Why are there smart refrigerators but dumb underwear?

Accessibility starts at the skin--not just at the front door

Berlin, July 28, 2026. The refrigerator alerts you when the milk is running low. Your smartphone kindly reminds you of your next appointment. And the vacuum cleaner now navigates through the apartment all on its own. Only underwear still acts as if everyone were agile, strong, and free from vertigo at all times.

It requires you to raise your arms, bend your legs, turn around, pull, and grip firmly. For many people, this is second nature. For others, this very task becomes the first major challenge of the day every morning. After shoulder, arm, hip, or knee surgery, even putting on briefs and an undershirt can be painful and require a lot of strength. People with rheumatism, osteoarthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, hemiplegia, or other mobility limitations are also familiar with this problem.

Yet a good day shouldn't be derailed by something as basic as underwear.

"Clothing should be thoughtful,"

this realized Sigrid Ladig and Gisela-Elisabeth Winkler as they cared for relatives with severe mobility limitations and dementia. So they developed saba Waesche, adaptive underwear that adapts to the person--not the other way around. To make this practical underwear widely available to those in need, they founded Ladig & Winkler GmbH.

The saba shirts and briefs are split vertically down the front. You slip them on around the body and fasten them at the front with Velcro closures. The saba shirt does not need to be pulled over the head. The saba briefs do not need to be pulled over the legs and feet. When putting them on or taking them off, the arms remain at your sides, and the knees barely need to bend.

Caregivers can quickly dress or undress those in their care. Furthermore, they can dress bedridden individuals in saba garments while they remain in bed, without having to lift them. Gently turning them onto their side and back is all it takes; see here.

This saves time and energy, can reduce pain, and, in the best case, restores a measure of independence.

"We talk so much about accessible buildings, public transportation, or websites," says Gisela-Elisabeth Winkler, managing director of Ladig & Winkler GmbH. "But hardly anyone asks whether a person can put on their own underwear. Yet dignity often begins very quietly--in the morning while getting dressed."

Open--and yet still covered

All saba briefs feature a double closure. This ensures the briefs stay securely in place, even when the front is opened.

This makes it easier to use the restroom, change a pad, catheterize, or check a stoma bag. No one has to completely remove the briefs and then laboriously put them back on.

Open, take care of business, close--done.

This well-thought-out design eliminates unnecessary steps and protects privacy. For people who need assistance, a strenuous and sometimes uncomfortable situation can become a calmer, more respectful care routine.

Family members and caregivers also notice the difference: less power, less lifting.

Not every innovation needs Wi-Fi

Progress doesn't always have to flash, beep, or require a password.

Sometimes the better idea is simply found in a dividing seam or a double closure in just the right place. Or in a question that's surprisingly rarely asked:

Why should people have to laboriously adapt to their clothing when the clothing can also adapt to them?

It's about accessibility, care, independence, and dignity. And about a small idea that can make everyday life noticeably easier for many people.

About saba Waesche and Ladig & Winkler GmbH

saba Waesche is adaptive underwear for people with limited mobility. The functionality of saba underwear is protected by a European patent. This innovative product received a gold medal at the "iENA - Ideas, Inventions, Innovations" inventors' fair in Nuremberg. The inventors themselves were delighted to receive awards from the Bavarian State Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Family, and Women and the Koerber Foundation in Hamburg.

saba shirts and briefs are manufactured in Germany from 100% cotton fabric and are washable up to 60 ?C. They are suitable, among other things, for people recovering from surgery, as well as those with rheumatism, osteoarthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, stroke, or incontinence, and for people requiring care or who are bedridden. They are available in the company's online store.

Ladig & Winkler GmbH
Schulzendorfer Str. 32g
13467 Berlin
Germany

https://www.saba-waesche.de

Frau Gisela-Elisabeth Winkler
+49 (0) 30 40536020
+49 (0) 30 40536030
service@saba-waesche.de

Ladig & Winkler GmbH was founded in 2010 by sisters Sigrid Ladig and Gisela-Elisabeth Winkler. At the time, both were already of retirement age. While caring for their relatives, they had noticed a lack of adaptive underwear designed to compensate for physical disabilities and therefore developed it themselves. They named it "saba Waesche" and presented it at the 2008 "iENA--Ideas, Inventions, Innovations" inventors' fair, where they received a gold medal. With the patent specification "Garments for People with Physical Disabilities," they were granted a European patent in 2010. Master tailor S. Ladig developed the new undergarments to the point of production readiness. It is manufactured in a German sewing workshop from fine cotton fabric and sold by an online store: https://www.saba-waesche.de/shop.
For this invention, Sigrid Ladig received the "Outstanding Achievement --Bavarian State Prize for Older Adults" from the Bavarian State Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Family, and Women, and Gisela-Elisabeth Winkler received the 2022 Zugabe Prize from the Koerber Foundation.

This release was published on openPR.