Made from organic fabrics using environmentally conscious techniques, the London-based label offers the discerning woman a collection of lingerie and loungewear that are both beautiful and eco-friendly at the same time.


A Sustainably Sexy Label

Eco-Boudoir was launched online in 2006 by founder Jenny White with the aim of supplying luxurious intimate wear and bedroom accessories that are manufactured using sustainable materials and methods that do not hurt people or the environment.

Summing up the company’s philosophy, White says, “To me, the meaning of luxury is being redefined. It’s about having amazing things and knowing they haven’t caused any pain or poverty to anyone.”

But Eco-Boudoir’s green philosophy doesn’t just stop at its products. All the company’s marketing, correspondence and packaging materials are either made from materials which are recycled or sustainably sourced. In the office, there are strict policies on re-using and recycling paper, as well as energy saving measures. Eco-Boudoir staff use public transport for business and air freight is avoided whenever possible to reduce the carbon footprint.

Eco-Boudoir products, having won many rave reviews since the launch, can now be found in some of London’s top luxury stores like Harrods, Harvey Nichols and John Lewis. Its growing fan base includes Hollywood actress Daryl Hannah.

The biggest impacts for increasing sustainability in the clothing industry rests with the consumer.


Earth-Friendly Materials

Eco-Boudoir uses fabrics that are highly renewable and have minimal impact on people and the environment in their processing. These include natural silk, bamboo, hemp and vegetable tanned leather.

Natural silk: Supplied by a British company whose silk is produced naturally in India using organic compost, resins and berries. No pesticides, methodene and bleach are used in the manufacture of the silk. Neither is child labour being exploited in its production.

Bamboo: Sourced from reliable suppliers who recycle the water and solvents they used so that there is little pollution caused. Bamboo is grown without the need for agro-chemical intervention and is biodegradable. Bamboo fibre has anti-bacterial properties and is soft and fine, perfect for making lingerie.

Hemp: Also known as ‘weed’, grows rampantly without aid of chemical fertilisers, requires minimal water for cultivation and is fully biodegradable. No bleach is used in producing hemp silk and the fabric is purchased from suppliers who recycle their water and manage their waste properly.

Vegetable tanned leather: Uses leather that comes from goats and deer farmed in a free-range natural environment in Germany. All the leathers are tanned using vegetable by-products. The tanning process uses the bark of the oak tree instead of the heavy metal chromium and minimises pollution to the local water or to the people working within its production.

In addition, all fabrics are dyed using only low-impact, water-based dyes, and patterns on the silk are digitally printed - this uses much less water than traditional methods and water used in the production is recycled as far as possible.

Awareness Campaign

To raise consumers’ awareness about the heavy pollution caused by the textile industry, White teamed up with her sister, Verity and together, the two women produced the film ‘More Than Pretty Knickers’ to present some astounding facts about industry.

For a start, cotton requires enormous amounts of water to cultivate – growing one kilogram of cotton can take up to 20,000 litres of fresh water, and a textile wet processing mill in India consumes an average of about 3 million litres per day! This is equivalent to about 300,000 loo flushes, a whole Olympic sized swimming pool or 10 million cans of coke.

Furthermore, cotton farming also uses large quantities of pesticides. For instance, a pair of cotton pants uses about 10 millilitres of pesticides, which is enough to kill a person. In fact, there are 20,000 people in developing countries who die every year from pesticide poisoning. What’s more, all these pesticides are harmful to the environment.

These are just some of the worrying facts presented by the film. The two sisters hope that the message will motivate consumers to become more responsible about their choices and in turn become drivers of change that will transform the fashion business into an ethical and sustainable industry.

© EcoAsia 2009