Sustainability
At Y.O.U Underwear we believe in treading as lightly on the planet as possible - reducing our negative impact where we can and taking every opportunity to maximise our positive impact. Here you'll find more about our sustainability efforts, policies and accreditations.
Organic cotton
Every piece of Y.O.U underwear is made from Fairtrade and GOTS certified organic cotton that is PETA-Approved vegan.
As conventional cotton is one of the most polluting crops, we made a conscious decision to use only fully certified organic cotton, which uses 91% less water and 62% less energy than traditional cotton.
Organic cotton is grown without pesticides or synthetic fertilisers. We don't think that nasty chemicals should be anywhere near our bodies, so our underwear doesn't contain any. It’s also much safer to work around organic cotton, as pesticides can be deadly. Workers and farmers may breathe in their fumes during the harvesting & manufacturing process.
Our manufacturer, RCM, works with Chetna Organic to source a lot of our cotton.
Chetna Organic works with small and marginal farmers towards improving their livelihood options and making farming a sustainable and profitable occupation.
The farmers included in the project are from the rain-fed regions of Maharashtra, Odessa and Andhra Pradesh, covering around 35,000 acres.
Thoughtful materials
Our super soft organic cotton is coloured with GOTS certified low-impact dyes. They contain no heavy metals or other known toxic substances, and meet the EU criteria for eco-friendly garments.
We are working to cut out all our single-use plastic and make our packaging as sustainable as possible.
To keep our undies safe and dry on their way to you, we use biodegradable outer packaging. These are made from 100% recycled material with a biodegradable additive and can be recycled again or composted in most areas.
To combat waste, we partnered with London-based YagoEco to turn our old mailing bags into beautiful green and cream earrings which we sell in our Oxford shop.
All our cards and hand written notes are printed on 100% recycled card, using eco inks and carbon neutral delivery.
Recycling
Through our partnerships with Cotton Lives On™ and TerraCycle we recycle clean underwear, socks and tights from any brand. Any that are 85% cotton or higher (which includes Y.O.U Underwear!) are recycled through a charity called Cotton Lives On™, they repurpose cotton into roll matts for people experiencing homelessness in the UK. The rest is recycled to TerraCycle who turn garments into usable products for industry. We recycle lightly worn bras to the charity Smalls for All who send them to women and children both in the UK and Africa.
In 2023 we recycled 183.5kg of underwear and donated lightly used bras to Smalls For All equal to a further 98.28kg.
We are proud to say that this scheme is growing in popularity and, as a result, we have set ourselves a new target.
Starting April 2024, we will be aiming to recycle or donate a total of 563kg a year by 2027.
This will mean we are actively recycling or reusing more kilograms of underwear than we are using in terms of new organic cotton per year and as we grow we will readjust this target to ensure that we are always aiming to recycle or reuse as much or more than we create.
Our Certifications
We have third party verifications for our sustainability and ethical claims:
Fairtrade cotton
Fairtrade sets a number of standards and imposes checks to make sure these are being met.
These include the protection of workers' rights, the upholding of certain environmental standards and that farmers are paid fair prices (never below market rate) for their products.
GOTS certified organic cotton
Conventional cotton is one of the world's most polluting crops, which is why we use GOTS Certified organic cotton in all of our underwear.
GOTS certify every step of the supply chain, from harvesting through production, ensuring that rigorous social and environmental standards are being met.
SA8000
Our manufacturer operates under SA8000 certified social standards. This includes no child labour, working hour compliance, minimum wage compliance, overtime compensation and incentives, rights of Freedom of Association and no discrimination for race, sex, political opinion or religion.
PETA-approved vegan
Vegan clothing is not just about avoiding the obvious culprits of leather, fur and exotic skins (which we do), but also about being cruelty-free more broadly. PETA have outlined that the presence of this certification is a way of recognising 'progressive compassionate businesses'. Our underwear is 100% animal product free.
Living wage employer
We're committed to paying all of our employees the Real Living Wage, as set by the Living Wage Foundation. We believe everyone should earn a fair day's pay, based on the cost of living - not just the government minimum.
Explore Our Certifications here
Certified B Corp
B Corps are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability, to balance profit and purpose.
We officially certified in November 2021 after more than a year of hard work, which was a huge milestone and achievement for us as a small business.
To be certified as a B Corp, you need to achieve a score of at least 80. Our score is 160.5!
This means that we've achieved a score of more than double the requirement - and put us at the top of the UK B Corp list as the highest scoring UK B Corp at the time of certifying! We're also still the highest scoring fashion brand worldwide.
We're also proud to be recognised by B Lab as Best for the World™ in two areas - Community and Environment. To be Best For The World™, B Corps must have scores in the top 5% of one or more of the five impact areas assessed towards the certification in their corresponding size group.
