Handy Women’s Plus-Size Ethical Underwear Guide UK

Upgrade your underwear drawer with my handy guide to plus-size ethical and sustainable underwear brands in the UK.

I’ve got heaps of guides to underwear here on the blog – from organic cotton undies to sustainable sports bras.

Whilst these cover a whole range of sizes, I thought it would be really useful to have a separate plus-size guide. This will hopefully make it easier and quicker to find the right options for you.

Your Guide To UK Plus-Size Ethical Underwear Brands

Here are my top picks for plus-size ethical bras and knickers in the UK.

The price range key for this guide is:

 £ = Under £50 | ££ = £50 – 100 | £££ = £100+

Y.O.U.

• Budget: £
• Knickers available up to UK size 22
• Bras available up to a 38F

Y.O.U makes a fantastic range of sustainable and ethical bras and pants – all made from Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified organic cotton.

Available in inclusive sizes, all Y.O.U underwear is Fairtrade and PETA-approved vegan. All pieces are also produced ethically in India, with Y.O.U guaranteeing that all garment workers are paid and treated fairly.

Each purchase sends two pairs of underwear to Smalls for All, a charity working with those in need in the UK and across Africa. Plus, Y.O.U offers a handy recycling scheme – taking back your old Y.O.U underwear, and with the help of its partners, turning them into roll mats for community organisations.

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ColieCo

• Budget: £
• Knickers available up to UK size 20 (with custom sizing available)
• Bras available up to a 42DD (with custom sizing available)

ColieCo is another great choice for ethical plus-size underwear. Each and every item is made to order from recycled, reclaimed and natural-origin fabrics. As such, each piece is cut, sewn and finished specifically for the person who will wear it in its Portuguese studio.

This approach means that custom sizing is a key part of what ColieCo does, and as such, it can easily create underwear for people who fall outside standard size charts or need particular adjustments for comfort. It also keeps waste to the absolute minimum.

In most cases, there’s no additional cost for custom sizing. ColieCo says a small fee is only applied if it needs to create a new pattern for your custom item.

Whilst your order is shipped from Portugal, shipping is free to the UK. Prices shown include VAT for orders up to £135. Orders over £135 may attract import VAT and customs duty on arrival at the UK border, so that’s something to be mindful of.

Get 10% off your first order when you sign up for the ColieCo mailing list.

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Not Basics

• Budget: £
• Knickers available up to UK size 22
• Bras available up to a 48G

Not Basics is a British brand that takes unsold deadstock fabric from other manufacturers, brands or cotton mills to make its comfortable underwire-free bras and knickers. This helps to tackle textile waste in the fashion industry.

Not Basics is transparent about its manufacturing. Its underwear is made in Bangladesh, and Not Basics says staff receive fair wages above the average living wage, enjoy healthy working conditions, and earn bi-annual bonuses. Not Basics staff have also visited the facility several times, to personally ensure high ethical standards are being met.

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Sprout Organic

• Budget: £
• Knickers available up to UK size 28
• Bras available up to a 44G

Sprout Organics (available at Etsy) is another great place to shop for plus-size ethical underwear – especially if you are a fan of snazzy prints.

Here you’ll find inclusively-sized bras and knickers – all handmade in the UK from GOTS-certified organic cotton – in a riot of bright and bold prints.

As well as a commitment to organic cotton and UK manufacturing, Sprout Organic also strives to be as close to zero waste as possible. All fabric scraps are repurposed or recycled, and all of its parcels are sent out in fully recyclable packaging.

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Snag

• Budget: £
• Knickers available up to UK size 38
• Bras available up to a 66K

Snag is a Scottish clothing brand with a key focus on inclusive sizing – offering the most inclusive size range I’ve come across.

The wide size range doesn’t come with compromise. Sustainable fabrics are also key. Its range of bras and knickers are either made from recycled polyester or organic cotton.

Fair wages run through their entire supply chain, and in the UK, they’re a certified Living Wage employer. And to help reduce waste, nothing is sent to landfill. Unlike some brands, returns are either resold or passed on to charities such as Hey Girls, keeping perfectly good items in use and helping people locally.

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WUKA

• Budget: £
• Knickers available up to UK size 26

WUKA (short for Wake Up and Kick Ass) is a sustainable brand that focuses on reusable period pants. Catering for up to a UK 26, there’s a wide range of styles to suit you.

All of WUKA’s pants are vegan-friendly. Plus, they’re made from sustainable materials, including Tencel, organic cotton and recycled nylon for a planet-friendly approach to periods. I have a few pairs and find they’re comfortable and leakproof.

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Luvahuva

• Budget: £ – ££
• Custom-sized knickers available
• Bras available up to a 40E (with custom sizing available)

Luvahuva (available on Etsy) is a British brand that hand-makes all of its beautiful undies to order in its Brighton studio from sustainable, recycled, or upcycled fabrics.

As everything is made to order, Luvahuva says that it is always happy to make made-to-measure garments if you fall outside of the sizes listed. All you need to do is drop them an email with any relevant measurements as well as sizes you would normally buy in the shops, and Luvahuva will get to work.

Luvahuva says that generally, there is no additional cost associated with making custom sizes, but it will tell you if it needs to charge extra.

I also love that there’s a free repair service, should your bra or knickers need a strap or a seam mending.

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Stripe & Stare

• Budget: £
• Knickers available up to UK size 22
• Bras available up to a 42FF

Stripe & Stare, a female-fronted certified B-Corp (a business that has been independently verified for putting people and the planet first), makes fun and comfortable underwear from sustainable materials.

Made from sustainable Tencel – a supersoft fabric made from trees sourced from sustainably managed woodland – its knickers and non-wired bras are available in plain neutrals or bold colours and fun prints often in collaborations with brands like Rixo. These come in a wide range of styles to suit you.

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Modibodi

• Budget: £
• Knickers available up to UK size 26

Finally, Modibodi is another top choice for period underwear in extended sizes.

This female-founded brand uses fabrics such as GOTS-certified organic cotton. Meanwhile, its underwear is OEKO-TEX certified. This means that all of Modibodi’s products have been independently verified as being free from harmful substances.

The only thing to note is that not all Modibodi products are vegan-friendly. Most styles are made with merino wool, so make sure you navigate to its vegan range if you want to avoid animal-based fabrics.

For new customers, your order comes with a 60-day risk-free trial. This means that if you are not happy with your Modibodi underwear, it can be returned, even if you have worn it.

Get 10% off your first order when you sign up for the Modibodi newsletter.

More Ethical Plus-Size Clothing Resources

Looking for more ethical clothing resources? Try my guide to UK plus-size sustainable clothing brands for all your wardrobe requirements.