S P Ponmani has put up various stalls in Tamil Nadu to sell her brand of cotton underwear for women. “But most times, although curious, women just walk past, slipping our brochure into their handbags,” she says. “They feel embarrassed to be seen buying underwear.” Through Thuvam (meaning ‘path’), Ponmani wants to do away with the taboo that surrounds the subject and introduce Indian women to underwear that’s suited to our weather.
Thuvam’s line consists of women’s underwear in unbleached, handwoven cotton. “We source the fabric from hand-weaving clusters in Erode,” explains the 26-year-old. The fabric is tailored to sizes ranging from XS to XXL after a wash. Ponmani, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Designing, says that she has designed her range with an extra lining at the crotch, which is also wide. “It will comfortably wrap around the body,” she explains. “Women who commonly tend to experience vaginal infections and chaffing at the thighs, can benefit from the design,” she adds.
The line is customisable. “We can make them in any size as per the requirement,” says Ponmani. The underwear comes with a compartment at the centre into which cloth sanitary pads can be inserted. “They are ideal to go with reusable cloth napkins,” explains Ponmani. “On ovulation days, especially when women experience vaginal discharge, they can simply slip in folded cotton cloth into these pockets. These can be rewashed as well.” This, according to Ponmani, is Thuvam’s answer to panty liners that are being heavily marketed these days. “Just like sanitary pads, liners too are an environmental hazard,” she adds.
Speaking of the environment, Ponmani says that when she started out, she wanted to create a product that was 100% bio-degradable. “Which is why we use a cotton tie-up instead of elastic,” she says. “But we do have panties with elastic; these are to help women make the transition to the tie-up style.”
Ponmani says she herself made the shift to cotton underwear many years ago. “I’ve always kept away from mass-produced knitted fabric; a length of handwoven fabric can feed a minimum of 20 people who toiled to create it,” she feels. Thuvam’s products are made by an all-woman team at a small tailoring unit at Puliyanur village in Villupuram district. “We set up the unit to provide employment opportunities to women in the village,” says Ponmani. “Most adults there migrate to cities such as Tirupur and Bengaluru for work, leaving the children behind.” Through Thuvam, she hopes to teach women a skill so that they have the option of working in their village and take care of their children as well.
Most of Thuvam’s marketing happens on social media and by word-of-mouth. Says Ponmani, “We are taking one step at a time. Right now, we supply to Yaadhum — The Nature Store in Chennai, and Nattrinai organic store in Coimbatore, and hope to spread to more places in the coming years.” Orders come in from other cities as well. “We have customers in Bengaluru, Tirupur, and Madurai,” adds Ponmani.
Ponmani is also working on a range of panties made from fabric with natural dyes. “I’m trying out various methods. We will hopefully roll out the range in six months,” she says.
For details, you can write to thuvamproducts@gmail.com; or visit the group’s Facebook page at @thuvamproducts.
