Are women more AIDS-conscious than men?

The range of underwear has been developed exclusively by PEP and the men's briefs, women's panties and bras all feature a pocket that can hold a single condom pack.

The underwear range was the brainchild of Cape Town based Dr Hennie Nortje, who actively promotes AIDS-consciousness. He has used music to convey his messages, having written and performed a number of songs that urge people to be responsible by wearing a condom. However, perhaps his most inspired idea was for a range of underwear that contains a secret pocket to hold a single condom pack. Dr Nortje shared the idea with PEP's managing director, André Labuschaigne, who then tasked the chain store's underwear department to develop a range of men and women's underwear. After a year in store, the women's panties and bras are each expected to notch up over 200 000 sales, whereas the men's briefs are forecast to top just 30 000 units by year-end.

The underwear range is just a part of PEP's commitment to helping the AIDS cause. To commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1 2002, PEP is donating a percentage of its sales on all promotional items for the week November 25 to December 2 inclusive. This pledge is additional to other commitments PEP has throughout the year for supporting clinics and other AIDS related charities.

PEP's André Labuschaigne says: "Although I knew this was a good idea and that PEP could be instrumental in helping our customers to be more responsible, I certainly didn't know that women would be quicker to adopt the idea than men."

Dr Nortje adds: "Perhaps I should write songs just for men now. In my experience, women are more health-conscious generally, so I suppose it shouldn't come as any surprise that they have been more proactive in this case. Having a secret pocket for either cash or a condom means that no-one needs to know about it unless they choose otherwise."