2023 Visionary Awards winner for Fashion, Boody. Photography courtesy of Boody. Not only is the fashion industry one of the largest contributors to landfill around the world, it is also riddled with greenwashing. Boody is on a mission to combat the sector’s shortcomings while also filling a gap in the market for sustainably manufactured essentials.
“When you talk about hustle, these guys know the drill,” says the Visionary Awards judge Michael Elias of the brand’s founders: two Sydney-based friends, David Greenblo and Neil Midalia. The family- owned and -managed company — which now includes the founders’ sons Shaun Greenblo (above, left) and Elliot Midalia (above, right) — started out pushing its organic-bamboo underwear, loungewear and socks at chemists.
A decade on, the conservatively priced designs (a classic bikini- cut brief retails for $15.95) are now sold online and through thousands of stockists across Australia and in 15 other countries. In 2021, Boody became Australia and New Zealand’s first B Corp- certified underwear brand.
Says Elias of the company: “It’s been around for a very long time, [they are] absolutely early adaptors: certified B Corp, Australian and taking responsibility for end-of-life. For me, it’s a standout.”
Jonno Seidler, a fellow Visionary Awards judge, agrees. “It takes a lot of work to operate with these high standards and when you claim to, you’re more vulnerable to be pulled apart,” he says. “I have respect for those who can do it all like Boody.”
A member of the philanthropic organisation 1% for the Planet, Boody donates one per cent of the value of online sales to environmental nonprofits. It also works with the hospital and research institute Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and the apparel charity Thread Together.
