Sustainability

Homepage

 

The protection of our environment is very important to us and the great demand for environmentally friendly products has already led many textile manufacturers to include sustainable materials and production methods in their product range. In the global market, however, uniform standards are still not very widespread and a multitude of different certificates are more oriented towards marketing than towards our environment.

To give you some guidance when buying, we have compiled some information on materials and certificates on this page and attached a sustainability label to the most environmentally friendly items in the underwear store. Details about the environmental commitment of the brand manufacturers and the environmental compatibility of individual items can be found in the product descriptions.

 

Organic cotton

Organic cotton is genetically unmodified cotton that has been produced without synthetic chemicals. Only organically certified fertilizers or pesticides are allowed in the production. Organic cotton comes mostly from India (>50%), China, Turkey and Kyrgyzstan. Although the market is growing by 50% annually, organic cotton comprises barely 2% of global cotton production.

Since cotton covers 2.5% of the world's arable land and uses more pesticides for production than any other crop, non-organic cotton is significantly involved in air and water pollution and the destruction of natural ecosystems. In terms of environmental toxins, organic cotton appears to be the ideal solution, but due to the lower yields per ton of cotton fiber, organic farming methods require much more land and more water, which should also not be underestimated in arid regions.

The demand for organic cotton currently exceeds the volume of production and so many products are also produced using a mix of organic and non-organic production. Some high-quality yarns, such as long-fiber Pima cotton, are also difficult to produce purely organically.

Recot-Line is the name of ISA-Bodywear's new collection, made from 75% organic cotton plus 25% recycled cotton. Since mechanical recycling of cotton produces shorter fibers, the percentage is limited to about 25%. Recot-Line for men, Recot-Line for women.

An even higher proportion of recycled cotton can be achieved by chemically dissolving out the cellulose. The resulting viscose fabrics have a similar feel to lyocell or modal.

 

Tencel: textiles made from wood

Wood is a renewable resource, and Lyocell fiber, which is mainly made from cellulose from fast-growing eucalyptus trees or from beech wood residues, can consequently be described as sustainable. Despite the natural raw material, Lyocell is considered a man-made fiber because the cellulose must be dissolved with a non-toxic but skin-irritating chemical. However, in a closed-loop process that adheres to the necessary safety measures, production is relatively environmentally friendly and also uses much less water than cotton.

The Lyocell fiber is known under the brand name TENCEL™ and is included, mostly as part of a blended fabric, in various products from Calida, ISA Bodywear, Jockey and Hanro. The ingredient names on the products are Tencel, Micro-Tencel or Micromodal.

Calida Natural Micro uses Lyocell in combination with seaweed (available again soon).

Other products with Tencel content: Men's Tencel Underwear, Women's Tencel Underwear

 

Repreve: Textiles made from recycled plastic

Billions of plastic bottles end up in landfills or directly in the ocean every year. Repreve is a new textile fiber made from recycled plastic. In this way, a lot of oil and energy is saved compared to conventional man-made fibers, and waste is sensibly reused. The durable and water-repellent fiber is particularly suitable for outdoor fashion and swimwear. Another polyamide fiber made from recycled plastic is known as Econyl.

You can find sustainable beachwear from the brands Puma, Sloggi, HOM and Jack & Jones here: Recycled Swimwear for Men, Recycled Swimwear for Women.

 

Max Havelaar Fairtrade

Founded in 1992 by Swiss aid agencies, the Max Havelaar Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes fair trade and ecological production. The focus of Max Havelaar is on people and humane working conditions. Ecological standards are also taken into account when certifying farms. Purely organic production is standard for many cotton cooperatives, but not mandatory for all.

In ISA Bodywear's organic cotton line you will find Max Havelaar certified organic cotton under fair trade conditions: Men's underwear, men 's nightwear, women's underwear.

 

Made in Green by OEKO-TEX®.

The OEKO-TEX® label "Made in Green" identifies materials tested for harmful substances that have been produced in environmentally friendly factories under socially responsible working conditions. A label with a QR code allows the country of manufacture and factory to be traced for some items. The exact standard of environmental friendliness and social compatibility, however, is difficult to ascertain. For example, organic production is not required for the certificate. Nevertheless, traceability of the entire supply chain is an important step to generally enforce standards from raw material extraction to packaging.

Calida has been certified with the "Made in Green" label by OEKO-TEX® since 2016: Men's Underwear.

 

Better Cotton Initiative

BCI conducts educational work with farmers to raise their awareness of ecological aspects such as sensible crop protection, moderate water consumption, soil health, biodiversity, decent work and effective management. The list of BCI certified partners already includes many global brands such as Jack & Jones, Jockey, Puma, Levis, etc. BCI forms require, for example, that workers wear gloves when handling pesticides and only store poisons in appropriate places, but does not fundamentally prohibit the use of environmentally harmful agents. BCI is still a long way from organic. Farmers who use GM cotton can also be certified by BCI. Nevertheless, the Better Cotton Initiative is an important step toward a more sustainable future.

 

Cradle to Cradle: compostable textiles

With its 100% Nature product line, Calida has launched completely biodegradable fabrics that can be composted in the garden instead of being disposed of in the trash at the end of their useful life. The biological cycle to avoid waste is a good idea in itself, but who remembers after 10 years which worn-out T-shirt is now compostable and which is not? We think the approach is not very practical, but we still award the Calida 100% Nature articles our sustainability label for the use of ecologically produced fabrics.

Theoretically, all natural fibers are biodegradable. Nevertheless, the reason why normal T-shirts should not be composted is because of toxic dyes, polyester stitching or other applications.

Calida 100% Nature: Men's underwear

Calida Natural Skin: women's underwear

 

Pro Clima shipping

Since January 1, 2021, the parcel shipping of the Underwear-Shop.ch is completely CO₂-compensated with pro clima of the Swiss Post. By 2025, parcel delivery in urban areas of Switzerland will be largely achieved with electric vehicles.

The servers of our website also run environmentally friendly with electricity from hydropower.

 

Postage paid

We deliver promptly and free of postage within Switzerland

Directly from stock

Almost all underwear articles are in stock in Weinfelden and will be delivered within one working day.

Payment

Pay conveniently by invoice.

We also accept VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Postfinance Card / E-Finance, Twint and PayPal.
Your card details are securely encrypted and processed by Datatrans.