Entrepreneur. Social Impact Investor. TEDx Speaker.
Founder: Vibrant Body Company
In an unprecedented move by a corporation, Vibrant Body approached BCPP in 2023 with the idea of donating 1% of any future buy-out/company sale to BCPP to further advance our mission.
Over the last five years, companies like Beautycounter, Crunchi, Innersense, and Juice Beauty have drawn attention to how unregulated the beauty industry is; the clothing industry is riddled with similar problems. The U.S. only bans 40 toxic chemicals in textiles, while Europe bans more than 1,000, meaning more than 900 known toxins may touch Americans’ skin daily. Launched in 2011, Vibrant Body Company, a direct-to-consumer brand, wants to tackle this problem. It creates underwear, bras, and tanks free from chemicals known to cause harm, including pesticides, heavy metals, allergy-inducing dyes, and chlorine bleach. In 2021, it appointed the former managing director of Beautycounter to become its CEO, and she has made big moves toward making Vibrant Body Company a mainstream clean-fabric brand. The company received key certifications from B Corp and OEKO-tex, the leading program that tests fabrics to ensure they’re free from 350 harmful chemicals. As a result, it was recognized as a strategic brand partner by Breast Cancer Prevention Partners. It also saw its 2022 revenue grow 118% year over year.
After some devastating life events, Vibrant Body Company Founder Michael Drescher transitioned from a history in media entrepreneurship to create a company that advocates for breast health and sells healthy, safe, and comfortable bras. In 2010, Michael founded Vibrant Body Company, a product line focusing on women’s breast health.
“At Vibrant, we want to change the relationship a woman has with her First Layer,” Michael explains. “No longer something to rip off at the end of the day, but instead something that is outrageously comfortable, incredibly supportive, and not harmful to her health because of unnecessary restriction and potential exposure to harmful levels of toxins. We start with a women’s Body First™.”
He adds, “The problem with wired bras is that they’re not only uncomfortable, but they work against your body’s natural shape instead of with it.
In our EveryWear Bra™, the support comes from the cups, not the underwire. After seven years and 80 prototypes, we designed a bra so revolutionary that it has its own Utility Patent. Not to mention bragging rights that it is truly the most comfortable, wireless bra you will ever put on your body. Think—the comfort of a bralette with the look and support you wish it gave you.”
Interview with Michael Drescher, Founder of Vibrant Body Company:
Please tell us a brief version of the origin story of Vibrant Body
In the late 90s, three different women I cared about were going through breast cancer, and I witnessed the struggles, strengths, and sadness that consumed them. Soon thereafter I was enlightened to two very profound “truths”. Number one: Our bodies are electrical, heart, brain and, most important here, the lymphatic system. Do prolonged use of hard-wired bras that suppress the breast tissue for weeks, days, months, years and decades help or hurt the lymphatic system? And number two: I came to find out that all women’s underwear and intimates are highly unregulated, and the truth is most are loaded with toxics.
When you add it all up, the two most vulnerable and porous areas of the female body are exposed to harmful toxins that can off-gas or be absorbed through the skin with just heat or moisture. These conditions are present even before exposure in these areas. Additionally, the lymphatic system, which is meant to cleanse and fight these toxins, becomes increasingly compromised if not disabled.
So, I went to Europe with top designers and doctors, and today I have Vibrant Body Company, with the motto: “Everything we do starts with what’s best for a Woman’s Body, Mind, and Soul.”
How does the Vibrant brand actively participate in philanthropy?
The saying “they walk the talk” is one of the highest truths I believe for any company or product. If you believe in something, then you must do everything you can to join the forces in bringing the best possible outcome to that belief. Find that or those groups and do all you can.
How did the idea of the 1% to BCPP (when/if the brand ever sells) come about? What is your hoped-for outcome of the 1%?
BCPP has been my North Star since day one. The dedication and vision behind The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics have single-handedly created a multi-billion dollar shift for good in the beauty marketplace. Specifically, through the efforts of BCPP and visionary brands like Beautycounter, “Clean Beauty” was created, and every woman is better off for having that choice available.
My hope by donating 1% of Vibrant Body Company to BCPP is that we use the same playbook of “education & choice” to urge the industry to “Come Clean.” I hope that other companies join this donation and help lead the charge of clean intimates or support the many other science-based pursuits of the BCPP in challenging and changing existing regulations (or lack thereof) in California and Washington, D.C. for the common good.
Who inspires you?
Coco Channel freed women from the corset and the wire over 90 years ago, only to see the “men” of Hollywood bring back the “sweater girls” and the wired, projected breasts of the 1940s and 50s. Coco is truly inspiring.
Next is BCPP Founder Andrea Ravinett Martin, as well as every single woman who has had to endure breast cancer, their families, and their caregivers. Toxics are contributing factors to every type of cancer, and it does not have to be this way. It just needs the collective “us.”
What is next for you, Michael, if/when Vibrant sells?
I believe deeply that these other major brands do truly care about women; however, it is a fair question to ask: if you care so much about them, why do you not care about what you are putting on their bodies? Just because it is unregulated does not mean it’s harmless. If you know better (which they do), then you really have to do better.
It is my hope that one of these established brands works with Vibrant and our patents and products to accelerate education and choice for all women while supporting BCPP through their 1% ownership and beyond.
When this happens, I can happily clean out my desk in five minutes, my heart bursting with gratitude for all the grace that has been divinely guided to Vibrant and me throughout the years. Look for me enjoying live theater somewhere or working with the national theatrical non-profit Ten Chimneys.
Theories on breast cancer | Michael Drescher | TEDxUWMilwaukee (youtube.com)
