With the average British woman owning 20 bras yet only regularly wearing five, it’s little wonder that a staggering 19 million bras end up going into landfill every year, that’s the equivalent of 119 London buses. B Corp-certified underwear brand, Nudea has launched a recycling scheme, ‘Bra-cycle’ to encourage its customers to recycle their old bras as well as to highlight the importance of shopping responsibly.

Nudea’s CEO, Priya Downes explains the importance of Bra-cycle for the brand: “From the very beginning, we’ve been committed to operating Nudea as sustainably as possible. We’re all about encouraging people to buy less, buy better and simply put, buy bras that fit. However, there’s no denying the fact that underwear is one of the most polluting categories in the fashion industry, so we wanted to address this by offering a recycling scheme.”

“Unlike a lot of other clothing categories, there is no second hand market for underwear. Once a bra has been worn and washed it loses its stretch over time and eventually is no longer supportive or functional and this is why so many bras end up in landfill. We’re working with our recycling partner to take apart the components and recycle the fibres and metals used within bra manufacture. The textiles are processed into a densified or pelletised material mixture that can be used for new product applications such as carpet backing and the wires are shredded, baled, and sent for smelting to be used for new products including washers, nut and bolts.”

To further highlight the Bra-cycle launch of the recycling scheme, Nudea has created a ‘Bra-cycle’ campaign with the help of nine influencers, creating awareness about Bra-cycle through a number of humorous posts themed around alternative uses of old bras such as as a resistance band and a fruit basket. And, to further reinforce the message, consumers now purchasing bras from Nudea will receive “One in, One out” information from the brand about how to recycle their old bras from any brand and receive 20% off next purchase as a thank you.

B Corp certified in 2022, Nudea’s commitment to sustainability includes the carbon positive brand’s easy-to-use fitting tools to deliver on fit for conscious, responsible shopping, premium fabrics crafted from recycled yarns, a thoughtfully designed selection of styles made in partnership with responsible suppliers who pay fair living wages, produced in a GOTS and SLCP fully-certified factories and all delivered in recycled and recyclable packaging.