Ms Newton, who co-founded Nixi Body in 2019, said the company has advertised its leak-proof period underwear with the lines “Keeping you moving through menstruation, motherhood and menopause” and “No leaks. No ifs. Just butts.” for years.
But late last year a friend alerted her to a Sweaty Betty ad for its femtech range of leak-resistant and maternity leggings with the tagline “Keeping you moving through menstruation, maternity and menopause”.
At first, Ms Newton thought it could have been a coincidence, and said she was annoyed but did not feel there was anything she could do.
That tagline has since been changed on the Sweaty Betty website to “Menstruation. Maternity. Menopause. Together we’re raising the bar for every woman, for any life stage.”
Then, earlier this year, she noticed Sweaty Betty was running a campaign with the line “No ifs. Just butt.”
“I thought ‘oh hang on a second’,” Ms Newton told the BBC.
Again, Ms Newton said she didn’t reach out. She said she had tried to get the “Keeping you moving through menstruation, motherhood and menopause” line trademarked but was unable to do so, and said she knew that legally she had little recourse.
“Legally they were within their rights to use these words, but they’re words that we’ve used for quite a few years.”
It was personal trainer Ms Cox sharing her story about dealing with the brand that made her want to speak out, Ms Newton said.
Last month Ms Cox revealed that Sweaty Betty had offered her £4,000 in exchange for confidentiality over the use of the phrase “Wear The Damn Shorts” that she claims was used without crediting her in its latest campaigns.
She told the BBC she came up with the slogan alongside her sister in 2020 and it quickly went viral. In 2023, Sweaty Betty approached her to use it in a campaign and paid her £3,500 to do so.
She was also paid for another campaign using it in 2024, but was not approached about it for this year.
