Organic Basics

Organic Basics is a Danish underwear and basics label founded in Copenhagen in 2015 by Christoffer Immanuel, Mads Fibiger Rasmussen and Alexander Christiansen. It sells men's and women's briefs, bralettes, tees and activewear made mostly from certified organic cotton and recycled synthetics, and since 2022 it has belonged to the Israeli apparel group Delta Galil Industries while still running from Copenhagen with its original team.

A subscription box that turned into a brand

The company did not start as a lingerie house. In December 2014 a Kickstarter page appeared under the title "Organic underwear on autopilot", offering organic cotton boxers and socks delivered on a schedule. The founders had no background in fashion. By their own account they wanted a simple, responsible basics brand and were tired of paying high prices for underwear that wore out fast.

That modest pitch matters to the story. Subscription underwear was a crowded idea in the mid-2010s, and most of the startups that tried it are gone. Organic Basics survived by changing what it sold rather than how it sold it.

SilverTech and the case for washing less

The turn came with SilverTech, a line of underwear treated with silver to suppress the bacteria that cause odor. The men's version came first. In April 2017 a second Kickstarter launched SilverTech for women, and in 2018 Mads Fibiger Rasmussen told trade press the women's line followed the success of the men's.

The argument was environmental as much as hygienic. Garments that stay fresh longer get washed less, which saves water and energy over their life. It is a claim that depends on the wearer's habits, and the company framed it as an invitation rather than a promise.

Version 2.0

In May 2018 the brand released SilverTech 2.0 and changed the chemistry. The fabric became Q-Nova, a mechanically recycled nylon, produced as a seamless knit for comfort and durability. Instead of silver woven into the yarn, the finished cloth was treated with Polygiene, a bluesign-approved recycled silver salt. A later SilverTech Active range used Italian recycled nylon knitted in Portugal and the same Polygiene finish.

The seamless knit is worth a note for garment historians. It is the same construction that sportswear brands use for base layers, and it explains why the line suited a bralette and briefs better than anything with an underwire.

Organic cotton, with honest gaps

The other half of the range is plain organic cotton, certified to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). The company has also used TENCEL Lyocell, TENCEL Modal, LENZING ECOVERO viscose and recycled polyester, with small amounts of conventional elastane for stretch. Its factories must hold certifications such as GOTS, SEDEX and SA8000, and the Tier 1 suppliers are listed on its website.

What makes the brand more credible than many of its peers is what it admitted it could not do. In an interview with the Ethical Brand Directory it named three weak spots: tracing cotton back to individual farms (Turkish cotton is sold through an auction system that breaks the paper trail), full disclosure of chemical inputs, and a system for recycling worn-out garments. Few labels publish a list like that.

Certificates on the wall

Organic Basics is a certified B Corporation, a member of 1% for the Planet, and certified carbon neutral through One Carbon World. It also runs the Organic Basics Fund for grassroots environmental groups. The rating site Sustainable Jungle reports that in 2025 about 91 percent of its products by volume traveled by sea rather than air, a detail that sounds dull and is one of the larger levers a web-only clothing brand controls.

Delta Galil and the question of independence

In 2022 Delta Galil Industries, a large manufacturer of underwear and activewear, acquired the company. Delta Galil describes Organic Basics as a sustainable, digital-first brand selling underwear, activewear and base layers through its own site and selected retailers in Europe and the United States.

The deal drew some criticism because Delta Galil appears on a United Nations database of companies with business links to Israeli settlements. Organic Basics stated that it operates independently and that Delta Galil does not manufacture in the West Bank.

The range today

The current catalog reads like a uniform: rib-knit briefs and thongs, soft triangle bras, tank tops, leggings and socks in muted grays, blacks, creams and earth tones. The OCS-certified Soft Knit Rib blends 60 percent organic cotton with 40 percent recycled nylon, and the TENCEL pieces run 95 percent lyocell. In September 2024 the brand released a collection with the actress Antonia Gentry and gave 1 percent of its proceeds to Rainforest Trust, and in 2025 it added a take-back program for used garments.

Its nearest neighbors in the sustainable basics aisle are the bamboo-viscose specialist Boody and the recycled-fiber activewear label Girlfriend Collective. Organic Basics sits between them, a little more technical than the first and a little plainer than the second, and still answerable to the auditors it chose to invite in.

Last updated October 7, 2026