(CNN) It's feminine lore that most women don't wear the right size bra. Fortunately, a North Carolina animal rescue group says it will take your ill-fitting undergarments, as well as your old and used ones, to save the lives of turtles.

Carolina Waterfowl Rescue caused a mild hubbub on social media this week with their request for used bras . It's not the bra itself they want, though -- they use the clasps to weld turtles' cracked shells back together.

It's an unconventional method of repair that director Jennifer Gordon compares to casting a broken bone.

The staff glues cracked shells shut and holds them together with wire, which is hooked to the bra clasp to stay put.

"Bras just came up," Gordon told CNN, adding that the rehab center has kept the item on their wish list for months without donations.

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