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By Biba Milioto for GLAM4GOOD
From cheeky knickers emblazoned with tattoo-inspired motifs to retro bras and high-waisted panties with high-wattage glamour, the pieces in every Naja lingerie collection do more than just look good — they change lives.
Naja is a racy line of lingerie striving to change the underwear industry through its innovation, attention to detail and serious heart. Founded by Colombian-born Catalina Girald, Naja employs women from the most poverty-stricken and violent regions of Colombia to sew as part of their Underwear For Hope program.
Girald has partnered with the Golondrinas Foundation to train single mothers to sew, giving them skills to support themselves and their children.
These panties are pretty with a purpose, and that’s what makes this stunning lingerie so GLAM4GOOD. Check out the photos below to drool over our favorite pieces from the Naja collection and get inspired by stories from the women whose lives have been changed by Underwear For Hope.
Naja is a lingerie brand committed to the empowerment of women. Through their Underwear for Hope program and partnership with the Golondrinas Foundation in Colombia, Naja trains single or head of household mothers to sew. Naja then employs them so they can help themselves and their children.
Each pair of Naja panties has “be your own kind of beautiful” printed on the inside. Founder Girald says that message is printed only where the wearer can see it because she feels like women need to stop feeling pressure from outside messages of beauty.
Maria Jaramillo is a sewer for Naja. A vibrant member of her gang-riddled neighborhood, Maria cares for her three daughters and two nieces — she assumed custody of them when her sister was killed by gang members — and she also runs an activity center for local kids in a reclaimed park she helped clean up. Her mission? To teach the local children that they, too, can learn to be self-sufficient and help to change their community, as she has.
Colombian-born Naja founder Catalina Girald was inspired by the women she met during her 18 months of backpacking through remote countries. She started Naja with a vision to empower women through lingerie and create a culture where women help each other.
Zuli Mosquera never thought she’d own a sewing machine of her own. Growing up in Cholo, the poorest region of Colombia, she watched her aunt use a pedal-operated machine and vowed to one day sew for a living, to support her family. Today, she is living her dream in Medillin, Colombia, sewing full-time for Naja’s Underwear for Hope program while she cares for her four daughters.
