How We Started
People often ask us how we started. There are three things that came together to make the magical mix that we now know as who made your pants. Pants, human rights, and a personal epiphany.
Our founder, Becky, has loved lingerie and human rights with an equal and, some might say, obsessive passion for years. A member of Amnesty since she was 15, and a serial purchaser of gorgeous undies, she's bought masses of beautiful pants, but back in 2006, she was having not such a brilliant time. She was going through some counselling with (her words!) 'the amazing Southampton Rape Crisis'. As part of this, Becky realised that she had much more freedom than she had understood before, and that what she'd previously thought was 'happy' was actually 'a bit rubbish'. The world had so much more to offer than she'd ever known and, more than that, she was allowed to go and play in it.
Around the same time, Becky was involved in a film for the Open University about sweatshops. This got Becky thinking... 'I love lingerie' she thoughts.. but where does it come from? Who made my pants?
At that moment, the name was born and the idea started taking up her every waking moment.
Knowing that there was a huge refugee population in Southampton, and suspecting that many of the women within it were isolated and not feeling able to go and have fun, Becky started wondering if these women might like a job.. making lovely pants... that would have a 'who made my pants' sticker on...
On May 27th 2006, Becky read this article in The Guardian newspaper.
As Becky's counselling went on, and she got stronger and happier, it became clear that it was a matter of when, not if, Who Made Your Pants? would start. On June 30th 2008, Becky said goodbye to her last 'proper' job, and on the 1st July, started work on Who Made Your Pants? full time.
We legally incorporated on the 12th December 2008, launched officially on the 1st December 2009 and launched our brilliant Aimee collection in summer 2010. And here we are today!
