Are you making the shift to natural fabrics in your wardrobe? One of the best places we can all start is our underwear drawer, as after all it’s our under garments that sit closest to our bodies, every single day!

Choosing underwear made ethically, using natural fibres is also a lovely place to begin your sustainable, slow fashion journey for a few reasons:

1. They are investment pieces that you know you’ll get a lot of wear out of.

2. The price-point is usually more affordable for underwear, as compared to clothing, and it’s a collection you can build on (plus they’re essential!).

3. Natural fibres like organic cotton are softer and more comfortable than synthetic fibres (and they breathe - unlike synthetic fabrics which can breed bacteria).

4. Your friends might not see them, but there’s nothing stopping you bragging about your new favourite ethical pieces!

5. Using natural fibres, you can be confident more of the piece will go back to the earth at the end of its life.

Just in case you’re not convinced yet, founder of Sydney-made Lela Lingerie Felicity Ieraci shares why we can all make an impact with our lingerie, and why it’s important every country supports a local garment industry - especially as we grapple with the concept of rebuilding entire economies following this current global pandemic.

And to help you along on your ethical fashion journey, Felicity is offering 10% off your first order for all Lela Lingerie garments! Use code Shift10 at the checkout. We’d love to see your new pieces, so please share with us on Instagram @shift_style and @lelalingerie.

Lela Lingerie was born with ethical, eco-conscious values - something we love here at Shift! Why did you choose lingerie to make your mark in the garment industry?

I was drawn to lingerie in particular as there only seemed to be a handful of brands creating underwear from natural materials. Since Lela has launched there have been big brands in Australia jump on board and use organic cotton, which is great to see. But there still isn’t a lot of variety of bras that use cotton and other natural fibres.

“I couldn’t find a bra which retained the everyday, useful pieces such as a back clasp and adjustable straps but was also supportive enough and fit well.”

So I wanted to bring another option to the market and help women who wanted the same things and also cared about sustainability and natural materials.

All your garments are made locally in Sydney. What are the challenges and rewards you've found by making garments in Australia?

I chose to produce all of the pieces locally in Sydney as it was important to be able to have great communication with the factory, visit as needed, and know that the workers were being ethically paid and treated. Being able to visit the factories and see them for myself was something I wasn’t willing to compromise on. It also allows for smaller production runs which is great for brands starting out, and those of us not interested in mass production. 

One challenge with producing locally means the cost of making the garment is higher than if you were to produce off-shore. But I think people are more aware these days that the cost to pay workers a fair wage will create a slightly higher price point for their clothes.

Do you believe we are set for a resurgence in garment manufacturing in Australia, and particularly for specialised garments like lingerie? Why is it important that we have a local industry?

I can’t speak for the industry as a whole, but especially now dealing with the current pandemic it would make a lot of sense for garment manufacturing and buying local to pick up in order to rebuild our economy. That would be the same for other countries as well. A local industry is a great thing to have for sustainability - if you are able to source yarn locally, have the fabric made locally, and produce the final garments locally we could significantly reduce our carbon footprint.

We all know our underwear sits closest to our skin, and it's something we wear (most) daily! Why is it important that we choose natural fabrics for our under-garments?

Natural fabrics are ideal for underwear as they are breathable and allow for sweat and moisture to be pulled away. Wearing synthetic underwear all the time can trap sweat and cause bacteria to grow - the kind we won’t want! Using GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified organic cotton in our products also means that no chemicals were involved in the crops, which is better not only for the wearer but the environment and the farmers who grow the crops.

If you could design the future of the fashion industry and the way we consume fashion, how would it look to you?

I would hope for it to be slower!

“Brands would be producing less overall and consumers would be loving their higher quality, timeless pieces and wearing them more often instead of falling hard and fast for trends that they quickly throw away.” 

What's next for Lela?

Being a new brand still, I’d love for Lela to find supporters who love our products and what we stand for. It was always the goal to create pieces that people truly want and need, and to get feedback from our community on what they would love to wear. We do have new styles in the works at the moment, so they will be exciting to share!

Want to try Lela Lingerie for yourself? Use code Shift10 for 10% off your first purchase!

This is a sponsored post. Please be assured, Shift only ever endorses brands we genuinely love and would recommend to our loved ones. Find out more about how you can work with us here.