Realistic Sustainability: Four Eco-friendly and Ethical Intimate Wear for Women in India

Disclaimer- This blog covers topics like intimate wear. Parental guidance is advised.

Experts recommend changing your underwear every six to twelve months…but if you are a sustainability girlie like me, you do not want to contribute to excessive waste. After all, India generates 1.5 tonnes of textile waste annually…but we don’t have to, and that doesn’t mean ignoring doctor’s advice, it means adopting a circular fashion modle.

Wait, circular fashion?

Doesn’t that mean reusing?

How can used intimate wear be reused? Is that even hygienic?

And where do we buy sustainable underwear?

Let’s dive right into your answers, shall we?

Sustainable Intimate wear Brands for Women in India

WearEqual

WearEqual is an inclusive intimate-wear brand with the slogan “All Bodies are Beautiful.” To combat hygeine issues for Indian women they created a brand that uses biowashed organic cotton deadstock to make underwear. Now, organic isn’t always sustainable, given how much more land it needs than conventional farming and cotton is a very water-intensive plant yet we have also the team at C0co Custo– a sustainable detergrent brand- sharing an article on how much methane- more powerful GHG than CO2- artificial fertilizer factories release and educating us on the pollinator death that artificial pesticides caus. Given this, upcycling reduces textiles that would go to the landfill and also keeps scraps in circulation is one of the best solutions out there. The fact that they provide jobs to women, and partners with Project Stree to help rural women get access to better hygiene education.

Even better, to ensure that the entire life cycle of the product is taken into account, WearEqual has partnered with India Wasted to take back used underwear which they hygienically upcycle and reintroduce into the supply chain as stuffing and more.

Truly low-waste.

They have upcycled hair accessories, loungewear, bralettes, bras, hipsters, boy shorts, and bikinis. While most of their product wouldn’t classify as romantic lingerie, some of them are pretty cute for when you want to glam up for yourself, starting at Rs. 349. Yes, that seems pricey especially in a country where some local brands would sell underwear in as little as Rs. 150, but for bras many say that the base rate is usually Rs. 700, and WearEqual has some starting at Rs. 600.

But unfortunately, they don’t have period underwear yet, unlike…

SochGreen

From menstrual cups to cloth pads and period panties, Soch Green endeavors to meet all your menstruation needs. They also have underwear for problems like urine inconsistence alongside everyday organic cotton panties. The company ships worldwide. While their products are sustainable in the sense of replacing single-use products with reusable ones, the products become imperfect as they are made using lang-intensive organic farming methods. Yet, conventional farming can be bad for soil and water health. Despite focusing on providing eco-friendly options with a wide range and size of products, no information can be found on whether the company is fair-trade and neither do they seem to have takeback options. To make sure that their pads and underwear are absorbent, they are lined with polyester. The brand has a 3.5 rating on Zoobop for their lingerie which start at Rs. 290 on sale, bringing it closer to local rates. And given how much a reusable period pant saves on pad-cost, we would call it steal, but remember to clean it well and dry it in the sun. I acknowledge in some families and cultures that is problematic but sustainable systems need women empowerment. Provided you can do it while safe. Moving on, let’s talk about a brand found in many sustainable e-commerce stores….

livbio

Yet another organic brand, livbio also uses natural dyes to ensure their products remain biodegradable. They carry a lot of clothing from kids’ items to men and women’s clothing. Yet, in women’s intimate wear all they have is underwear. They are also a vegan women’s underwear brand which gives back 10% to the welfare of the workers in their supply chain.

Bamboology

Who hasn’t heard about bamboo fabric in sustainability circles? Bamboology uses that fabric to make products that are ultra-soft, anti-bacterial, pesticide-free, smell-free, moisture-wicking, and easy to wash. While they mostly sell panties and period underwear in the intimate wear category, once in a while you’ll spot a bra. Being on Brown Living India, one would assume they would have a fair-trade supply chain, but there seems to be no evidence of that on their website. And neither do they mention whether they use bamboo cotton or bamboo rayon, as bamboo rayon is too chemically treated to be sustainable as I have found researching on bamboo clothing for my upcoming book on sustainable fabrics. Their “pure bamboo” says nothing, as it could be bamboo rayon or bamboo viscose.

Since there are quite a few more brands available in India for sustainable lingerie and intimate wear, we will cover a few more in the next blog. Despite the availability of products, it is unfortunately on consumers still to check for certifications like fair-trade, to know which fabrics are sustainable, and ensure that our clothes align with our ethics. This can be challenging and sometimes we drop the ball, which is acceptable and yet mostly avoidable. One which to avoid that from happening is to bookmark sustainable companies that work for us to make them accessible, just like you’re with this blog, leading to realistic sustainable habits and lifestyle instead of sustainable actions in isolation. To help you with that, I have developed a planner where you can log your sustainability ideas, goals, habits, and see what changes need to be made, and how viable they are. Sounds interesting? Check out our low-waste planner and get started on building sustainable habits.

Updated- 12.03.25