What to do with Underwear Labels

There are very few things underwear guys agree on as much as the hatred for Tags/Labels. It consistently ranks high in our reader survey on issues you have with underwear. It’s a given you guys HATE them. But before we get into much more. They are a necessary in underwear. All garments must have tags that have care instructions and fabric content. This means we can’t eliminate them all together.

This post came about from a discussion in our Patreon Slack group. They are a group of guys who support UNB and get a place to talk amongst each other and the UNB editorial board. I asked them about some post ideas. Here are what two members said:

They can be really annoying inside underwear and many brands have gone tagless.  Not sure why all brands haven’t.  I have purchased underwear before that has tags in both the front and back, which seems excessive.  I also have purchased thongs before with a tag in the back that is wider than the thong strap.  I always cut them out but sometimes the extra tag piece can poke your skin which can be really annoying.

All designers should utilize a fabric stamp for thongs rather than a tag for thongs, much the way everyone is starting to do the same for t-shirts.  It’s annoying to pay good $ for underwear that doesn’t come in a 6-pack from Wal-Mart and then have to do surgery on the garment

I’m sure we can all agree when tags are annoying, there is nothing worse. I have taken a pair off mid day and either cut or ripped the tag out. It had to go. One pair that I couldn’t take it out (I had no scissors), got taken off and I went commando. Which is something I hate doing but it was the best alternative.  So how do we fix this issue?

Make them smaller and softer

First, some brands do a great job with tags. They are small and soft enough to not be noticed. If more brands use tags that reflect the size of the pair. A thong’s tag should be smaller than a pair of Boxer briefs. The material they use should be super soft. There are brands that do this well. I rarely notice the tags.

Make them Tearable

Next, make the tags tearable. Meaning, design them to they can easily be removed without using scissors.  Some brands have used perforated tags that you can just rip out. This would be the best with mesh pairs. If you are like me, you don’t want to have a big white tag showing in a pair of black mesh briefs or boxer briefs.

Print Labels on Fabric

Lastly, print the labels directly on the fabric. As one of our Patrons pointed out, it’s now standard for t-shirts to have printed labels on them. This couldn’t happen in all pairs due to the material (see mesh above). One brand that really impressed me with this is Cocksox. The Sports Mesh brief had the tag printed inside the pouch. It was easily read and you don’t notice it!

These are a few solutions about tags. Let us know what you think of the tag issue.