Our Slow Fashion Approach
Let’s keep it simple: fashion can be the biggest enemy of a clean and sustainable lifestyle, because every garment produced has an impact in the environment, one way or another. So ideally, we need to maximize the life cycle of our garments, and wear them for as long as possible.
In today’s world, the fast fashion industry has dramatically impacted the way we consume and has normalized poor quality items with very short life cycles that become waste after only a few wears.
And due to its very short life cycle, maternity wear in particular could be considered fast fashion. But it does not have to be!
Thanks to our high quality materials, the lifetime of our branayama nursing bra will most likely be longer than your pregnancy and nursing time. And our five-row hook and eye allows you to adjust your branayama bra to your new size, so you can keep on wearing it as your body changes. Or you can store it for a possible future nursing experience. Or pass it on to a friend.
(Check out our care instructions and learn more about keeping your nursing bra as good as new!)
No more wasteful Nursing Pads
Did you know that, in Germany alone, 120 million disposable nursing pads go straight to the trash every year? Over 80% of nursing mothers are leaking milk when they nurse their babies. And all the industry offers to absorb leaking milk and protect the shirt and bra from wet stains is an absolutely outdated system: a nursing mother still has to put a loose nursing pad in her bra. Not practical! Not sustainable!
By combining innovative textile technology and thoughtful design, we aim to completely eliminate the need for nursing pads. The less you use, the better it is for the world around us. Learn more about our two-layer technology system here.
What goes on your skin?
We like to know what goes on our skin. That’s why we decided to keep our sourcing personal, local and responsible. Most of our suppliers and manufacturers are based in Europe.
Some of our suppliers hold certificates, some do not - mostly because they are family run businesses who naturally tend to think more about the quality of life of their families and communities. And they are able to provide outstanding quality by naturally working in a sustainable manner. For us, that’s far more important than any certificate.
Peace Silk
The silk we use for the first layer of the branayama cup is called Peace Silk, it’s GOTS certified and comes from a cooperative in India. While regular silk is produced in huge factories and the animals get killed during the process (the cocoons are boiled in water beforehand) we work with a small cooperative in India where the workers look through every single cocoon and take the caterpillar out before spinning the yarn. There is no use of any chemicals or pesticides and they have started to power some of their weaving looms with solar panels.
In addition, silk production is considered to have a very low water footprint and produce almost zero waste. Silk is biodegradable within a couple of years compared to hundreds of years for synthetic materials and doesn’t emit toxins while it biodegrades like synthetic materials do. Silk also has hypoallergenic qualities.
The craft of rearing silk has been practiced for centuries by women in regions of India. And by bringing silk production back to local regions that experience drought and poverty, like many regions in India, we try to create a support system for these women, while promoting the production of peace silk.
MicromodalMicro modal is a fiber derived from beech trees and it is used in the second layer of the branayama cup. The micromodal we use is sustainably produced in Switzerland and holds the Blue Sign certificate. Blue Sign has one of the highest standards and works in a holistic way to approve materials that are safe for the environment, workers and customers.
mesh & accessories
Our premium Italian mesh is Oeko Text and GRS certified and made of 100% recycled materials (nylon and elastane) from scrap fibers produced during the garment manufacturing process. Same for our high quality plastic accessories, produced in Austria - made from recycled production waste consisting of returned old stock. It is important to remember that all materials labeled as “production waste” will end up in a landfill – unless they are recycled or upcycled.
But how clean is this recycling/upcycling process?
We’ve heard some ugly stories about recycled fibers. For example, that even more plastic is produced in order to make recycled yarns so big brands can label their collection as “green” or “sustainable”. Like WTF!? So we made sure to really check on our suppliers! And we can tell you that it creates 90% less CO2 emission and takes 80% less water to manufacture, when compared to the virgin materials.Elastics
Our elastics are oeko Tex certified and made in Spain. It is important to understand that , over the past years, many smaller and regional elastic producers didn’t survive or shifted their business to Asia, and only a handful remained in Europe.
Boxed up, Ready to go
The branayama nursing bra comes with a high quality GOTS certified organic cotton bag and is shipped in a box made of recycled materials. Both can be reused for multiple purposes (check out our IG for some fun ideas).
Production: Made by Real People
The branayama nursing bra is produced in a family run factory in Bulgaria under fair conditions with a long tradition in underwear making. Our close relationship enables for great communication and we always look for ways to improve our systems and minimize waste and CO2 footprint.