Trust me, these brands have you covered for comfort
With more of us staying at home in early 2021, we want to find those comfy intimates that make the homebody life both comfortable and stylish. Buying quality intimates sends a big “I love you” to you and your body, and we deserve to feel and look good even when others can’t see what we're wearing.
These intimates are not only a big hug for your body, but also for the planet. Most traditional loungewear and intimates are made of polyester or poly blends, which are adding microplastics to our water every time we wash them. Plus, by keeping these plastics close to all of our important parts (like with bras, our lymph nodes), our skin breathes in the chemicals and dyes.
Each of the brands listed below takes on sustainability in their own way and has curated their line to speak towards their MO behind ethical shopping and fair buying...
1. ARQ
Instagram/ARQSome would say save the best for last, but I’m starting us off with my personal favourite: ARQ. These are intimates that you’ll want to hand wash immediately just so you can wear them again the next day. They also come in amazing colours and disclose all of their natural dye practices so that you know exactly what’s ending up on your body.
- Made in the USA
- Material: Organic Cotton / Dyed using BlueSign
- Cost: $28 – 38 US
- Sizing: XS – 3X
2. Free Label Clothing
Free Label ClothingFree Label Clothing's messaging and branding is something to aspire to. They are incredibly transparent about their practices, costs and what it takes to keep their business running. Right on their site you can see an entire three-paragraph description of their ethical production and that’s how every business should operate! If it’s hidden, something isn’t right. Not to mention, their clothes are inclusively sized, intricately designed and incredibly comfortable.
- Made in Canada
- Material: Lyocell, Organic Cotton, Spandex Blend
- Cost: $90+ CAD
- Sizing: XS – 4X
3. Ana + Zac
Facebook/Ana + ZacPima (supima) cotton is one of the softest materials you can put on your body. It has all of the sustainability of organic cotton with all of the softness of a poly-cashmere blend, and then some! Ana + Zac carries classic, all-gendered or genderless styling beyond their intimates, and includes seasonless colours so you can wear your pieces all year long.
- Designed in Canada, Made Fairly in Peru
- Material: Pima Cotton, Spandex
- Cost: $25 – 68
- Sizing: XS – XL
4. Mary Young
Facebook/Mary YoungMary Young carries beautifully elegant lingerie that has all of the comfort of loungewear. Their branding is focused on the “soft cup bra” which includes minimal designs and no underwire or reshaping aspects as to celebrate the natural body and all its curves. They’re also very committed to ethical production in Canada and keeping their production local and safe for all.
- Made in Canada
- Material: Bamboo, Oeko-Tex Certified Elasthanne, Nylon, Spandex mesh
- Cost: $55 – 80+ CAD
- Sizing: XS – XL
5. Organic Basics
Organic BasicsTENCEL is another one of those 'so soft you never want to take it off' materials, and makes for great activewear because it wicks moisture the same way polyester does, but doesn’t trap odours or release microplastics. Organic Basics not only uses quality materials, but they share an “impact index” for each piece, telling you what your purchase did for our planet: CO2 prevented, water conserved and chemicals prevented compared to traditional cotton practices.
- Designed in Denmark, Made in Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Austria, Scotland
- Material: TENCEL (wood pulp), Organic Cotton
- Cost: $40 – 60+ US
- Sizing: XS – XL
6. Proclaim
ProclaimProclaim stands out for their expansion of the definition of “nude” in order to represent all women, while standing for the people and the planet. Each step from fabrication to shipping is done sustainably and ethically and are made in everyday collections so you don’t feel the fast-fashion pressure to swap your wardrobe each season.
- Made in US
- Material: TENCEL
- Cost: $29 – 59 US
- Sizing: S – 3X
7. Everlane
EverlaneEverlane's brand isn’t only committed to comfortable basics, but also radical transparency. They break down the cost of each product: the materials, labour, transport, duties and hardware included. They’re a great brand to learn from as they openly discuss their prices versus traditional retailers, and how their mark-up works. Everlane (and most ethical and sustainable brands) don’t host sales because their prices are only marked up 2 to 3 times in order to make a profit, whereas big box retailers inflate theirs 5 to 6 times the buying cost in order to create that saving feeling for customers once they go on sale.
- Made in the US
- Material: Pima Cotton, Elastane
- Cost: $17 – 40+ CAD
- Sizing: XXS – XL