dea ethical underwear – it’s what’s underneath that counts

Many of us put little thought into what we wear beneath our clothes. But not local entrepreneur Deanna Mansell, co-founder of the latest revolution in underwear, started right here in the Bay. She conceived of dea a decade ago, in the final year of her studies in fashion and design. A lifelong sufferer from extreme eczema, Deanna found the dyes and chemicals in the fabrics with which she was working exacerbated her condition. This sent her on a journey of discovery coming into relationship with her body to learn her needs to alleviate her symptoms. She wondered how many other chronic health issues the chemicals in clothing contributed to.

At the same time, she was acutely aware of the role of the fashion industry both in environmental destruction, contributing to up to 10% of carbon dioxide emissions, and on global inequality, relying on underpaid, inhumane labour conditions. She wanted to work with materials that not only looked and felt good, but were also doing good.

dea’s long-held dreams were spurred into reality with the help of co-founder Lynda Warren, who supported her to start up the enterprise. Over a nine-month gestation period, they searched for fabric, investigating their sources and finding just the right textures and weights. They decided on an organically grown GOTS certified cotton, produced raw in India and knitted in Australia. 

Then they experimented with natural dyes, deciding on avocado, walnut and pomegranate. These they harvest from sustainable plantations, sourcing avocado pits from the Village Press, a by-product of their avocado oil, and walnuts from Chambers’ land along the Tukituki river. These are hand dyed in small batches by Warren, and set with soy milk rather than the traditional metal salts which many purportedly naturally dyed fabrics contain. Seasonal colour variations and variegation from the handmade process give the pieces a signature aesthetic. 

They developed patterns, testing for comfort and durability, then engaged a small team of local sewers to construct a product of which they can be proud. Even the thread that holds their pieces together is tencel, made from wood pulp, rather than the ubiquitous polyester. They are also in the process of researching organic elastic, made from natural rubber.

These little details are important to the team behind dea. They will not compromise on quality and are committed to creating an honestly natural, ethical product. It’s an ethos you can feel. The intimate items are robust and buttery soft next to the skin. They also hug the body beautifully, so flattering they could easily be worn for yoga or summer lounge wear. 

At the moment, their range is composed of seven styles of underwear to suit every body shape and preference, a soft cup bra and two sizes of flannels, with more to come. dea envisages providing basic undergarments for men, women and children, as well as branching into leggings and other things worn next to the skin. 

There are so few avenues of consumption in the present age that come without some kind of shackles of guilt, but this is a rare one. Not only do you have a product that looks and feels fantastic, but you can sleep easy knowing you are supporting local enterprise, paying a living wage and contributing to practices that are mindful of our fragile environment.