The Faces Behind Your Y.O.U Underwear: Stories from Tiruppur

Our ethical supply chain

In an industry notorious for exploitation and unfair working conditions, choosing to work with ethical suppliers and manufacturers is at the core of all Y.O.U organic cotton underwear. 

Connoisseur Fashions, based in Tiruppur - the textile manufacturing city in India’s Tamil Nadu state - make all of our knitted cotton products. This means the fabric for all our underwear and loungewear is made here, as well as the products themselves. Connoisseur places a huge emphasis on the health and wellbeing of their employees and seeks to build strong and lasting relationships with them.

The last time Sarah, CEO and Founder of Y.O.U Underwear, visited the factory in September 2024, she sat down with some employees there to find out more about how working there has benefitted them and the difference the Fairtrade certification has made.

First we spoke to Amudan, who is originally from a hill station in the foothills of Manali and moved to Tiruppur after marrying her husband. She had worked as a housekeeper at Connoisseur for 6 months at this point. In previous jobs, her work would start between 7.30 and 8am making it difficult for her to take her two children to school. Now she starts at 9am and is able to drop them off beforehand. She spoke about how she enjoyed her new job at Connoisseur and the emphasis on maintaining a clean and organised environment so that everyone is able to work safely and with enough space.

After that, we spoke to a lady who had been working for 6 years as a quality checker and relocated to Tiruppur from her coastal home town near Pondicherry. She mentioned that she enjoys the convenience of her job here as it is close to her house and working times fit well with her routine. As a mother of two, she is grateful for the stable salary and benefits which have enabled her to send her children to school and on to further study in the subject of pharmacy. She noted that the response from HR and management to any issues or needs of the workers is always listened to and means workers feel looked after. Because of this, they are better able to look after their own families.

Next we spoke to Munnar and Viki from Bihar who had been with Connoisseur for 4-5 years, Viki as a senior tailor, while Munnar started as a supervisor before being promoted to production manager. Both of them had received training during this time which allowed them to further their skills and the opportunity to move up within the company. Munnar mentioned how he loved working on Y.O.U Underwear products because it’s fun to work on something a bit different and he likes to see the Y.O.U Make a Difference slogan! 

We finished off by speaking to Sunil about Connoisseur’s commitment to sustainability and ethical production. He outlined how the company is acutely aware that the earth's resources are finite and that when they run out, we will not be able to continue with life as we know it. This is a knowledge that underpins the working practices at Connoisseur and is why they choose to work with similarly minded partners and brands to produce thoughtfully made items. Sunil noted how their working practices and standards - such as ESI benefits which provide medical support as well as maternity, disability, and sickness benefits - attract people to work with them and contributes to a community-like feeling among the workforce.

It was great for us to be able to speak with employees at different levels across the company and understand more about their day-to-day lives. It can be hard to conceive of just how much goes into producing a single pair of pants, but seeing the hard work and commitment of the Connoisseur workers certainly brings home to you the journey every item goes on.

We are so grateful for the people making our undies and proud that the story behind them is one of equality and fair working conditions. When you choose Fairtrade cotton you choose to stand with farmers, workers, and the planet!

Find out more this Fairtrade Fortnight!

Discover how Y.O.U Underwear is made, from knitting, to dyeing, to stitching

What does it actually mean? Fairtrade explained

And why is sustainable fashion more expensive?

Images courtesy of Y.O.U Underwear