Earth-First essentials are kind of our thing. So it only made sense to finally pull back the layers, strip down to the foundational pieces you rely on every day, and put our sustainable stamp on them. Introducing: The Goods. Sustainable underwear that lets your body breathe, feel, and be. The Goods are ultra-lightweight, totally breathable, and silky smooth. Designed to celebrate the skin you’re in every day.
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Our team has been working tirelessly to bring you not only the comfiest pair of underwear but the most sustainable as well. We sat down with Ludovic, our Director of Product Commercialization, to chat about The Goods and get the scoop on the most sustainable under-experience you’ve ever felt.
Q: What makes our intimates line the most sustainable option on the market?
The Goods are unique because when designing the collection, the product’s sustainability held just as much importance as the design and performance attributes like comfort and breathability. It would have made our job a lot easier to have just focused on only one fibre like cotton and looked for a simple alternative like organic cotton. But for this collection, we put every component under a microscope and asked the question: Is there a preferred fibre or material alternative we can use here? This is what led us to REFIBRA™ technology and our ongoing quest for a compostable elastic. Plus, every item you buy from this collection plants 10 trees. When you think of how many pairs of underwear you have in your drawer, that really starts to add up.
Featured: The 5″ Boxer Brief
Q: What materials are used in The Goods underwear line, and where are they sourced from?
All the materials used to create The Goods, including the fabrics, trims, and packaging, were sourced and developed keeping the supply chain as short as possible. The main fabric is a single knit jersey made from 60% TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ Lyocell, 35% Organic Cotton, and 5% Elastane. The elastic and label are made from post-consumer GRS-certified recycled polyester, and we even opted for eco-friendly inks for printing the label and the logo. These are PAD printed, which is a more environmentally friendly way of printing that doesn’t use glue.
The same amount of care and mindfulness went into sourcing the packaging as well. To get The Goods to you, we use FSC-certified undyed kraft paper, made from a mix of post-consumer recycled and virgin paper. Even the size stickers you see on the packaging are made from an FSC-certified paper source. For us, the small details matter just as much as the big ones.
With the exception of some of the raw materials, like the TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ Lyocell fibres that are made in Austria, the majority of the materials were sourced from Turkey and transformed into the finished materials (yarn, fabric, garment, elastic, box, etc.) in Turkey as well.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit more about TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ Lyocell and why it is such an amazing sustainable fabric option?
The TENCEL™ Lyocell fibres used to make The Goods utilize REFIBRA™ technology, which is really revolutionary. To make these fibres, recycled cotton scraps that would usually end up in landfills get combined with wood pulp from sustainably managed forests. Then through a closed looped process that uses 95% less water than it does to produce conventional cotton, this one-of-a-kind sustainable fibre is created. The resulting fibres are 100% biobased, which means that they are certified as compostable and biodegradable.
TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ Lyocell was the perfect choice for our underwear line because of its breathability, cooling ability, and softness. Combined with organic cotton and some elastane for added stretch and recovery, it felt like the ideal combination for offering durable and sustainable base layers without adding any chemical treatments.
You can learn more about TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ Lyocell fibres and the innovative company making them here.
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Q: With this combination of REFIBRA™ technology and Organic Cotton, are The Goods compostable?
Our goal was to develop a fully biodegradable and compostable underwear line, which led us to source cellulose-based materials (that would be inherently compostable) and settle on the TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ Lyocell and Organic Cotton blend. However, we did encounter an issue with the elastic yarn that’s included in the fabric and the trims. We worked with different partners to try to develop compostable elastics, but we weren’t satisfied with the quality or rate at which these elastics would biodegrade.
Long story short, we really wanted to add underwear to our offering, and so rather than waiting for the perfect solution, we decided to compromise. Big changes start small, and while our current line is not compostable, it uses over 90% preferred materials including in the trims, labeling, and packaging. Rest assured, as soon as a viable biodegradable, compostable elastic option comes up, we’ll be prototyping and testing again.
Featured: The Everday Bra and The Everday Thong
Q: Can you tell us a bit about the factory where The Goods and their packaging are made?
The cut and sew factory is based in Izmir, Turkey. We chose to work with this factory based on their experience with underwear and base layers, as not all manufacturers have these capabilities. More importantly, they aligned with tentree’s values when it comes to sustainability and ethical manufacturing. This supplying partner has been working with preferred fibres and materials for years and continuously looks at ways to lower their manufacturing impact through recycling waste and saving energy. They are also very much involved in ensuring their workforce is well taken care of and have taken steps to implement a fair-living wage program.
Q: Last question. Are there any other notable features that people should know about?
The Goods are super comfy! The fabric is lightweight and so soft, it feels like you aren’t wearing anything — a token trait of a good pair of underwear.
We’re so appreciative to Ludovic for giving us a behind-the-scenes look at The Goods. We always champion that big change starts small, and in this case, it’s underwear small. Shop the collection for men and women for the softest, most sustainable underwear ever.
