Fashion: Smartwool unveils the first-ever circular sock

By Anders Lorenzen

The US outdoor and activity brand Smartwool have released its Second Cut™ Hike Sock, which the company claiming it is the first fully circular sock to be released. It had already launched in US last year and is now also being rolled out in the UK and Europe.

Smartwool says it will deliver the same iconic comfort and performance as the brand’s original Classic Hike Sock. But explains what makes this fully circular is that it is produced with repurposed yarn from the apparel and sock brand’s Second Cut™ sock takeback program which they launched in 2021. They further adds that it the sock highlights its efforts to shift toward a more circular business model through the collection and repurposing of materials for deconstruction and reuse. 

Smartwool say they have pioneered making performance Merino socks and is one of the first brands to commit to a focus on sock circularity. They have spent many years on the development and experimentation as well as thousands of customer donations and are now repurposing old socks into new yarn.

The process

The repurposed yarn is blended with responsibly sourced Merino wool and designed with an elasticised arch and seamless toe for comfort. In order to achieve this, they teamed up with the North Carolina-based circularity manufacturing facility, Material Return to develop and refine this process.

According to John Ramsey, Director of Product Development at Smartwool that partnership has been crucial in developing the project: “Smartwool’s partnership with Material Return has ultimately led to a closed-loop model that goes beyond recycling.” 

According to the US government agency, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) only 14% of textiles are recycled and socks are one of the most discarded pieces of apparel. But since launching its Second Cut™ sock take-back program in April 2021, Smartwool says they’re driving a change in eliminating waste from the apparel industry and make it easy for consumers to be part of the solution. The programme enables consumers to recycle any sock brand, colour, size and material, the merino wool used in the socks is virgin ZQ merino wool, the rest of the material is taken from recycled socks. The first product featuring consumer donations was Smartwool’s Second Cut™ K9 Camp Cushion dog beds, where donated socks were repurposed into bed filling. 

Since the launch, the Colorado based brand has collected more than 1,000,000 socks and diverted more than 86,000 pounds of socks from landfills.

In 2024, UK’s Ellis Brigham will be launching the takeback programme, which will allow customers to recycle their pre-loved items. This will run inline with the in-store launch of the Second Cut™ socks in April. Customers can take part in this takeback program by bringing their old socks from any brand into specific stores and dropping them into a collection bin. 

You can find out more about the programme here