Happy Socks

The brand has provided COSH! With details of their suppliers, and they have a long-term relationship with all of them. They put them through Amfori BSCI audits, which is a third party auditor ensuring ethical working conditions. They support the suppliers to improve if they fall below levels A and B in their audits. 64% of their commercial goods suppliers have a satisfactory rating, and 9% are located in low-risk countries when considering social compliance audit results. The other 27% still need improvement. The brand has a Code of Conduct based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the ILO 8 Core Conventions. If any suppliers or partners violate their code of conduct, they are reviewed and considered for termination. Happy Socks has an email provided for anyone to report any violations by the supplier.

They consider themselves an international company, with over 25 different nationalities in their offices and stores. They also do a lot of charity work for social causes, especially for the LGBTQIA+ community, such as donating 100% of the budget of a traditional ad campaign to InterPride, and 10% of their revenues from the pride collections 365 days a year. They also raised nearly 1.5 million SEK for other charities such as Swedish Save the Children, the World Health Organization, the Swedish Down Syndrome Association, and the Covid 19 Solidarity Response Fund.

Happy Socks uses materials such as cotton, polyamide, elastane, and Tencel in their products. They have made a commitment to use more recycled or sustainable sourced materials over time, having increased the percentage of these ethical materials to 41% (from 12%) by 2023. They claim to have created a sustainability logo that indicates 60% recycled or sustainably sourced material content within a particular product (aiming for 70% by 2024), however this logo was nowhere to be found on the website. 

26% of all cotton used was organic cotton, 70% of whose suppliers are certified according to the Organic Content Standard (OCS), certifications for the rest are not stated. 11% of all cotton was part of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). Their kids’ collection has also been made in organic cotton since 2018, blended with polyamide and elastane. They also use recycled polyester and polyamide, such as for their swim shorts line. However, only 30% of the recycled products’ suppliers are Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) certified, and the other 70% have other certifications for which the names are not specified. They claim to, however, require all sustainably sourced materials to be certified through a 3^rd party when possible. 

They also use Tencel in some products, which is a naturally sourced fibre that is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, ensuring better management of forests. However, there is very little of this material used in their overall product range. 

They are also working on a Material guideline, which once implemented should help them increase the share of sustainable materials each year. 

The Restricted Substances List (RSL) list they work with also ensures better ecosystem health, and they also require their suppliers to commit to the regulations set in REACH and to be Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified; they have claimed to reach 100% of their goods suppliers being certified and strive to maintain this number, and have provided COSH! with proof.

In 2021 Happy Socks calculated and published its data on emissions through their partner Normative. They follow the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s classification and divide their emissions into 3 scopes – 1 being direct emissions from owned/​controlled resources, 2 being indirect emissions from energy purchased and used, and 3 including all other indirect emissions. This brand has joined Amfori BEPI (Business Environmental Performance Initiative), a business association providing tools for members to improve environmental performance in global supply chains. This tool allows them to collect data on 11 environmental performance areas, which helps them calculate their Scope 3 emissions.

During 2021, their total GHG emissions were approximately 14.8K tonnes of CO2, scope 3 emissions contributing the most with 99%. These emissions were mainly caused by purchased goods and services, and upstream transport and distribution. These emissions have decreased by 3.4% compared to 2020, however they are still refining their calculations and improving accuracy of the emissions calculations. 

Happy Socks admits that their products are not easily recycled yet, hence a fully circular model is hard to achieve. Which even though they are taking small steps towards that, they are trying to make up for it by making their products as sustainable and durable as possible. 

Besides that, they also use many recycled products in their garments, contributing to the circularity of the materials, and strive to increase this number every day. They also have a system in place to minimize waste during production, recycling and reusing leftover scrap material.

Additionally, in terms of packaging and transit hangers, Happy Socks eliminated plastic from their hooks from their kids labels, as well as from the gift boxes, replacing them with 100% recycled paper. They also changed their e‑commerce mailers from virgin to recycled plastic, saving approximately 4 tonnes of virgin plastic per year. They have also removed time limits on all their products, keeping the products in use for the maximum amount of time. 

Happy Socks has offices in München, New York, Istanbul, and Shanghai with the flagship Head Office in Stockholm, Sweden, and their production is conducted mostly in Turkey. They limit the use of less sustainable transportation methods as much as possible, the majority of which they conduct via road, sea, or rail. Their warehouses are said to be located within close proximity to the customer base to shorten delivery trips, however considering the international nature of this brand, high transport emissions can be assumed. They have also implemented a new shipping carrier to reduce CO2 emissions, and their main distribution center carries a ​“very good” rating via BREEAM (which is 55% as opposed to an 85% for an outstanding rating). All main flows are carried out by partners holding an ISO 14001 certificate, both of which confirm high sustainability standards of the shipping practices.

This brand used to use wool products, however this has been discontinued. The wool used so far is Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) certified, ensuring ethical sourcing of the wool.

Happy socks designs for longevity and durability, working with premium quality materials and cutting edge technology. They also reinforce the heel and toe to ensure the socks stay in use for as long as possible, and provide care tips as well. These socks are designed to bring happiness to anyone who wears them, and are timeless designs.

This brand provides a lot of transparency regarding their sustainability related actions, and have communicated with COSH! regarding their efforts and transparency. They have provided COSH! with proofs of their certifications and details of their suppliers, making it possible for us to verify their sustainability claims and efforts. They strive to achieve as much transparency as possible internally, using external auditing programmes to give them detailed information on their scope 3 emissions. 

Their 30-page sustainability report and detailed carbon emission data assures the consumers of their dedication to improvement, and their Employee System HiBob is available to everyone who wants to know more details about their policies around pension, insurances and IT.