The Swedish Armed Forces collaborating with outdoor company to develop underwear for women

The Swedish Armed Forces is initiating a unique collaboration with Astrid Wild, a Swedish outdoor company, to develop underwear for women as well as pregnancy adaptations to the uniform system.

All employees need to have the same conditions to carry out their duties for a robust and resilient defense. A central part of this is functional and durable personal equipment.

— Women should, of course, have the same conditions as men to be able to operate and carry out their mission in the Swedish Armed Forces. We have so far taken a number of measures to create those conditions. Now we need to find the way forward for a long-term solution. We are therefore very pleased about the collaboration with Astrid Wild, says Kent Nysten, coordinator of the project and resource manager at the Swedish Armed Forces' support unit.

The collaboration that has now begun is intended to last for three years. The goal is to be able to deliver a design solution for procurement. The method for developing the uniform items is based on user-driven innovation, where a group of female employees at the Swedish Armed Forces who wear a uniform will test and evaluate the garments in the field.

Goal to deliver design solution för procurement

— We believe in Astrid Wild's product development method, which is largely based on evaluation and feedback from their target group, says Kent Nysten.

Astrid Wild is run by Maria Paulsson Rönnbäck and Jemina Pomoell. They started their company in 2019 out of a strong interest in outdoor life and a recognition that clothing was often designed to fit men. The company has customers in 40 countries and has its largest markets in the Nordic countries and Germany.

User-centered product development

— We started Astrid Wild so that women who enjoy outdoor life don't have to compromise on fit and function. We are enormously proud to now bring our user-centered product development method into a collaboration with the Swedish Armed Forces. Working together to develop uniforms that are designed for women based on their conditions and bodies is both significant and important. We hope this project can inspire and contribute to a more equal standard within uniformed professions, says Maria Paulsson Rönnbäck.

Photo: Sofia Kalmeborg/Swedish Armed Forces
Per Wendel, head of materiel at the Armed Forces' logistics, Kent Nysten, project coordinator, works closely with Astrid Wild's Jemima Pomoell and Maria Paulsson Rönnbäck.

Contacts:

Kent Nysten
Resource manager/Project coordinator, Swedish Armed Forces
+46 (0)70-305 75 65
kent.nysten@mil.se

Maria Paulsson Rönnbäck
Marketing Manager, Astrid Wild
+46 (0)76-257 92 75
maria@astridwild.com

Sofia Kalmeborg
Press secretary, Swedish Armed Forces
+46 (0)70-985 11 30
sofia.kalmeborg@mil.se