Sustainability
Packaging
Orders arrive in paper bags tied with hemp string. Garments are not individually poly-wrapped, which is unusual in lingerie, where each piece typically ships sealed in its own plastic sleeve. There is no plastic void fill and no rigid boxing.
The paper carries no FSC or recycled-content certification, and JulieMay confirms it is still working toward accredited recycled stock. Swing tags currently use a plastic film laminate, and plastic bags are still in use at the warehouse fulfilment stage. All three appear on the brand's own published list of short-term goals, which is a level of candour we see rarely, though stated goals are not yet delivered outcomes.
There is no packaging return or reuse system, no compostability claim or certification, and no disclosure on inks, adhesives or label stock. Paper and hemp is a genuinely low-impact starting format. Certified fibre sourcing and removing the remaining plastic film and warehouse bags would lift this score quickly.
Materials & Sourcing
The range is built from two fibres. Body fabric across bras, briefs and nightwear runs at roughly 78% organic Pima cotton and 22% silk, with 100% silk used for bra cup linings and brief gussets. Both fibres sit high in our materials index, and the deliberate exclusion of polyester, nylon and viscose across an entire lingerie range is rare enough to be worth naming.
Organic Pima is grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilisers, which protects soil biology and keeps agrochemical runoff out of local water systems. It is worth being clear that organic does not solve cotton's core problem. Pima is a long-staple cotton typically grown in Peru and the southwestern United States, where irrigation demand is high, and organic cultivation reduces chemical load rather than water draw. JulieMay publishes no water-use figures for its cotton and names no farm, region or ginner, so the growing-stage footprint cannot be assessed directly. The brand also cites a 91% water reduction figure for organic cotton on its site, a widely repeated industry number that compares rainfed organic systems against irrigated conventional ones and should not be read as a like-for-like saving.
The silk is mulberry peace silk, where moths are allowed to emerge from the cocoon before the fibre is reeled. That removes the animal welfare objection, but it carries a sustainability cost that is almost never mentioned: emerging moths break the filament, yields per cocoon drop, and rearing cycles run longer, so more mulberry land, more leaf and more energy are needed per kilo of finished silk than for conventional silk. Silk is also the most water and energy intensive of the common natural fibres by weight. Using it as a lining rather than a main fabric keeps the volume low, which is the right call, but this is not a zero-impact material and the brand does not present it as a trade-off.
Trims are where the range loses ground. Hooks, adjusters and underwires are acrylic plastic, chosen so that nickel-sensitive wearers have no metal against the skin. Acrylic is a fossil-derived polymer sitting at the bottom of our materials index, and it is neither biodegradable nor recyclable in practice. Straps and underbands use an elastane core wrapped in cotton. Both are small by weight, and both mean no JulieMay piece is fully biodegradable at end of life despite the cotton and silk body.
Energy Use & Carbon Footprint
JulieMay has not measured or published a carbon footprint. There is no emissions inventory, no baseline year and no reduction target, so there is nothing against which progress can be tracked.
Some structural advantages are real. The team works remotely with no office, which removes a whole category of operational energy use. The manufacturing site holds ISO 14001, which requires documented water and energy efficiency practices. Upstream distances between farm, dyehouse and factory are short.
Carbon offsetting runs through Greenspark, funding cookstove replacement in Malawi and hydroelectric energy in Chile. Consumers should read the impact figures on the brand's site carefully: totals such as 5,500 tonnes of CO2 offset and one million plastic bottles recovered are Greenspark community achievements across all member businesses, not JulieMay's own contribution.
Waste Management
Offcut handling is built into the product rather than bolted on. The decorative bows on the front of every bra are cut from leftover silk, and remaining fabric waste is repurposed for marketing materials. Production runs are deliberately small, which limits the volume of unsold stock created in the first place, and discontinued lines have been donated to Uncommon Threads in the United States and Smalls for All in the UK rather than destroyed.
Returns are a major waste stream in bra retail, and JulieMay attacks it at the fit stage. Free one-to-one virtual fittings, individually patterned cups from 30B to 42DD rather than merged cup sizes, a 180-day return window and unlimited exchanges all reduce the odds of a garment being bought, worn once and discarded. Published care guidance supports garment lifespan.
End of life is the weak point. Bra recycling is signposted through The Bra Recyclers, but only for customers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, and it is not surfaced on product pages where a customer would actually see it. There is no take-back scheme, no repair service and no published waste data for production or fulfilment.
Business Model
JulieMay carries roughly 35 products in total. There are no seasonal collections, no trend pieces, no limited-edition drops and no capsule launches. Core styles have been in the range for years and are restocked rather than replaced.
The commercial model rewards keeping a garment rather than replacing it. Products are priced at a premium and sold on fit, support and durability. The 180-day return window and unlimited exchanges are unusually generous and are framed around getting the fit right rather than around volume. We found no flash sales, no countdown timers, no urgency messaging and no discount cycling. A standing 10% first-order code and occasional partner discounts are the extent of promotional activity.
Marketing focuses on skin conditions, menopause, post-surgery recovery and fit education rather than newness. A customer who buys two bras here is likely to still be wearing them in several years, which is precisely what a slow-consumption model should produce.
