Soybean fiber underwear offers an eco-friendly way to help save the planet, starting with Uranus.
Natalie San-Andres, 22, a UF biology senior and Lauren Golik, 23, a UF journalism alumna , are the brains behind the Uranus Apparel brand, featuring underwear made from 47.5 percent soybean fiber.
The idea for the soy shorts began in Miami during the summer of 2008, when the co-founders were painting a sibling's bedroom that had photos of planets plastered to the ceiling, San-Andres said.
"Maybe it had something to do with the paint fumes," she said, "but the idea to have an underwear company called 'Uranus' was born."
After researching, they chose the soybean as the main material for the environmentally aware clothing, San-Andres said.
"We sought to create a product that would promote sustainability through a sense of humor," Golik said.
In honor of Earth Day, which is on April 22, she said they will be handing out free undies on campus Wednesday.
The women's boy-short style underwear come in sets of three and are packaged in a biodegradable burlap pouch, San-Andres said. The set includes one black, one beige and one moss-green pair. Golik said the soy fabric is made from byproducts of soyfood production, including material that would otherwise be thrown away from tofu and soybean oil.
She said the shorts are produced in China, one of the world's top producers of soy products.
The shorts are softer, and soy lasts longer than cotton, San-Andres said. The product was described as "buttery-soft" by Treehugger.com, a pro-Earth blog Web site. Though the underwear is the only product offered by Uranus Apparel, Golik said they hope to expand to other styles and more clothing such as T-shirts. She said the brand was completely self-funded, so business started off small.
However, she hopes they continue to expand and invest in further environmental efforts.
"We have future plans to donate a percentage of our proceeds to sustainable farms," San-Andres said.
In response to various e-mails, Golik said the next project is to launch a men's soy boxer-brief.
The item will be presented at a launch party and available for purchase soon, she said.
Golik said advertisement for the product has come from word-of-mouth and YouTube videos which feature the co-founders and relatives dancing and doing random activities while wearing the product.
To purchase "soyshorts" and view advertisement videos online, visit www.uranusapparel.com.
