Summary
Who Made Your Pants? is a campaigning lingerie brand based in Southampton, UK. We're about two things - amazing pants, and amazing women.
We think that every day should be a good pants day, and that there should be a little bit of gorgeous under everyone's clothes, something just for them. So we buy fabrics that have been sold on by big underwear companies at the end of season, stop them ending up as waste and turn them into gorgeous new pants that have a great start in life. They're designed to sit flat under clothes, have no VPL, and be comfortable and all day fabulous.
We also think that it's not really on for anyone to be made to work in bad conditions just for a cheap pair of pants. Who could feel lovely in something made in a bad place? So we make our pants in a great place. We've a little factory in Southampton where we create jobs for women who've had a hard time. The first job everyone learns is making the pants. We hope that all jobs within the business can be filled by the women as they gain skills though - if someone is interested in marketing, or finance, we'll arrange training.
Finally, all profits we make go back into the business - our costs aren't just about rent and fabric and wages, but about training and support and advice. We really do believe that pants can change the world - do you?
Location
Southampton, UK.
Key personnel
Chair - Becky John.
Becky is our founder, chair and managing director. Becky has been selling things since she was eight years old, when she sold sweets and crisps at Bridgend Rugby Club Supporters Club. Her career progressed through retail, retail management, sales, corporate sales and university knowledge transfer until a life change in 2005. Between 2005 and 2008, Becky underwent counselling with Southampton Rape Crisis and she came out of there determined to pair her passions for lingerie and human rights. Our team ask Becky why she doesn't have children – her reply is that Who Made Your Pants? is her baby - it keeps her awake at night, and she worries it will be ok when it grows up!
Secretary - Professor Joy Conway, professor of inhalation sciences, University of Southampton.
In 2005, Joy set up a University spin out company, and learnt a great deal about company structure and business formation. Joy has a keen interest in social enterprise and the idea of combining the traditional company view with the sort of social needs drive that first took her into the health care arena. She spent a year on a block release course at the Said Business School, Oxford University learning about social enterprise and came away inspired and enthused, and joined Who Made Your Pants? in early 2010.
Contacts and social media
Email - becky@whomadeyourpants.co.uk
Web – http://www.whomadeyourpants.co.uk/
Telephone - 023 80225536
Twitter - @whomadeyour
Facebook -http://www.facebook.com/whomadeyourpants
Throughout June, we're featuring members of our free Guardian social enterprise directory. If you'd like your social enterprise to feature in this series, sign up to the directory here.
