Female empowerment is at the core of what we do.
Understatement is a Swedish, female-founded force of change, dedicated to redefining women’s underwear. We make underwear for women, by women, and want to contribute to a world where women can be whomever they want, free to express themselves and their bodies. Driven by female empowerment and equality for everyone, we are committed to conducting our business in a transparent, ethical, responsible, and sustainable manner.
Our company is founded and run by women. 75% of our board identify as women and 70% of employees in the organization identify as women, equally spread across executive, senior, mid, and entry-level positions.
No adjustments. No airbrushing. No censorship. We celebrate body acceptance and don’t retouch our models in photos and videos, because why would we? Our underwear is made to embrace every curve. We invite our community to claim space because we want all women to be able to relate and see themselves in beautiful and comfortable underwear.
There are people behind the clothes we make, so we put them first. The majority of workers (around 80%) in the garment sector identify as female. Nevertheless, most of these women are still structurally disadvantaged, suffer from discrimination in the working space, and have fewer chances of promotion. This structural issue is very close to our hearts, and we want to play our part in solving it. We expect our suppliers to share this commitment, and with that adhere to our code of conduct. DOWNLOAD OUR CODE OF CONDUCT HERE
We are very mindful in the selection of organizations we promote and all our strategic partnerships focus on women supporting women. We work with both Swedish and internationally operating organizations and have worked with Kvinna till Kvinna (Women to Women), Bröstcancerförbundet (Swedish Breastcancer Foundation), and Plan International.
We want to give back to our community and continuously support local organizations. We have supported women's shelters and several safe houses for women with donations over the years.
In 2023, we introduced the MAKE A STATEMENT program, our very own acceleration program supporting female entrepreneurs with funding and resources. We know what it's like to start a business with limited experience, funding, and resources. That's why we designed our own program to give support to female entrepreneurs, including a grant, office space, coaching sessions, and daily support from the team.
We continuously aim to improve each step in our production process.
A sustainable product is one that lasts. It’s not just about responsible sourcing of sustainable materials and working with manufacturers that tick the boxes of social compliance. It starts with creating durable, long-lasting items that are not thrown away after being worn once or twice. It’s about making underwear that stands the test of time, with partners that share our values and goals every step of the way.
We believe transparency is a major part of sustainability. That is why we share a lot of information on our product pages about where our products are made, and what they are made of. This page is another step in give you more insight into what it is we are working on. And from this year, we will be publishing an annual progress report where we will give you in-depth updates about our goals and dreams, and how far we have gotten in achieving them - stay tuned for that! Have questions in the meantime? We're happy to answer them! Drop us a line atcustomer@shopunderstatement.com
Our products are designed to last, starting by getting rid of all the annoying stuff that never should have been put into underwear in the first place and that could compromise the life-cycle of our underwear. We focus on longevity and comfort, and said bye-bye to underwires, restrictive padding, and itchy bitchy tags.
Our size range is XS-XXL, to make finding your perfect fit as simple and sweet as can be. Our easy to use, inclusive sizing minimizes the production of excess items and ultimately, avoids deadstock.
Our products are designed to last, starting by getting rid of all the annoying stuff that never should have been put into underwear in the first place and that could compromise the life-cycle of our underwear. We focus on longevity and comfort, and said bye-bye to underwires, restrictive padding, and itchy bitchy tags. A premium product is based on premium materials. We invest time and effort searching for the most sustainable and durable fabric options and new technologies. We swap out the raw materials in our fabrics and trims for sustainable alternatives where we can and ensure that all our materials are free from harmful substances. As an example, our swimwear is entirely made from fabrics using ECONYL® regenerated nylon. This is made by recovering nylon waste, such as fishing nets from the oceans, fabric scraps from factories, and carpets ready to go into landfills, and turning that into high-quality nylon yarns that can be reused and recycled again and again.
Our collections are produced close to home, mainly by European and Turkish manufacturing partners that are experts in the field of underwear. We’re committed to keeping our production close to home, so that we can visit regulary and ensure that labor conditions and quality standards are in line with our values, as well as avoid negative implications on the planet caused by transportation to our warehouse.
In our underwear, we focus on the essentials and got rid of all the rest - we did the same for our packaging. We removed all plastic, and our paper bags, boxes and tags are made of FSC-certified recyclable and compostable materials.
We aim to expand the life cycle of each Understatement item.
We want our customers to shop mindfully and our return policy reflects that. Returns have a big environmental impact, as the journey back to our warehouse takes resources such as fuel, water, electricity, and therefore emits CO2 in the process. That is why we want to make sure that you love each and every Understatement that you purchase.
To help you find just the right product, we are continuously working on perfecting our product, photography, the information on our site, as well as size charts and fit guides. And if you're not 100% sure, our customer support team is there to answer any questions that you may still have. Our returns are low compared to industry standards, but for the retuns that we do get, we monitor them in great detail through a digitalized system that helps us keep track of and analyze returns. By collecting your feedback, we can continue to improve our site and even our product to reduce returns even further.
To enhance the lifecycle of our products, we encourage our customers to give their understatement garments the proper wear and care they deserve. All our underwear can be washed in the machine at 30°C/86° with a mild detergent - gentle on the wallet and the environment. We recommend using a wash bag to protect the garments during the wash cycle. This helps keep the fabric’s elasticity and prevents tearing or snagging during the wash cycles, giving your undergarments a long life.
We want our products (and even samples) to have a long and happy life. Each of our designs is carefully hand-made, no matter if it makes it into our collections or not. That's why we host regular seasonal and archive sales, ensuring all our products receive the long life they deserve. Great for the wallet and the planet.
All good things come to an end, even our underwear. When it’s time to say goodbye, we encourage you to recycle your Understatements at any textile recycling centre or drop-off point or if the products are unused or have some life left in them, feel free to donate or give away to friends / family instead and spread the love! Why don't we take our products back? Well, we could, and maybe we will in future, but at this moment we prefer for you to recycle locally, so that we can avoid shipping the products back to our warehouse, generating more CO2 emissions in the process. Because wouldn't that kind of defeat the purpose? If in future we develop a recycling process that significantly outperforms your local recycling options, we may change this of course.
