Can Lingerie Be “Green”?

As the green initiative continues to gain traction, many people are wondering if fashionable clothes, like lingerie, can be made through green methods. This sentiment is understandable, because most organic and green clothes look closer to potato sacks than something sexy and spicy. However, as designers continue to embrace these materials, the designs have gotten better for all types of clothes. So, can lingerie be green? Technically, anything can be, but only if the right materials and dyes are used. Look for these factors in your next piece of lingerie to make sure they are green.

Materials
Cotton wastes a lot of water and needs a lot of resources to be made, and while organic cotton is better, it is far from the best. For true green lingerie, you need something that does not require nearly as much resources to make.

Wool and hemp are viable options as well, but wool can be scratchy and hemp (unless it is properly processed) may not be comfortable. Out of these two, hemp or a hemp and cotton blend might be the best, as it makes the lingerie comfortable without sacrificing the green philosophy.

Bamboo is also incredibly green. Bamboo practically grows on its own, and it grows to huge heights without a huge amount of resources. Not only that, but bamboo thread is stretchy, thin, comfortable and very sexy looking.

Recycled materials are also common, and since they reuse materials without requiring more resources, they are automatically green. Blends of any of these materials helps to make the lingerie green, while combining the feel and look of both material types.

Dyes
The dyes used on conventional lingerie are really quite toxic and poisonous, and they really damage the environment. There have been many studies showing that conventional dyes cause a range of problems for the people wearing the clothes, so it is best to avoid them just to ensure your own safety and health.

While lingerie has not been the target of many environmentally friendly dye campaigns, there are some designers that are trying to do this. Unlike the material, where it is easy to see the difference in the material by feel and by looking at the tag, it can be harder to know what type of dyes a designer used.

Look at the marketing material and see if the company is boasting the use of organic or low-impact dyes. Since people want these dyes, most companies will proudly market them. Between the two, organic is better as the dye materials will not have a lasting effect on the water, but low-impact is good as well.

Design
The reason you are buying lingerie is to look and feel sexy, and regardless of the lingerie being green, it should still be sexy. Unlike materials and dyes, you don’t have to look at anything new for this, just look at the lingerie itself.

In their lingerie, some designers add organic and natural elements to increase how green the lingerie looks. For example, some designers use tagua nuts and other similar elements. If you are going for a more natural look, this is great. Not only that, but these elements usually improve how environmentally friendly the lingerie is.

Regardless of looking for green lingerie, you should never sacrifice the look of them for green materials. About the same amount of effort is needed to work with organic and green materials, so there is no excuse for a designer to produce an inferior looking piece, just because he or she used eco-friendly materials.

Conclusion
Can lingerie be green? Of course it can be, anything can be. As long as designers use the right materials and the right dyes, then lingerie can be incredibly green. However, some designers feel that by increasing the eco-friendly quality of their lingerie allows them to sacrifice in the design department.

There is no reason for this, because lingerie can look sexy while still being friendly to your body and the environment. So go out to your favorite lingerie store and start looking for something that fits your body and the environment. With the massive increase in green awareness, this shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve. Just keep the above in mind, look at the tags and you should be able to find something green and sexy.

Author Bio
Tom is an avid blogger and frequent contributor to a number of publications, including Heating Oil Shopper, a leading provider of home heating oil news and information on a variety of topics, including Massachusetts heating oil prices.