The ‘ethical skims’? Plant-based shapewear is coming

Proclaim offered underwear in inclusive shades of ‘nude’ before Skims was a twinkle in Kim Kardashian’s eye.

“It really came from the frustration that as a woman of color I couldn’t find a nude bra that matched my brown skin,” says Shobha Philips, who founded the Los Angeles-based brand in 2015 and launched the first tank tops, biker briefs and two years later slips.

But now it may be Philips who is entering reality star territory. This week, Proclaim launches shapewear – and not just any shapewear, but plant-based shapewear, a concept that’s a first for foundational garments, albeit less so for the synthetic-eschewing label, which uses petrochemicals such as elastane for stretch and endurance, to the highest possible minimum. Instead, Proclaim opts for more environmentally friendly options such as Tencel, organic cotton, hemp and cupro.

Shapewear was an obvious category expansion for Philips. The compression market has exploded in recent years thanks to brands like Spanx, Yummie and, yes, Skims. According to market research firm The Brainy Insights, shapewear will grow from a $5.6 billion industry in 2022 to $10.3 billion by 2032. Nothing to sneeze (or squint at).

“It is this billion-dollar category that consists of almost 100 percent of fossil fuel-based materials, such as nylon and polyester,” says Philips. “To me it’s kind of wild that a garment that fits so closely to women’s bodies is made from materials that release microplastics; they are known to contain chemicals such as (bisphenol-A) and (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). I feel like we deserve better. We deserve better clothes and we deserve something that doesn’t harm us or the environment.”

Proclaim’s inaugural offering, a $138 mid-thigh bodysuit in three nude shades plus black, consists of two materials: Evo by Fulgar, a completely bio-based yarn derived from castor oil, and Creora, a 30 percent bio-based spandex made. partly with corn. The latter comes in a version that consists of 70 percent corn, something Philips is particularly enthusiastic about. She eventually wants to switch to a plastic-free formulation, but so far it has been a three-way battle between her desire, availability of materials and product sustainability.

“When designing, there is always a dichotomy about the lifespan of the garment versus some of the 100 percent plant-based options,” said Philips. “For example, 100 percent cotton thread would snap within a second, unlike some threads that have more stretch and give but have a semi-synthetic component.”

So it is not the best option for Mother Earth. But it’s a better option, and that’s more than she can say for what’s currently available. And Proclaim will continue to adapt, Philips said, until it can improve no further.

“There’s obviously no such thing as 100 percent sustainable because there are so many different resources and inputs and outputs, but my goal is always to move in that direction,” she said. “We continue to work with the innovation that is available to us. I always want to ensure that we do not compromise on the quality of the garments we make.”

Philips is certainly no stranger to R&D. It took a year of prototyping in a seamless, solar-powered factory just north of Porto, Portugal before the label achieved the perfect blend of compression, performance and comfort. However, at first she went in almost blind.

“I wasn’t 100 percent sure what the material was,” Phillips said. “I just knew I wanted it to be a more synthetic option than what’s on the market now. So we tried a few different things. We tried many different materials, including Tencel. We made different versions of these tubes back and forth and tested them.”

Proclaim had not worked with seamless technology before, but Philips likes the precision (everything, down to the smallest stitch, is keyed into a computer program) and the way in which cutting waste is minimized.

Ethical production is important to the brand, she said. When it started, Proclaim made everything in a family-owned business in Los Angeles, where employees are paid above minimum wage. It wasn’t until the company expanded its range to include socks made from organic Pima cotton that it expanded its supply chain to Peru. The factory, Philips said, works with the farmers who grow the fibre, creating the kind of ‘know your producer’ connection it is keen to explore further.

“I wanted to figure out how to create a product that demonstrates or even shows that there is a way to do something that doesn’t exploit or disproportionately impact communities of color (while) creating this product that we really need,” she said. “So from the beginning I’ve always tried to focus on making things sustainable and ethical, which I know is an ambiguous phrase, but I do it in a way that honors these core beliefs that I have, in a way that I feel like we can make that evolve as an industry.”

The ethical-slash-sustainable Skims then?

“I think many customers will make that comparison,” says Philips. “I guess I’m flattered by the comparison. I don’t know if I have an opinion about it. I just hope that we can convey our point of view on approaching this company from a customer mindset. I think our strength has grown to meet the demands of our community.”