Do your kids wear green underwear?

A number of organic cotton clothing companies got their start when an entrepreneurial mother looked around for organic cotton clothing and found that there was not much available. Babies, being innocent and pure, were a perfect inspiration for the production and sales of sweet little clothes in organic cotton. As a result, there seems to be a plethora of organic cotton clothing, diapers, and accessories for babies and toddlers - at least compared to what is available for the somewhat larger child.

A few of these companies extended their lines to include larger kids at least until the kids 5/6 or 7/8 size range (Ecoland, kidbean, Under the Nile). A few of these companies make clothing primarily for adults and extended their size range down through kids as small as 3/4 size range (Clean Undies, Decent Exposures). Most include an underwear line for both boys and girls.

For boys, there are the three basic styles: briefs, boxer briefs, and boxers. For girls the styles generally include the classic full cut panty sometimes referred to as a "girl's brief" or undies and a hipster or modestly cut bikini-style. All the companies offer the underwear in Natural with no dyes or bleaches, some include color-grown cottons, and others include colors and prints produced from low-impact dyes.

In general, the quality of all the organic cotton underwear for kids that I have seen is very high.

Clean Undies is a brand name of the Organic Cotton Company, Inc. located in Toronto, Canada. They are one of the few companies in North America processing certified organic pima cotton from raw cotton to finished, comfortable, high quality certified organic products. Pima cotton is a generic name for extra-long staple (ELS) cotton

• Clean Undies makes briefs, boxer briefs, and boxers for boys.
  
• Boxers have one button.
  
• Clean Undies makes briefs (full cut panties) and bikini briefs for girls.
  


• All styles come in one color - natural.
• Elastic bands at waist and legholes are all covered.
• Available sizes: children 4, 5, 6, & Youth S, M, L, XL, XXL

Clean Undies briefs for boys and girls range in price from $14.50 to $16.95; the boxer briefs and boxers are available for $17.95.

Hanna's Dream has Clean Undies briefs for girls and boxer briefs for boys.
Rawganique sells Clean Undies briefs and bkini briefs for girls and briefs, boxer briefs, and boxers for boys.

Earth Tots, a company based in Humble, Texas, was started by two professional sisters -one a lawyer and the other in business administration - after becoming parents. Originally from Peru, they chose to manufacture baby clothing using Peruvian pima cotton. The clothes are made in Peru by women in rural villagers in a sweatshop free environment. The clothing is made from 100% organic color-grown cotton certified by SKAL.

Earth Tots makes underwear for girls in sizes 4, 6, and 8.

They are available through the Earth Tots website for $9.99 each or as a special offer, a 5-pack for $39.95.

Ecobaby Organics, part of Pure-Rest Organics in San Diego, started as a family business in 1992. They are dedicated to providing environmentally- and health-friendly items. They promise to do the research to locate or create these products ranging from organic mattresses (Pure-Rest) to baby clothing and other supplies. They assure buyers that the organic cotton used in their products is organic in every step of the process. Although most of their clothing is specifically for babies they do have underwear for children in sizes up to 11/12. The cotton is certified organic, certified fair trade from India and the Control Union certificates are available on their website. The underwear is manufactured in India. Natural coloration is dye-free while colors are produced with low-impact dyes.

• Boys briefs in natural, blue stripes, and multi-stripes.
  
• Boys boxer briefs in navy.
  
• Girls undies in natural, green floral, lavendar stripes, lavendar, and sage stripes.
  
• Available sizes: XS (3/4t), S(5/6), M(7/8), L (9/10), XL(11/12)
  

Ecobaby briefs and boxer briefs are about $10 per pair and the girl's briefs range from $8 to $10 per pair.

Green Edge kids currently has 2-packs of boys briefs in natural on sale for $16, 2-packs of girls briefs in sage stripe for $14.40 and in lavendar stripe for $12.80.

Ecobaby briefs and boxer briefs and girls briefs are available from the following online stores:
Ecobaby Organics
Lala Natural
Green Edge Kids
Organic Selections carries the girl's briefs.

Ecoland - A California based company that makes clothing from organically grown cotton - certified by SKAL. They state the garments are sustainably processed and sewn in a sweatshop-free environment.

• Ecoland makes briefs for toddler boys and hipster style underwear for girls.
  


• The underwear is available only in the toddler/small child size range - from 2T to 6T.
  
• Both girls and boys are available in natural or white.
  

Ecoland Review
I purchased a two-pack of Ecoland for Angel briefs about two years ago. They are well-made and still very soft after multiple washings. The only complaint I have concerning Ecoland is that their sizes for kids only go up to 6T (5/6) - so you have to jump to another brand once your son gets larger than this! I can recommend this brand.

Ecoland for Angel runs from $8 to $9 a pair and are sold in packages of 2.

Ecoland for Angel can be purchased online at:
Ecoland
Hanna's Dream carries the boys briefs.
Amazon.com - see below.

Kidbean, based in North Carolina, was founded in 1999 by Melissa Zenz. The company's mission is to provide sustainably-produced, fair-labor, vegan products for babies and children. They have very rigorous standards for inclusion into their product catalog and prove their point by providing a list of products they do not sell with the reasons those products did not pass muster. The website provides a lot of information including a glossary and FAQ that explain environmental and ethically responsible terms. Due to fair labor concerns, most of their products are made in the USA. The children's underwear is made from Indian grown organic cotton, milled and manufactured in the USA.

• Kidbean makes briefs for boys in six colors: natural, colorgrown striped, medium blue, yellow, true blue, and red.
  
• Girls underwear is offered in five colors: natural, colorgrown striped, pink, yellow, and violet.


