Activewear label **Sweaty Betty** has become embroiled in a fresh row over its advertising slogans, putting the spotlight on who really “owns” empowering phrases in the age of femtech, social media and viral body‑positivity campaigns.[1][4]
The latest controversy centres on UK leak-proof underwear brand **Nixi Body**, founded by Kelly Newton in 2019.[1][4] Newton says her small business has, for years, used taglines such as **“Keeping you moving through menstruation, motherhood and menopause”** and **“No leaks. No ifs. Just butts.”** to promote its period and leak‑proof underwear.[1][4] According to Newton, that language is core to her brand story: supporting women through every life stage, from periods to post‑partum to perimenopause.
So when a friend sent her a Sweaty Betty ad for femtech leggings using the line **“Keeping you moving through menstruation, maternity and menopause”**, she felt an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu.[1][4] At first, she assumed it might be coincidence, and, aware that she had been unable to trademark her own phrase, she decided there was little she could do legally.[1] Sweaty Betty has since tweaked the wording on its site to: *“Menstruation. Maternity. Menopause. Together we’re raising the bar for every woman, for any life stage.”*[1]
But the story did not end there. Earlier this year, Newton spotted another Sweaty Betty campaign built around the slogan **“No ifs. Just butt.”**[1][4] To her, the echo of “No leaks. No ifs. Just butts.” was too strong to ignore.[1] Although she again recognised the legal limitations – short, descriptive phrases about bodies and movement are notoriously hard to protect – she felt the pattern suggested a deeper problem: a big, well‑funded brand lifting the creative work of female founders whose businesses depend on distinct, hard‑won messaging.[1][4]
Speaking to the BBC, Newton stressed that she is not seeking compensation.[1] What she wants, she says, is **accountability**: moral recognition that these slogans did not emerge from a vacuum and that “empowering” branding rings hollow when it appears to be built on the uncredited labour of smaller women‑led companies.[1] As she put it, *“Your tagline can’t be empowering all women when actually all you’re doing is taking from them.”*[1]
Sweaty Betty, acquired for around £300 million in 2021, firmly denies wrongdoing.[1][4] In a statement, the company said it chooses words **“to empower women through fitness”**, a goal shared by many brands, which means that sometimes **“the language used by different brands aligns.”**[1] It argues that **“No ifs. Just butt.”** and similar body‑positive phrases are widely used across the industry, and that no single company can claim exclusive rights to them or secure a trademark.[1][4]
The brand says it has reached out directly to Nixi Body and is conducting a review of all its marketing language “to fully understand the origins of the phrases we use.”[1][4] It also notes that such a review was already carried out in relation to another high‑profile dispute: the now‑famous **“Wear The Damn Shorts”** saga with fitness coach **Georgina Cox**.[1][2][3]
That earlier clash laid much of the groundwork for today’s backlash. Cox coined **“Wear The Damn Shorts”** in 2020 as a body‑positivity rallying cry, encouraging women of all sizes to show up in their workout gear without shame.[2][3] The phrase became strongly associated with her personal brand on social media.[2][3] In 2023, Sweaty Betty approached her to collaborate on a campaign using the slogan, reportedly paying her for that year’s activity and again in 2024.[1][2]
Problems arose when, according to Cox, the phrase continued to appear extensively on Sweaty Betty products and marketing materials without ongoing agreement.[2][3] Her lawyer sent a cease‑and‑desist letter; Sweaty Betty, for its part, has offered a financial settlement in exchange for continued use of the slogan and a commitment from Cox not to make further public statements about the dispute.[2][3] The company maintains that **“none of us has exclusive legal rights to this phrase”** and says its internal review traced uses of similar wording back to at least 2019, before either party adopted it.[1][2]
Legally, both cases sit in a grey area. None of the disputed phrases – “Wear The Damn Shorts”, “No ifs. Just butt.” or Nixi Body’s longer tagline – are registered trademarks in the UK.[1][2][5] Slogans that are short, descriptive and built from common words can struggle to meet trademark thresholds.[2][5] IP specialists observing the Sweaty Betty disputes note that while clear legal ownership may be difficult to establish, **reputational risk** is another matter entirely.[2][5]
In the fashion, wellness and femtech sectors, where brands trade heavily on authenticity and empowerment, being seen to “borrow” from smaller, values‑driven creators can be damaging.[2][3][4] Commentators point out that larger companies routinely monitor independent labels for fresh language, product ideas and cultural cues.[4] When that inspiration edges too close to imitation, the backlash can be swift – especially when the alleged source is a woman‑led start‑up or solo creator whose livelihood depends on being distinctive.[2][3][4][6]
IP firms analysing the Sweaty Betty saga say it should be a **wake‑up call** for both brands and creators.[2][3][5] For big players, the lesson is to invest in proper IP due diligence, clear contracts and creator‑partnership governance before building multimillion‑pound campaigns around user‑generated phrases.[2][3][5] For founders and influencers, the takeaway is the importance of protecting slogans as early as possible – whether through trademarks where feasible, or at least through careful documentation of first use and clear written agreements.[2][5]
For consumers, the dispute raises a more emotional question: what does “empowerment” really mean when the same phrases surface across multiple brands, some of which dwarf the originators? As Nixi Body and Georgina Cox continue to challenge Sweaty Betty’s use of language they consider their own, the conversation around ownership, ethics and creativity in marketing is unlikely to quieten any time soon.[1][2][3][4]
Original source: BBC News – Sweaty Betty in new dispute over ad slogans