In a brewing controversy, activewear brand Sweaty Betty has come under fire for allegedly using slogans and taglines that are strikingly similar to those of a rival period underwear company, Nixi Body.
The dispute first came to light earlier this year when Nixi Body co-founder Kelly Newton noticed that Sweaty Betty’s marketing campaigns were using phrases that bore a strong resemblance to Nixi Body’s long-standing slogans. Specifically, Sweaty Betty’s tagline “Keeping you moving through menstruation, maternity and menopause” was nearly identical to Nixi Body’s “Keeping you moving through menstruation, motherhood and menopause.”
Additionally, Sweaty Betty’s more recent “No ifs. Just butt.” slogan also raised eyebrows, as Nixi Body had been using the similar “No leaks. No ifs. Just butts.” phrase for years.
While Newton acknowledged that the words used were not unique and could not be trademarked, she expressed her disappointment that Sweaty Betty appeared to be “taking from” other female-founded brands. “Your tagline can’t be empowering all women when actually all you’re doing is taking from them,” she said.
The issue came to a head when personal trainer Georgina Cox revealed that Sweaty Betty had offered her £4,000 in exchange for confidentiality and continued use of the phrase “Wear The Damn Shorts,” which Cox claimed she had created to support her sister in 2020 and which had subsequently gone viral.
In response, Sweaty Betty maintained that the language used in its campaigns was intended to “empower women through fitness” and that the phrases were commonly used by many brands. The company also stated that it had not been contacted by Nixi Body about the use of the slogans and that it was undertaking a review of its marketing to understand the origins of the language.
While Sweaty Betty asserted that it had no intention of taking credit for the work of other brands, particularly those founded by women, the ongoing dispute highlights the delicate balance between drawing inspiration and potentially infringing on the intellectual property of others in the highly competitive activewear market.