialized world has much better labor conditions than the US, including more than a week of vacation a year, more than a week of maternity leave (some even have parental leave, for dads as well) and free healthcare. Not to mention the ability to get to work in other ways than by car.So what's left as an argument for "Made in USA only"? Nationalism? Xenophobia?Have fun building your Made in USA wall. Remember that you, your relatives and friends may be exporting US goods and services, and depend on people in other countries not behaving like you.Gee people. Use your head sometimes.

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