Eco-Boudoir: Sex with Scruples

Sex and sustainability may seem like unlikely bedfellows, but the odd couple has recently made its dalliances public in the form of Eco-Boudoir. Debuting alongside Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana and Marni as part of Harrods' designer lingerie department, this line of eco-friendly lingerie and bedroom accessories proves that seduction and scruples don't have to be mutually exclusive.

Not only does Eco-Boudoir use only sustainable textiles—think bio-degradable bamboo, vegetable-tanned leather made from free-range goat and deer hides (all bi-products of the food industry), 100% natural silks dyed with berries—but the brand has taken these raw materials to the next level via high-tech production practices. Instead of using silk screening and chemical-laden dyes, its prints and patterns are digitally printed or laser cut, resulting in less material waste and energy usage. Whenever possible, pieces are crafted in the UK to cut down on transport pollution, with certain silks developed by artisan groups in India and China.

"There wasn't so much a gap in the lingerie market for this concept, but a need," says designer Jenny White, who launched the label in January 2007. "Lingerie is the most intimate type of clothing and is the closest thing to a woman's skin. Most of it is made with cotton, which uses vast amounts of pesticides, or nylon and polyamides where the toxicity of the fabrics is totally unknown."

All remaining visions of beige eco-blandness disappear upon seeing an Eco-Boudoir piece—floaty French Knickers and luxurious hemp silk bathrobes combined with cashmere-soft bamboo blankets and earth-friendly masks and bondage scarves ensure that, even if your bedroom goings-on may veer toward the scandalous, at least the trappings remain ethical.

www.eco-boudoir.com

—J.K. Glei