• Available sizes: 2T/3T, 4T/5T, 6T/6X, 8
  
• Covered-elastic waistband and wide binding at leg.
  
• Natural and colorgrown stripes are unbleached and undyed.
  
• Colors are low-impact dyes.

Both the boys briefs and the girls undies can be purchased through the Kidbean website for $8 per pair.

A line of organic cotton clothing produced by C.A.BIO, a French company based in Saint-Charmond, France. They use SKAL certified organic cotton from Turkey and their products meet the Oko-Tex Standard 100 certification. They are a member of the French Fair Trade Association and work in partnership with a small female-run workshop in Istanbul.

• Boys briefs in two shades of blue (100% org. cotton), solid blue or white, and boxer briefs in white or blue (95% org cotton/5% elastane).
  
• Girls panties in pink floral print (Le Vie Rose), violet with trim, white or violet with embroidered scallop, and a boxer-cut panty with embroidered scallop in white or violet.
  

Peau-Ethique organic underwear is sold online in the US by Green Edge Kids.
Both girls styles are $7 each or a set of 4 for $24.
Boys boxer briefs are $15 each.

Under the Nile launched by Janice Massoud in 1999, designs and manufactures baby clothing in Egyptian organic cotton for the US market. They have a strong relationship with the SEKEM Initiative Farms in Egypt. The farms are Demeter and COAE certified and the cotton is USDA certified organic. Fair trade principles are observed at every step of the process. Their certifications are available online on the website. The dyes used are free of heavy metals and meet Demeter standards. Peroxide is used to white cotton (rather than bleach). Their main offices are located in California.

• Boys briefs in natural, red and navy.
  
• Girls briefs in natural, pink flower, tropical flower (orange), and vintage flower (periwinkle).
  
• Sizes available: XS (3/4 yrs) , S (5/6 yrs), M (7/8 yrs)
  

Under the Nile Review
The Under the Nile organic cotton briefs I purchased when my 9 year old was 6, have been passed down to my other son and are still "hole-less" after 3 years of washing! My boys find them comfortable. I can recommend this brand.

Prices and where to buy
Boys and girls briefs range in price from $7 to $10.

Roundbelly has Under the Nile briefs for boys and briefs for girls on sale for $5.60.

Under the Nile organic cotton underwear for kids can be purchased on their website and the other online stores below:
Under the Nile
a happy planet
babyworks.com
GoodHumans
Hanna's Dream
Julie's Stuff
Kidbean
Organic Selections
rawganique
Roundbelly

Decent Exposures is a woman-owned, socially responsible business, based in Seattle - famous (in some circles) for their UnBra, which they custom sew. They offer underwear in any of their fabrics including organic cotton in four colors.

• Decent Exposures offers two styles of underwear for boys: briefs and boxer briefs.
  
• Their 100% organic fabric choice comes in cream, blue, navy, and black.

Decent Exposures organic cotton underwear can be purchased through their website at decentexposures.com. Since Decent Exposures is a custom sewing house, you need to specify that you would like one of the three colors of organic cotton fabric. They range in price from $11 to $16 dependent on size!

Hanna Andersson was founded Gun and Tom Denhart in the early 1980s. Originally, they were selling clothing inspired by Swedish design made in Europe based on cotton clothing Gun remembered from childhood. The company, based in Portland Oregon, is no longer the family-run business having been sold twice, but retains the folksy image of "Hanna." Hanna Andersson is known for its high quality clothes, which are often passed down through siblings and onto cousins. Fifty percent of their clothes are certified under Oko-tex Standard 100 that includes the fabric as well as the buttons, threads, and zippers. They produce underwear for boys and girls in organic cotton.

• Hannah Andersson makes briefs, boxer briefs, and boxers for boys.
  
• Hannah Andersson makes classic undies (full cut panties) and hipsters for girls.


• Boys briefs are available in packs of three-- choice of all white, or solid colors (green, navy, tangerine) or stripes (red, green, blue) or prints (cars, dinos, blue stripes).


• Boys boxer briefs come in solids (white, grey, blue), stripes (green, blue, red), and prints (dinos, cars, bugs).
  
• Boys boxers are available in green stripes, blue stripes, or red stripes and have a button fly.
  
• Girls classic undies and hipsters are sold in three packs choice of all white or bright solids (green, vividpink, blue) or pastel solids (pale yellow, light pink, sky blue).
  
• Girls hipsters are also available in three packs of prints (small flowers, stripes, large flowers) in soft yellow, light pink, sky blue, or vivid pink.

Hanna Andersson Review
Hanna Andersson is the brand of organic cotton underwear that I most recently purchased for my sons. They mainly wear the briefs but also have a few pairs of the boxer briefs and one son likes the boxers as well. These are sturdily constructed and remain very soft after many washings. The boys find them very comfortable.

Where to buy
Purchase Hanna Andersson organic cotton underwear for kids through their website. Solid color boys briefs, girls classic undies, and girls hipsters are sold in 3 packs for $18.50. Three-packs of boys briefs, girls classic undies, and girls hipsters in stripes or prints are $20.50. Boys boxer briefs are $14.50 each and boxers are $12.50 each.

brand

cotton grown

milled/woven

cut/sewn

certifications

Clean Undies

USA

Canada

Canada

 

Earth Tots

Peru

?

Peru

SKAL

Ecobaby Organics

India

?

India

Control Union

kidbean

India

USA

USA

 

Peau-Ethique

Turkey

?

Turkey

SKAL/Oko-Tex

Under the Nile

Egypt

?

Egypt

Demeter/COAE
USDA

Decent Exposures

?

?

Seattle

 

Hanna Andersson

?

?

?

Oko-Tex Standard 100

Ecoland

?

?

China?

SKAL