Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Buy union ... underwear?

So I looked around, and have come up with some USA made, ethically made and/or union made underwear. Much of it is boring, some of it is downright frightening and/or grandfatherly, and some of it is cute, or at least comfortable. The list for Boys and people who wear boy underwear:

#1 Junk Drawers
Etsy-crafter men's/androgy underwear made from salvaged fabric in the US. Cute, cheap, what more can you ask for? Some of it is even made to order.

#2 Pants to Poverty
They're awesome. They pay a living wage to Indian workers as well as doing solidarity work to improve the communities their factories are in. Their underwear for boys and girls is really cute (so are their models...) The waist bands are printed with wings. Some of their underwear fitted for female bodies is boystyled. Costs about $23 USD a pair (15 British pounds).

#3 Boxercraft
These flannel boxers look really comfy, and I like how they look. They also have "Boxercraft Girl" which features mostly the same boxers, but also includes four shorter styles with cool patterns. They only go up to adult XL, though, which isn't good news for bigger boys n girls.

#4 Andrew Christian
Andrew Christian makes amazing, very sexy/sexual underwear for men. His products are made in the USA but are not union made. They're expensive and probably a bit much, unless you are living the life. And most of them are made so explictly for male contours that female assigned people, or hell, male assigned people who don't have large, bulging packages-- may feel these aren't for them. But I'd totally pack and wear the Flashback Swim Trunks. Their underwear's a little pricey. $23-$30 each.

#5 Active Man
These jocks are fucking hot. I want them. They're made in the US. Sold by Skiviez. Just over $20.

#6 City Boxers
A lot of fabrics, one style of underwear. You can customize everything about the boxers, but you can't see them laid flat on a table or on a model. Some of the fabrics are alright. US made. I like the koi.

#7 ruffeo hearts lil snoty on Etsy
Only a few kinds of undies in glorious rainbows. Sewn in the US of US-made fabric. Kinna expensive, but worth it. There are other cool and expensive underwear on Etsy for guys, too. These are $28.

#8 Green Knickers
Fair trade, but not much to choose from in men's styles, and I'd feel odd wearing boxers embroidered with "eat organic" on the crotch. I like their padded cycling boxers. They're on sale right now, way cheap. With shipping, I'd estimate about $25. Might be technical issues with the checkout process though.

#....Union Label
These were the only US and union-made underwear for men I could find. So I'm sorry to show them in such an unflattering light (kind of). They are huge, white and voluminous, and you wouldn't have to stretch too far to imagine them hanging on grandpa's clothesline. I'm not making fun of US union-made products; rather the opposite. I want to draw attention to a problem that might be hurting their business, or at least alienating union-made product companies from people who could be the some of the strongest supporters of union-made clothes. Unionlabel.com


Girls/Girly Stuff:

I didn't research this a whole lot, but I came across several companies. Bluecanoe.com has some cute girly underwear & bras, US made.

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