Textile Waste Crisis: Why Sustainable Socks Matter

Nowadays, it’s vitally important to do our part in supporting sustainability efforts, which is why, at Wrightsock, we are committed to producing eco-friendly socks. The textile industry, or the production of clothes, is responsible for a tremendous amount of waste in landfills. And that waste isn’t going away anytime soon–textiles can take over 200 years to decompose fully! 

Textile production is an energy-intensive process, and fast fashion and cheaply produced products have doubled the amount of textile waste in the past twenty years. One of the biggest culprits of textile waste is poorly made and non-sustainable socks. 

How Eco Socks Help the Environment

Socks are uniquely important when considering the textile waste crisis, as even one or two uses might send cheaply-made socks to a landfill. But quality isn’t the only important factor when assessing the effectiveness of eco-friendly socks. Eco socks should be made from sustainable recycled materials that are less energy-intensive to create. It’s also essential that the socks aren’t simply “greenwashed,” or advertised as being eco-friendly when they really aren’t.

Recycled Materials

Instead of energy-intensive “virgin textiles,” Wrightsock’s eco socks are proudly made from REPREVE recycled polyester. REPREVE polyester is produced from recycled plastic bottles, which provides the double impact of saving energy in textile production and keeping our oceans free from plastic waste. The results are real: by most recent counts, REPREVE has recycled over 25 billion plastic bottles.

No Greenwashing

Just in order to look good, some businesses promote a few green products while the rest of their products remain environmentally taxing. Not at Wrightsock. At Wrightsock, our Eco-Friendly Sock Collection has become our entire inventory, so every single one of our products helps keep our carbon footprint as small as possible.

We use recycled materials for our eco socks, but we also use intelligent design to keep products as environmentally friendly as possible. For instance, our Double Layer Socks use sustainable Merino wool in a way that boosts performance without any of the negative drawbacks. With recycled polyester as the interior and sustainable wool on the exterior, your feet remain protected, dry, and cool.

Continued Improvements

With continued technological developments, there are always new ways to improve sustainability efforts, so the best companies are always looking for continuous improvements. Whether it’s Wrightsock’s recent partnership with UNFI to use 70% recycled plastics in our products, or our consistent studies of our carbon footprint to ensure our maximum sustainability potential, we’re always looking for ways to become a more environmentally-friendly company. 

Our mission is to create products that contribute to a sustainable future for customers who care just as deeply as we do. At Wrightsock, we love that our customers can feel good about their eco-friendly hiking socks as they explore and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. That’s why we’re committed to putting our beliefs into action, becoming one of the first brands in our industry to treat sustainability as an essential core value.