Stripe & Stare

Stripe & Stare is a British underwear brand launched in 2017 by two women that makes knickers and other basics almost entirely from TENCEL Micro Modal, a wood-based fiber. Earlier accounts name Katie Sheridan as its founder. It is a certified B Corporation, sells mostly online in multipacks, and has built its name on a single product promise: softness.

Two Founders, One Fabric

The company tells its origin as a story about its founders rather than about a product. Its about page describes "two women who went through the toughest challenges life can throw" and presents the brand as a story of "female founder strength". It does not name them on that page or say what those challenges were, and this entry does not guess. Earlier summaries, including a previous version of this article, credited Katie Sheridan alone; the company's own description of two founders is the better guide.

What the founders built the business on is clearer. Stripe & Stare's main range is 95 percent TENCEL Micro Modal and 5 percent elastane. Modal is a regenerated cellulose fiber made from wood pulp, and the "micro" grade spins it finer than standard modal, which is where the softness comes from. The company says its fabric is two to three times softer than cotton, uses ten to twenty times less water than conventional cotton over its lifecycle, and is fully biodegradable in soil, freshwater and marine conditions. Those are the brand's and the fiber maker's own figures.

Why Modal for Knickers

Cotton has been the default fiber for everyday knickers for a century. It is breathable and cheap, but it loses shape and softness with washing. Modal, a close relation of viscose, drapes more like silk, takes dye well, and holds its handle through repeated washes. In a stretch jersey knit with a little elastane it makes a brief that lies flat under clothes and does not dig in at the edges.

The older version of this entry claimed specific figures for water and solvent recycling in the fiber's production. The company describes an integrated pulp-to-fiber process with "high recovery rates" of process chemicals and says its wood comes from controlled and certified sources, but it does not quote a percentage, so none is given here. Stripe & Stare also uses ECOVERO viscose in some products, which the brand says is made with at least 50 percent lower carbon emissions and water use than generic viscose. Its fabrics are OEKO-TEX certified.

Selling Knickers in Packs

Stripe & Stare's commercial idea is the multipack. The shop is built around four-packs in its Original and High Rise cuts, close to the bikini brief and the high-waisted brief, plus Discovery packs for first-time buyers and an "Underwear Set Builder" that lets customers assemble their own mix of prints and plains. Discounts for buying three or more pairs reinforce the habit.

That approach turns underwear from a single replacement purchase into something closer to a subscription or a gift. The packs mix stripes, prints and plain colors, so a set reads as a planned wardrobe rather than a handful of spares.

A Female-Founded B Corp

The company calls itself "a female-founded B-Corp" and displays B Corporation certification, the independent standard for social and environmental performance. It says it has supported charities since its founding in 2017, naming Macmillan Cancer Support, the gynecological cancer charity The Lady Garden Foundation, and War Child.

Customer reviews are central to how it sells. The brand reports more than 65,000 five-star reviews, a figure it uses heavily in its marketing. Its slogan makes the case in the brand's usual register: "Nothing great was ever achieved in uncomfortable knickers."

Where Stripe & Stare Sits

Stripe & Stare belongs to a group of direct-to-consumer basics brands that sell fiber before fashion, alongside labels such as Boody, which built its business on bamboo viscose. Its distinguishing choice was to commit to a single premium modal and to say so on every page. Eight years in, the core product is unchanged: a striped knicker in a soft wood-pulp knit, sold in fours.

Last updated October 7, 2026