Inside the Circular Fashion Lab: Prototype to Planet-Saving Underwear with Stacy Grace, KENT

From Plastic to Purpose: How One Founder Is Reinventing What We Wear Closest to Our Skin

What if the most important sustainability shift we make isn’t what we drive or eat, but what we wear every single day?

For Stacy Grace, that realization started in a place most people never think twice about, her underwear drawer.

As the Co-Founder and CEO of KENT, Stacy is on a mission to eliminate plastic from the most intimate layer of our wardrobe. What began as curiosity turned into a full-scale reinvention of everyday essentials, proving that even the smallest items can have the biggest impact.

The Moment Everything Changed

Stacy’s journey into sustainable fashion began while studying in London, where she was immersed in the early conversations around ethical production and materials.

But something didn’t add up.

“I saw that a lot of different fashion brands were trying to address it in different ways except for underwear,” she shared.

While outerwear and luxury fashion were beginning to evolve, the undergarment industry remained stuck in a cycle of synthetic materials like nylon, elastane, and polyester.

That realization sparked a deeper question, one that would ultimately define her career.

“What is the best material for something that sits against your skin all day?”

From that question, KENT was born.

Rethinking Materials, Health, and the Planet

For Stacy, this was never just about sustainability. It was also about health.

She recalled a simple piece of advice from her mother that stuck with her over time.

“You should never stay in your bathing suit all day long because the risk is very high for causing infection and bacteria.”

That insight connected the dots.

If synthetic swimwear could create those issues, what about the synthetic fabrics worn daily as underwear?

From there, the environmental impact became impossible to ignore.

“We’re using materials derived from petrochemicals that take 200 plus years to disappear and when they do, it’s not a net benefit, it’s a net negative.”

KENT’s answer is simple but powerful. Replace synthetics with 100 percent organic Supima cotton, eliminate plastics entirely, and design products that can return safely to the earth.

Building a Brand From the Ground Up

Turning that vision into reality was anything but simple.

Without a traditional product development background, Stacy took an unconventional approach by managing the entire supply chain herself.

“I ordered the thread, the elastics, the fabric, and assembled everything before bringing it to the factory,” she explained.

It was inefficient, time-consuming, and far from the industry norm, but it gave her complete control.

That level of involvement allowed her to challenge manufacturing systems, push back on conventional processes, and prove that a plastic-free garment could be made at scale.

“It definitely took a lot of pushback… but they trusted the vision.”

The result is a product that not only feels different, but represents a complete shift in how clothing is made.

Plant Your Pants: Making Sustainability Tangible

One of KENT’s most innovative concepts is also one of its most approachable.

The brand’s “Plant Your Pants” initiative invites customers to compost their garments at the end of their lifecycle, literally returning them to the soil.

“Yes, 100 percent we stand behind everything. We’ve done third party testing and had customers compost our products.”

What makes this initiative so powerful is not just the science behind it, but the way it’s communicated.

Stacy intentionally designed the messaging to feel accessible and even fun.

“We don’t want it to feel doom and gloom… the idea of planting your pants felt like the perfect lighthearted gateway.”

It’s a reminder that sustainability doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. It can be engaging, empowering, and even a little playful.

Challenging an Industry, One Essential at a Time

Despite early success, Stacy is clear that this journey is far from easy.

Educating consumers has been one of the biggest challenges.

“There’s so much education that needs to happen because the industry has been the exact opposite for so long.”

From redefining comfort to shifting expectations around stretch, seams, and even panty lines, KENT is asking consumers to rethink what they’ve always accepted as normal.

But the response has been encouraging.

A growing community of conscious consumers is embracing the idea that what we wear daily should align with both our values and our well-being.

A New Vision for Everyday Living

At its core, KENT is about more than underwear. It’s about reimagining our relationship with the products we use every day.

It challenges the idea that convenience should come at the expense of our health or the planet.

It invites us to consider where things come from, how they’re made, and where they go when we’re done with them.

And perhaps most importantly, it proves that innovation doesn’t always mean creating something new. Sometimes it means returning to something natural, something simple, and something that was there all along.

Listen and Shop

If this conversation made you rethink what’s in your closet, you’re not alone.

🎧 Listen to the full episode of The Wild Party Podcast to hear Stacy’s full journey, insights, and vision for the future of fashion.

🛍️ Explore KENT and shop plastic-free essentials at: https://www.wearkent.com/