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The Problem
For women, the underwear is not only an essential product for human dignity but also linked to menstruation.
In India, the social taboo of associating shame and the notion of pollution to menstrual blood has distanced women from the concept of sanitary hygiene. It is common knowledge in the rural community, that women do not invest in either underwear or sanitary napkins to manage their periods. The lack of both the products presents a significant deterrence to safe menstruation.
Scraps of textile waste can be utilised to make underwear –
the smallest but most significant garment for women.
Our Founder, Preeta - spent a decade doing fieldwork in remote pockets of the country. She discovered the huge gap in accessing underwear for rural women. Back home, she saw tonnes of premium fabric being wasted in her family’s garment manufacturing unit. She decided to utilise these fabric scraps to make underwear and launched Wear Equal in 2020.
The Solution
The Theory of Change
Wear Equal is a social & environmentally conscious intimate wear brand. Born with a vision of equality, we strive to provide access to safe & sustainable underwear to women from all walks of life.
OUR MISSION IS BASED IS BASED ON THE THEORY OF CHANGE OF ACCESS
PHYSICAL ACCESS
PHYSICAL ACCESS
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SOCIAL ACCESS
ECONOMIC ACCESS
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Reduce the gap in remote areas
Reduce the gap in remote areas
Reduce the gap in remote areas
Reduce the gap in rural communities
Reduce the gap in rural communities
Reduce the gap in local markets
The Mission
To provide women from all walks of life equal access to safe and sustainable underwear.
Since 2020, we have been using the cross-subsidization model for distributing quality underwear to women and girls in rural India through our NGO partners and direct market channels. We have also carried out research in remote parts of the country to better understand the current attitudes of rural women towards menstruation management.
The Ethos
We believe feminism and equality includes women from all walks of life, and in this process, it requires us to identify that the issues related to women are all interconnected. We, therefore, resolved to leverage our design acumen, our platform and our content to address the challenges faced by women and help them reconnect more positively with their bodies, their biology, their cycles and also each other.
We popularize Intersectional Feminism!
The Design & Inspiration
Inclusivity, Equality & Diversity
Our understanding that, from the point of view of underwear – there aren’t enough products available in the market to cater to differential needs of women, has encouraged us to do more homework and thoughtfully design each product. Initially, we took steps in making our collections size and fit positive, and eventually, we went further to design underwear that could functionally cater to women with a variety of diverse needs basis their condition like being pregnant, or on the wheels, or on the road.
The Team
Our production is done using the circular design model which emphasizes on upcycling whatever is available as surplus in the factory – textiles, trims, accessories. Further, our signature prints are screen-printed with certified organic colors which ensures that our products are both good for environment and for the skin!
Circular & zero-waste production with sustainable materials
The Process
A women-led team with all women team members
We have a small all-women core team who manage the day to day operations of the brand. Our manufacturing partners support us in engaging more women workers in the production. Our NGO partners help us in creating increased social impact. Our marketing partners make sure our campaigns sharply carry the principles of our brand. To know more about them, click here.
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Increased access to underwear in the rural community leads to women feeling more confident to purchase and use them thereby implementing the good practice of wearing pads during menstrual cycles. To know about how far we have reached in our mission, click here.