Our Mission
SheFly's mission is to promote inclusivity, accessibility, and women's empowerment in the outdoors through innovative product design. SheFly is a layerable line of pants for women that allows us to comfortably, safely, and easily relieve ourselves in the outdoors, without exposing skin to the elements or other people. We are reclaiming the pant[riarchy] and adapting it for women's needs—so everyone can answer nature's call!
The [Pee] Problem
Pants were invented by men, for men, and have yet to be properly modified for women, which explains why 1 out of every 3 women we've surveyed has had at least one outdoor bathroom accident in the last year alone. When we looked to the market, we learned that DIY solutions are unreliable. Hiking dresses lack a fashion-forwardness for the modern woman, remain defenseless in the cold, and are incompatible with harnesses. Female urination devices (FUDs) suggest there is something wrong with our anatomies (not to mention their tendency to overflow, plus sanitation issues!).
But here at SheFly, we know the problem is not our anatomies—it's our clothing. Outdoor apparel is the fastest growing sector in the clothing industry at $33 billion, and women's buying power is soaring annually.
Enter: The Zipper Revolution.
The SheFly Solution: We Can't Hold It in Anymore
We developed a multi-purpose women's hiking pant that employs our patent-pending SheFly Zipper Technology™ to keep you safe, covered, and warm the next time nature calls. Our dual zipper system is designed for the mountains but is discreet on the street, so you can transition seamlessly from backpacking to brews.
Our Middlebury SheFly fans try out some early SheFly protoypes in the Vermont woods!
The SheFly zipper begins at the bottom of a normal zipper and extends all the way back, so YOU can choose the size and location of the space you need to create during your next hands-free pee—no matter your squat height, angle or spray.
Our pants are stretchy and offer pockets-a-plenty. Whether you're hiking, skiing, rock climbing, or simply walking your dog, SheFly helps you go on the go.
Our [Wee] Little Story
In the summer of 2016, co-founder Georgia Grace Edwards worked as one of a handful of women glacier guides on the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska. Spending 8–12 hours a day on the ice, Georgia Grace realized the serious disadvantage she faced when it came to using the bathroom on the glacier. In comparison to the guys, whose flies allowed them to simply turn around to answer nature's call, she was forced to trek across crevasses until she could find privacy, completely remove 3–4 layers in sub-zero temperatures, do her thing, put it all back on, and hike back.
It was a waste of time and energy, and it often left her feeling cold for hours after, to the point where she started cutting her water consumption—a story not uncommon among women adventurers in group settings or cold environments.
In the summer of 2017, Georgia Grace met Bianca Gonzalez while interning at Goldman Sachs in Salt Lake City, Utah, bonding during long endurance hikes all over the state. On a particularly long hike—18 miles to and from Mt. Timpanogos—Georgia Grace and Bianca experienced several awkward bathroom breaks on the trail, where they were exposed in the presence of others and a chilly wind on the summit. Bianca, like many women, know this irritation all too well, but when she and Georgia Grace looked to the market for an answer, nothing cut it.
When Bianca and Georgia Grace went back to Vermont to finish school, they met Charlotte Massey, an enthusiastic climber and mountaineer. Charlotte immediately knew the value of SheFlys in the outdoors and helped found SheFly after its initial Middlebury Entrepreneurs class launch in January of 2018.
Meet the team...
And learn more at www.sheflyapparel.com!
Alexis, Gabby, and Allyson have since joined the team, and we're continuing to grow in the Green Mountains of Vermont!
Below, founders Bianca, Georgia Grace, and Charlotte pitching SheFly at Sugarbush Skiing resort.
Sizing
Manufacturing
Our manufacturing partner, Visible Clothing, is a Fair Trade and zero waste clothing manufacturing facility in Dharmashala, India in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Visible believes it's essential to find ways to waste less, produce smarter, and develop new production structures with people and the environment in mind. Any excess or "waste fabric" that can't be used in clothing or accessories is turned into pulp by their partner organization that employs Tibetan refugees. This pulp is then given a new life as beautiful notebooks.
Visible’s team in India was formed on the belief that human rights must be upheld and that everyone should be treated equally. Their entire team works in a positive environment where wages are fair, career & skill growth are nurtured, and each person is encouraged to use their voice. We are proud to be working with another women empowerment company where transparency comes first!
How Your Funding Helps
We've spent our first year pitching, prototyping, patenting, and getting press. We've networked with other incredible womentrepreneurs at competitions like the Title Nine Movers and Makers Pitch Competition and events like Outdoor Retailers; we worked with local seamstresses and our fair trade factory through more than fifty iterations of our pants; we were interviewed on podcasts like SheExplores and Outside by Design and have been published in outlets like BostonInno, Vermont Sports, and RANGE. During all of this, we've expanded our team, marketing capabilities, and knowledge of the outdoor apparel industry.
Now, we need your help to make our first official line of SheFly Hiking Pants a reality. Your support helps us purchase the sustainable raw materials, local labor and legal advice, and collaborative brainpower to bring a whole generation of SheFlys to women and exPEEditions all over.
From the bottom of our hearts: Thank you! We're extremely grateful (and piss-our-pants excited) to bring this product into the world! XOXO
