It took 15 years for Nancy Watt to make the perfect pair of organic cotton underwear.

The Ryerson fashion grad, class of 1982, has finally what she calls the “Mercedes-Benz of organic underwear” for her company New Organic Underwear.

Watt said when donning the specialty underwear, you “wear what’s purest against your skin, and wear whatever on top.”

The idea to create organic underwear came when Watt couldn’t find any comfortable ones for herself. “People still don’t know what organic cotton is, even though they know what an organic apple is,” said Watt, who currently lives in Düsseldorf, Germany. So she set out to develop comfortable, organic cotton underwear. Organic cotton is grown, spun, knit, and finished, all without the use of pesticides and chemicals.

Sarah Petrescu / Ryersonian Staff

Watt started experimenting with organic fabrics and designs. Watt’s first batch of underwear was an “ugly colour,” and priced at $40. It didn’t turn out to be a hot seller.

“People said to me, ‘Ah, just forget it.’”

But she didn’t give up. Watt has always considered herself an environmentalist and wanted that to be reflected in her work.

“I always had that awareness,” she said.

“When I was seven or eight years old, I’d get on the bus with ‘Down with Pollution’ buttons.”

Prior to launching New Organic, Watt was a contract designer for big companies like Adidas, Donna Karan, and Levi Strauss.

She specialized in cotton knits, including t-shirts, fleece items, and of course, underwear. She started to get into textile design, which got her hands on different materials. Seventy-five per cent of her work was with cotton, which is how she learned about its dark side.

“I became aware of just how toxic conventional cotton was to the environment,” she said.

The combination of pesticides used to grow cotton with toxins from dyes can be hazardous to our skin.

“Skin absorbs toxins within 15 minutes,” said Watt.

Watt is finally at the stage where she is happy with her products, which include socks and men’s briefs, t-shirts and long johns, all made of 100 per cent Swiss-spun pima cotton.

With her factory in Toronto, knitting mill in Montreal, and cotton spinner in Switzerland, she’s been doing a lot of traveling.

She’ll use her worldwide connections to launch her organic products in Europe this spring.

They are currently available for purchase online Watt hopes New Organic Underwear will survive and prosper, setting an example for environmental awareness.

“I want to stand as an example of what one person can do,” she said. “If I can do this, others can too.”