True Cost Series | A Bra with No Secrets

A Cost Breakdown of a Usa-made Organic Bralette

We are now on our THIRD True Cost Series, and I’m so happy to see how popular it has become over the past few months. I’ve received many messages from people saying how much they’ve learned from this series and are excited for more. So, here’s another one!

Have you ever thought about where your bra comes from or what it's made of? Unfortunately, there are many hidden secrets in the lingerie industry, but there are a few brands that are doing it right. I recently made a list of ethical brands with bras, but there is one small, sustainable brand that is trying to make it sustainable all the way down to the elastic! That means no synthetics, no harmful pesticides, and no petroleum-based chemicals used to whiten, brighten, or soften the fabric - it's a completely pure bra.

Sustain by Kat has been featured on my website frequently over the past few years because their plant-based clothing is unique. They use several eco-friendly dyeing techniques that you don't often see, such as using avocado pits, lavender and chamomile, and Ayurvedic dyeing, where over 20 medicinal plants and herbs are used to dye each piece. They recently launched an underwear line, and their bralette has become my new go-to. It's incredibly comfortable, and I know it's good for my skin. Let's break down why this bralette costs more than $50...

Striped Colorgrown Bralette

an ethical, USA-made bra with all sustainable materials

Brand | Sustain by Kat

Price | $56

Materials | $9.71

Manufacturing | $20.94

Packaging/HangTags | $2.52

= $33.17 … PLUS+ -

Overhead/Marketing | $10

Reinvestment | $12.83

Sustain by Kat has set out to make the first 100% natural underwear!

“After a year of researching and designing, we created underwear having a modern silhouette without the dependence on synthetic fabrics or trims. Made with 100% organic cotton fabric and trim and natural rubber elastic, our underwear is available in undyed white, undyed colorgrown organic cotton (yes, cotton grows in color!) and organic plant dyes.” - Sustain by Kat

However, a product as conscious as this comes with a heavier price tag. You may be thinking, ‘Well, this is just a bralette—why would it be priced at $56?! ' A big part of this series is meant to not only show you what the actual costs look like, but also help you put more value into the materials and people behind the product.

Here’s a great breakdown for their materials (which we have at $9.71 above):

organic naturally colored cotton fabric: $2.99
organic hemp lining fabrics : $1.97
organic cotton/natural rubber elastics and organic cotton trim: $3.21
OEKO-TEX certified non-toxic metal strap adjusters : $0.20
organic cotton labels and organic cotton sewing thread: $1.34

Since they use local, small batch manufacturing in Los Angeles, the manufacturing alone is $20.94 per bralette! Then you add on hangtags & packaging for a total cost of $33.17.

They are left with about $22 to put towards overhead, marketing and reinvesting into the brand. Creating a completely conscious product is not inexpensive, and this is a perfect example to show you how small batch, ethical manufacturing works here in the USA!

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