Which underwear has no plastic in the waistband elastic, the leg elastic, the thread or the fabric?
This category is being vetted. Nothing here is a recommendation yet.
Where plastic hides in underwear
"Organic cotton" names the fiber and nothing else. Underwear stays on because of elastic: an elastane core wrapped in nylon or polyester, running through the waistband and around each leg opening. Many cotton briefs are 95 percent cotton and 5 percent elastane in the knit itself. Stitching is polyester thread. The tagless label is a heat-transferred polymer print, and the logo on the waistband is woven polyester. Fly buttons are resin. Merino briefs add nylon for strength. The makers who avoid all of it use a cotton drawstring or natural rubber elastic.
What to check before you buy
- Fabric: 100% cotton, wool or hemp, with no elastane?
- Waistband: a cotton drawstring, natural rubber named as natural, or elastane elastic?
- Leg openings and seams: elastic-free, or elasticized?
- Thread: 100% cotton, or polyester?
- Fly buttons: wood, corozo or shell, or resin?
- Label: woven cotton or none, or a heat-transferred print?