WAMA Underwear Review | Eco-friendly hemp lingerie option
Hemp fabric is becoming increasingly popular as an eco-friendly underwear alternative – rightly so!
Hemp is a fast-growing and low resource requirement type of crop. It has many advantages over traditional cotton.
More importantly, for the fashion industry, its strong fibers can make breathable and durable clothing, particularly underwear.
I was very lucky to be gifted a few hemp underwear items from WAMA for the purpose of writing this review. My thoughts:
I love WAMA’s underwear fabric and fit. WAMA hemp underwear is breathable, flexible and feels pretty ‘hole-proof’.
The fabric is not one hundred percent hemp, but rather a blend of hemp (53%), organic cotton (44%) and spandex (3%).
One of my fears was that WAMA would not be stretchy enough – as hemp has a reputation for being ‘sturdy’. While the fabric feels quite durable and sturdy, the cotton and spandex allow for quite a bit of stretch and flexibility.
Let’s have a look at WAMA hemp underwear main features.
| WAMA underwear in a nutshell |
| Pros and highlights: |
| WAMA Fabric composition hemp, organic cotton, spandex |
| WAMA feels like – Comfortable, breathable and cooling to wear |
| Sizing – goes up 3XL (women’s) and 4XL (men’s) |
| Sustainable fabric |
| Great colors including 4 tones of nude (skin-like tones) |
| No-hassle, no-questions refund policy |
| Plastic-free wrapping |
| Quick shipping |
| Cons : |
| Sizing can be hard to work out online |
| No period underwear option (please make some!) |
Different styles of WAMA underpants and bra
WAMA underwear has different lingerie designs available – catering to both men and women.
Men’s styles include classic boxers, briefs, trunks and boxer briefs.
Women’s styles include classic bikini, hipsters, thongs, high-waisted, boys shorts and two types of bra (or bralette, as WAMA calls them) – classic triangle and racerback.
Admittedly, I haven’t tried WAMA’s thongs (not my thing!), but all other designs (bikini, hipsters, high-waisted, boys shorts) provided good ‘bottom-cheeks’ coverage and felt quite flattering – including with jeans and skirts.
WAMA’s elastic band
All WAMA products seem to share the same type of elastic band around the waist. I found the elastic to be comfortable and effective – it did its job in keeping my underwear in place. It was not too tight nor did it give me a ‘muffin effect’. WAMA does not seem to offer an ‘elastic-free’ option at this stage.
There was no elastic around the hem, just a double (or maybe triple) layer of fabric.
WAMA nude color underwear – Four skin-tones available
I was really impressed by WAMA’s options for nude color underwear. There are four skin tones to choose from, going from nude 1 (light beige), to nude 2 (slightly darker beige), to nude 3 (light brown) to nude 4 (dark brown).
Nude lingerie can be so hard to match skin tone for those with olive, brown and black skin. It is a relief to find these options available at WAMA.
WAMA male hemp underwear
My cis male partner was also happy with his hemp underwear.
I hope this is not the case of TMI (too much information), but according to him, the fabric helped to keep his ‘balls’ sweat-free and cool! The fit is super comfortable – provide coverage without being too tight, nor did it feel bulky when wearing jeans.
WAMA Sizing – True to size
WAMA’s sizing for women goes from x-small (equivalent to dress size 0/2) to 3x-large (equivalent to dress size 16/18). Sizing for men goes from small to 4x-large.
Buying underwear online for the first time is like a walk in the dark! You just feel lost, even when you have all the measurements you need.
The issue is your measurements are not the only factor. Things like body shape, how stretchy the fabric is and how you like it to fit (tight firm fit or loose) all make a difference.
I followed WAMA’s size chart and measurement instructions to calculate my size. I also took their advice up – if you like your underwear loose, size up.
When my items arrived, it turned out that the sizing was quite generous – both in my case and my (cis male) partner. We could have just ordered the sizing that best matched our measurements. Said that my underwear is still very comfortable to wear.
The inclusion of spandex in the fabric means there’s room for a bit of stretch.
Cost
With prices for underpants generally under $30 (and bras under $50), WAMA underwear is actually quite affordable compared to many other ‘eco-friendly’ products and cheaper than ‘branded’ underwear. Additionally, you can get an extra 10% discount by using our exclusive discount code – EnviroMom10:
Compared to fast-fashion mass-produced underwear, WAMA is more expensive.
Nevertheless, one of the main features of hemp is its durability. It is expected that WAMA will last a lot longer than most non-hemp underwear.
WAMA underwear and periods
WAMA is not designed as a period underwear – that means when you have your period, you will still need to rely on period products when wearing WAMA panties.
What is more sustainable hemp or cotton?
A lot of experts agree that hemp is far more sustainable than cotton. Hemp grows faster and needs less water. Hemp is also more productive as it will produce a higher amount of fibre per plant compared to cotton. Another advantage of hemp is its durability. It is expected that clothes made from hemp last longer without developing holes or ‘wearing out’.
What is more sustainable hemp or bamboo?
Hemp is arguably more sustainable than bamboo.
While bamboo is rightly considered a sustainable crop to grow – it grows fast, vertically and requires less amount of water compared to other crops such as cotton – the processing of bamboo to turn it into fabric requires large amounts of harsh chemicals. Hemp crop has much of the same features as bamboo, but its processing requires less chemicals.
How can I wash WAMA underwear?
Instructions suggest you should do a cold wash with similar colors, no bleaching, dry on low (even better, sun/air dry) and no ironing. We always recommend an eco-friendly laundry detergent that comes in plastic-free packaging such as Earth Breeze or Tru Earth.
Where is Wama underwear made?
WAMA Underwear is ethically made in China. WAMA closely oversees the production line in China to make sure all employees work in acceptable conditions. WAMA is a member of Business Social Compliance Initiative by Amfori- trade with purpose.
