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farming, sourcing, milling

some brands claim to be “non-toxic”—to us, this means using organic cotton vs conventional cotton. why? while there is little scientific evidence indicating that these chemicals can be absorbed through the skin, a great deal of evidence links these pesticides to water and land acidification, soil erosion, and ecosystem (including human!) atrophy. according to a forbes.com analysis of a 2014 textile exchange study on water usage in conventional cotton versus organic cotton, it was found that organic conventional cotton requires 91% fewer gallons of water per year than conventional cotton. the former was also shown to significantly reduce the amount of pollution, largely because organically managed soils retain water and nutrients more effectively than conventionally managed soils. there’s less erosion, leaching, and the soil quality is better (naturally occurring fertilizers can exist! helpful critters can irrigate and break up the soil! etc.). furthermore, seven of the 15 pesticides commonly used on conventional cotton in the usa are listed as ‘possible,’ ‘likely,’ ‘probable,’ or ‘known’ human carcinogens by the Environmental Protection Agency.

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notably, the most well-known herbicide—glyphosate (found in “roundup”)—was used for over ⅓ of pesticide usage for conventional cotton. it’s categorized as a “probable carcinogen” by the world health organization. prolonged exposure to nasty insecticides found in conventional cotton farming, such as organophosphates, pyrethroids, and neonicotinoids have been tied to toxicant-induced sicknesses, such as rashes, asthma, headaches, and digestive issues in farmers according to a 2020 study published in bmc public health. runoff from these chemicals poisons watersheds, which in turn harm the animals that drink from them and consume the fish, insects, and plants that live in or near them. biologists associated with the national wildlife federation estimate millions of birds die every year in the usa from the effects (toxins in the air, poisoned food sources) of agricultural chemicals sprayed on cotton and other crops.

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since 2019, we’ve worked with bergman rivera to humanely and responsibly source our 100% organic cotton from peru, which has the best growing conditions for organic cotton in the world. bergman rivera is GOTS (global organic trade standard) certified—they are also developing a regenerative cotton program with patagonia, which we are very excited about. it will open to other brands in the coming years. this regenerative program means long-term environmental well-being and ethical, life-affirming labor practices are at the core of their business models.

once the cotton is harvested, gathered, and cleaned, it’s slowly spun into finer and finer spools of thread. Supima cotton is long staple cotton, meaning that it can be spun into very fine, but strong thread. this is why our fabric is so soft and doesn’t pill—pilling is caused by the fibers breaking. our knits are dyed once the thread has been knit into looooong panels of fabric—woven fabric is dyed as thread as seen above. we use synthetic, eco-friendly dyes. our dyes are azo-free (meaning, they don’t contain tartrazine e102, yellow sy e104, yellow sy e110, azorubine e122, ponceau 4r e124, or allura E129.), and are gots-certified. they are also free from pesticides, parabens, and formaldehyde.

our dyes are reactive, which is the most ecologically friendly out of all synthetic dye options, largely because they use the least amount of water! ODDO hasn’t been able to use natural dyes, which are dyes made with spices, berries, fruits, or flowers because we make a TON of products! at such a large scale, utilizing natural dying would not only be extremely expensive for the customer but also highly resource-extractive and labor-intensive. additionally, we don't have a hypo-allergenic certification, but anecdotally, many customers with sensitive skin have told us that our underwear is the only underwear that they can wear :)

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where is your underwear produced?

we work with family-owned and operated factories in lima, peru. all of our manufacturing partners are WRAP (worldwide responsible accredited production)-certified. we try to visit our factories as much as we can to monitor working conditions and see/hear/touch the manufacturing process—because of covid, we hadn’t been able to—until this year! we also work with an independent qa (quality assurance) partner who is on the floor day in and out as our eyes and ears to monitor quality, management of the factory workers, and general operations.

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designed in ny, made in peru

you tend to learn a LOT after doing something for 12 years… which is how long we’ve been obsessed with making 100% cotton underwear for real people.our biggest, most profound lesson has been understanding how human the process of designing and selling underwear is. every single body is so different: where someone’s belly button sits in their torso, how their hips dip or expand, the width of someone’s chest! as much as the fashion industry wants to create ‘standards’ around the way a garment sits on a figure, bodies will always push back. what might be a high-rise brief on someone might be mid- or even low-rise on another. 

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designing is a process that demands to (and should) be human-centered. It’s about asking how someone feels in a piece, where a strap should lay, or how a cup should scoop and support. each garment’s creation is iterative, building on the requests, discomfort, ah-hah lightbulb moments, and approval of our team members, fit models, lovers, customers, and fit ambassadors. It’s processional as it relates to the diversity of bodies and the fluidity of our own– through aging, sickness, health, pregnancy, HRT, surgery—the changes that come with life! the nature of designing intimates is INTIMATE, and our goal has always been to design styles that make the most bodies feel comfortable, aligned, and sensual.

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our values

we believe that underwear is a catalyst to spark open and informed conversations about bodies, health, and identity. as a mission-based business (we're a pbc), we hope to promote bodies in the know by including an artfully crafted body manual—a collaboration with experts to explore body related topics—with each purchase, sharing interviews with experts in their fields, and partnering with people whose work loves the body in its entirely.

photos by: adam paiva