Proyog Yoga Clothing is Thoughtful, Ethical (and Ideal for Actually Practicing In)

There are plenty of yoga clothes in the world, but not that many that are genuinely great for doing yoga in. Most yoga clothing seems better suited to hanging out in (and hey, that’s cool, if you’re hanging out and want to be comfy).

Proyog’s clothing is made for really practicing in—the company states on their site that it’s “…the world’s first super-specialized yoga attire for serious practitioners. It is designed to enhance the practice.”

I put their beetroot-color Chandra dhoti shorts (modeled after the traditional Indian/Nepalese/Afghani garment) to the test, wearing it for quite a few yoga sessions over the past few months, and washing it, and it’s one of my favorite pieces of clothing to do yoga in.

The dhoti are made from Proyog’s Hyperbreath fabric, a combination of 50% organic cotton and 50% modal (a fabric made from plant cellulose—a renewable material). It is silky-soft to the touch—but thick like a jersey. It drapes beautifully, and the space inside the shorts gives a real freedom of movement for all kinds of yoga poses.

But while the dhoti are roomy as can be, the design means that whichever way you bend, the leg holes stay fairly snug (not tight) against your thigh, so you have the room of a wide-leg pair of pants, but don’t have to worry about flashing anyone. And the thick waistband means the top stays flat against your midriff.

I was seriously impressed with these dhoti, they were really ideal for actually doing yoga in, and I loved how they looked with layered pieces on top as well (or a bikini top, as shown here at The Retreat Costa Rica). They’ve kept their shape and color perfectly through a bunch of washings and outdoor dryings.

The Ethical Bona Fides of Proyog are comprehensive and include workers, environment, energy and materials:

• production partners use GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified chemicals in all the processes that the material goes through. These include dyeing, bio polishing, moisture wicking treatments
• reducing our carbon footprint by ensuring that all the production processes are completed within close proximity of each other.
• workforce treated with dignity and invite audit from one of the most reputed global bodies. The SA8000 Standard is an auditable social certification standard for decent workplaces in the industrial sector. It is based on the UN Declaration of Human Rights, conventions of the ILO, UN and national law.
• accept and adhere to the WRAP Principles and insist on like-minded associates. The Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) is an independent, objective, non-profit team of global social compliance experts dedicated to promoting safe, lawful, humane and ethical manufacturing around the world through certification and education.

Note: I was provided a pair of the Chandra Dhoti shorts by Proyog, for the purposes of a review.