"As pinkwashing fatigue sets in, a cohort of small underwear labels are embedding health literacy into the garments themselves, turning October activism into year-round body knowledge."
Only 36 per cent of women aged 18 to 35 check their breasts each month, according to CoppaFeel. The figure sits uneasily beside the flood of pink packaging and branded charity collections that arrive each October. Awareness campaigns are plentiful, yet their influence rarely extends beyond the season. A smaller group of lingerie designers is building an alternative, integrating reminders of self-checking directly into the garments they create.
Fruity Booty, a London underwear label run by women, sews a small CoppaFeel tag into every bra it produces. The tag sits discreetly inside the lining, built into the garment as part of its construction, and acts as a subtle prompt to check your chest. The initiative supports the brand’s latest campaign, which centres on Alex, 46, and her daughter Freya, 23. Alex was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago, and the campaign explores how that experience has informed her understanding of care and communication within her family. Alex describes the practical changes that followed treatment, from monitoring her own recovery to encouraging her daughters to understand what healthy feels like for them. Freya speaks about how those conversations have shaped her habits; checking her breasts feels natural, a small part of the routine she shares with her mother.
Ten per cent of Fruity Booty’s October profits go to CoppaFeel, continuing a relationship that extends through the year and underpins how the brand approaches awareness as practice.
The lingerie sector occupies a specific position in how it addresses breast awareness as items that sit closest to the body. Several have collaborated with CoppaFeel, the UK charity focused on self-examination education. Bravissimo donates 10 per cent of sales from its Millie Bra in Blush each October. Boody, an Australian B-Corp, releases sustainable pink underwear with per-item donations. PrettyLittleThing has worked with CoppaFeel on collections modelled by women with lived experience of breast cancer, using prints of different breast shapes as both design and education. Boohoo’s “Life Saving Lingerie” collection embedded instructional patterns into bras and matching pants to guide wearers through chest checks, creating a literal reference for where to feel and what to notice.
Prevention rarely features in mainstream breast cancer marketing, which tends to focus on early detection. Vibrant Body Company, based in California, directs 25 per cent of its October sales, up to $25,000, to Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, an advocacy group campaigning against toxic chemicals linked to the disease.
Founder Michael Drescher, who lost a friend to breast cancer in 2001, became focused on the minimal regulation of American textile production. The United States restricts only forty chemicals found in fabrics, while Europe has banned more than 1,600. Testing in 2022 revealed that sports bras from major global brands contained high levels of BPA, a compound associated with asthma, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and breast cancer. Vibrant Body uses certified harmless materials and lymphatic-friendly bra designs endorsed by both the Breast Cancer Alliance and BCPP, presenting an approach that connects product safety with prevention and long-term wellbeing.
AnaOno, based in Philadelphia, extends this relationship between clothing and care into recovery. Founder Dana Donofree began the label after her own diagnosis at 28, designing lingerie for people undergoing treatment or living post-surgery. The range includes mastectomy bras, pocketed styles, and garments for flat or unilateral chests that accommodate drains and surgical sites. Donofree’s concept is straightforward: breast cancer exists beyond awareness campaigns and commercial imagery.
ThirdLove, the San Francisco body-inclusive brand, now retails AnaOno’s post-surgery bras and collaborates with the Magee-Womens Research Institute on educational content addressing misconceptions around breast cancer. The brand focuses on survivors and patients as individuals with specific physical needs, establishing lingerie as a tool for comfort and autonomy during recovery.
The question of impact remains open when comparing independent brands with large corporate fundraising initiatives. Asda’s Tickled Pink has raised £100 million over 29 years, while Susan G. Komen’s annual walk generates millions worldwide. Large-scale infrastructure is vast and professionalised, yet awareness levels among young women suggest a continued disconnect between campaign visibility and personal practice. If proximity creates consistency, then an instruction sewn into a bra that someone wears every week may have greater influence than a logo printed across packaging purchased once a year.
Breast cancer remains the second most commonly diagnosed cancer globally, responsible for 669,418 deaths in 2022 alone. And whilst awareness campaigns have made breast cancer a familiar cause, that familiarity has not translated into consistent personal action. These smaller labels are testing a different method, and by using the garments themselves as tools for education, prevention, or recovery, they are embedding health literacy directly into a person's daily routine. Their work suggests that true change may come from constant, practical reminders, and not just seasonal pink ribbons.
