Boody Underwear Review: 4 Years Later

Close up of the Boody full brief

Boody Eco Wear is one of the more affordable sustainable brands. This Australian brand is available globally, and it’s best-known for its comfortable basics made from bamboo.

As a sustainable fashion blogger, I was gifted a couple items from Boody in 2021, and I went on to purchase from them at least 3 times afterwards. This review will go over Boody’s sustainability as a company, as well as the durability, comfort, and fit of their undies.

This post contains affiliate links, meaning that I earn a small commission from any purchases through those links, at no extra cost to you. 

Boody’s Sustainability and Ethics

Most of Boody’s pieces are made from bamboo viscose, which isn’t always a sustainable fabric due to the solvents needed to soften the bamboo. That said, Boody uses non-toxic solvents and a closed-loop water system, making the process more sustainable. Their factories are also compliant with ISO 14001 standards, which help organizations reduce their environmental impact.

The bamboo itself is grown without pesticides and fertilizers, and the vast majority of Boody’s pieces are knitted in tubes, reducing fabric waste by 20%.

Boody underwear in Nude 0 and Nude 2

Ethics-wise, Boody’s factories are WRAP-certified for responsible treatment of workers. They are also a B Corp, which is a company-wide social responsibility certification. While these certifications are great, I’d still love to see more information about their suppliers and wages. Still, this is more information and reassurance than most companies provide about their manufacturing process.

In terms of diversity and inclusivity, Boody features models of different sizes and ethnicities. They offer extended sizing up to 3XL (which has improved over the years from XL), and their masculine styles run from S to 2XL. Boody also offers baby clothing, which can be hard to come by from sustainable brands.

Boody’s products ship plastic-free, and while most products simply have paper packaging, any disposable garment bags are compostable.

Boody Underwear – My Experience After 4 Years

Boody full brief in a tan color

I was gifted a Full Brief in the color Dune in 2021, and I went on to buy another of the same item, as well as a four-pack of the Midi Brief in Shell in 2022. I also bought a pack of the Midi Brief in Black in 2023.

Things I Love

I’ve tried several sustainable underwear brands, and Boody has been my absolute favorite. Here’s why I love their pieces:

1. The coverage is pretty full: the gusset is just the right width, and the back of the undies also keeps you wedgie-free.

2. High-quality fabric: I like that the fabric is thick enough to feel secure, but not so thick that it doesn’t breathe. The fabric almost feels like it’s gently hugging your skinโ€”it’s just that comfortable.

3. Seamless and tagless waistband: the waistband doesn’t dig in or cause any discomfort.

4. Fair pricing: both the Full and Midi Brief cost $16 each, but you can buy a 4-pack for $68 ($13.56 each). This is pretty on-par with mainstream brands that offer “fancier” underwear. To save even more, check Boody’s socials for sales.

5. True to size and good for weight fluctuations: I’m 5’4″ and have fluctuated between 125-145lbs (57-66kg) over the last 4 years, and the size small has fit great the entire time.

Boody midi brief on top of the full brief

The Full Brief comes up to just below the belly button while the Midi Brief sits a couple inches below. When I’m wanting fuller coverage, I go for the Full Brief, but the Midi Brief is just right for day-to-day wear.

After 4 years, I still have the original Full Brief and it’s holding up extremely well.

Below is a photo of the brief after one year. There’s just some slight pilling on the fabric, but nothing too bad. I typically don’t dry my clothing, but when I’m home with my family, everything gets thrown in the dryer. I think that if the undies hadn’t been heat dried at all, they’d be in even better shape (to make your clothing last longer, check out my sustainable care tips).

close-up of the Boody full brief in Nude 2

Here are some photos of the underwear after 4 years. The pilling is honestly about the same, but there is thinning in the gusset (which I’ll address in the next section).

Boody underwear after 4 years
Wear in the gusset of my Boody underwear after 4 years
Wear in two pairs of Boody underwear in the gusset after 2 years
Thinning in the gusset of my Boody underwear after 4 years

Things to be aware of/negative experiences

Here are some things that you may dislike about the underwear:

1. Textured gusset: the gusset isn’t double-layered like that of most undies I’ve seen. Instead, it’s a more textured knit fabric. It doesn’t bother me, but it can be harder to get clean. If you see any discharge on the gusset, I’d recommend giving it a quick rinse and scrub before tossing it in the wash.

2. Gusset can get holes: I’ve lost at least 3 out of 10 pairs of my underwear over 4 years to holes in the gusset. This is hard to mend because patching it would give me sensory issues. Weirdly, this has all happened in my Midi Briefs and not my Full Briefs, but I also have more of them so it could be a sample size thing. This has happened less than 2 years in for these pairs, which I find pretty bad longevity-wise. My Full Briefs are still holding up in the gusset, but as shown previously, they’ve thinned out and I expect them to break in the next few months. This is more acceptable since it’s been 4 years.

photo of a hole in the gusset of my black Boody underview
A small hole in the gusset of a pair of black midi briefs from Boody

3. Some synthetic content: the undies are 79% bamboo viscose, 15% nylon, and 6% elastane. If you’re looking for undies with a higher percentage of natural fibers, then you may prefer Subset instead, which is 95% organic cotton. I’d love to see Boody eventually get rid of the nylon or at least switch to recycled nylon.

Gusset of Boody underwear
Bood underwear fabric content

If you’re wanting to shop Boody, it would mean a lot if you used my affiliate link. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!

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9 Comments

  1. Oh man, there’s nylon?! I am so annoyed to discover that. What is the point of using all that bamboo if you’re going to throw in plastic/crude oil? Damn. I presume it must be to get the fabric tech just right, but that sucks from an environmental perspective.

    1. Just because something is made in a specific place doesn’t make it automatically unethical or bad. There are ethical manufacturers in China just as there are unethical ones in the US. Of course, there are drawbacks to manufacturing further away, but again, I don’t think that automatically makes it bad.

  2. also ugh!! i was just about going to order some but nylon and made in china… !!! pity they dont say that in their advertising…

  3. beware of convoluted sizing. I use my exact measurements for a bra and it was way too tight. The return policy is not really 100% return they charge 795 to return a product because their sizing on the box and chart does not match. Now I find out they have nylon in their underwear. I’m done with boody. I’m going with subset.

  4. As a brand new Boody purchaser, I finally bought some however. After 2 delicate wash cycles all 4 pairs are unraveling on the right inner seem on the band. Sent an email and was advised after many back and forth that the issue is me and the way I’m washing them…… so all 4 pairs…. different wash cycles on gentle….. in cold water and all 4 same defect on the exact same place? Not impressed

  5. I’m looking for travel undies: specifically I want to wash them out in the sink and have them be dry in the morning. I bought some bamboo undies from NZ and they literally take days to dry. Are these quick dry?

    1. No, they take a while to air dry. Bamboo viscose unfortunately has that quality. I would say merino wool is the best for quick drying

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