Swedish Stockings

The tights and socks are mainly knitted and sewn in Italy, and partly in Poland. This ensures that Swedish Stockings can monitor the production process more closely. The brand wants to ensure that working conditions in the factory are safe and fair. 

The Swedish Stockings brand is very transparent, sharing the names of their production partners. This information allowed COSH! to learn more about production sites and conditions.

For instance, several producers have a SA8000 label and several sustainability labels such as OEKO-Tex 100 and GRS label (Global Recycling Standard). Unfortunately, these audits have very limited checks on social aspects, so this is not a good guarantee of safe working conditions and payment of fair wages. 

Also, some materials are made by an Israeli and Chinese producer, which raises questions about ethical conditions.

As mentioned earlier, tights and hosiery have a large, polluting, impact. This is because these products are made of synthetic materials such as elastane and polyamide. These materials are made from crude oil, a polluting process that requires a lot of energy.

Swedish Stockings wants to change this, but how do they do it?

The brand mainly focuses on using innovative, recycled materials. For instance, they use Econyl, Q‑Nova, Q‑Cycle and Sensil. These are different forms of recycled and regenerated polyamide.

In addition, they also use EVO, a bio-based polyamide made from residues of ​‘miracle oil’ production (castor bean oil) and ​‘Amni Soul Eco’, a degradable polyamide developed by Solvay.

To ensure that the stockings fit snugly and comfortably, it is always necessary that the fabric can stretch enough. This is why the polyamide is always combined with elastane. 

Again, Swedish Stockings wants to use as much recycled elastane as possible, such as Roica, but unfortunately this is not always possible as demand currently exceeds supply for this material. Developed by Japanese producer Asahi Kasei Corporation, Roica is made up of 58% pre-consumer recycled fibres.

Therefore, the brand also uses ​‘virgin’ elastane from South Korean and Italian producers.

Finally, the brand also has some socks in their collection that are partly made of natural materials such as cotton and wool. To use more sustainable options here too, the brand chooses organic cotton and RWS (Responsible Wool Standard) certified wool. A small percentage of the collection also contains cashmere, sourced from China.

As packaging material, Swedish Stockings uses FSC-certified cardboard. In addition, the tights and socks are also wrapped in plastic. In 2022, the Swedish brand said they were collaborating with the non-profit organisation ​‘The Perfect World Foundation’ to draw attention to overfishing and pollution problems in oceans.

Swedish Stockings is committed to circularity by using recycled materials. These recycled polyamides enhance the brand’s circularity, but circularity is much more than that.

The recyclability of the finished products is also very important. Because different materials are mixed in the stockings, the tights cannot be recycled after use. 

To prevent the stockings from ending up in a landfill, Swedish Stockings has set up its own take-back system. This allows you to send in your used tights in exchange for a discount on your next purchase. The brand then ​‘recycles’ the tights, by incorporating them into a limited-edition table. However, this is not circular recycling.
Therefore, in the future, Swedish Stockings wants to close the loop and recycle the collected socks into new socks, but for now this process is very complex and lacks the necessary technology.

Unfortunately, it is also not possible to repair the tights when they tear. Circular business models such as rental or second-hand sales are also very difficult with this kind of product, which is still often used as a disposable product.

On their website, Swedish Stockings shares a lot of information about their supply chain. This allowed COSH! to verify that all socks and tights are knitted and sewn within Europe, mainly in Italy. 

Much of the materials also come from Italian supplier Fulgar, although it is not always clear whether the production process itself takes place in Italy. 

Some materials travel a longer distance to get to Europe. The cashmere, for instance, comes from China and the sheep’s wool is sourced in South Africa. The brand also works with producers from Japan, Israel and South Korea, although these materials only make up a small percentage of the collection.

Most of the collection contains no animal-derived materials and is therefore vegan. 

Only a small percentage of the products contain sheep’s wool and cashmere. Swedish Stockings mentions where the wool comes from, namely China and South Africa. In addition, the brand has its own code of conduct that describes social aspects as well as animal welfare and living conditions.

The use of synthetic materials such as polyamide and elastane also carries the risk of microplastics being released when washing the clothes. When you wash your tights in the washing machine, fibres (microplastics) can be released and washed along in the washing water. Thus, these particles end up in our waterways and oceans, where they pose a risk to various animals and ecosystems.

Tights are often very prone to tears and wear, and are therefore often seen as a disposable product. 

As the Swedish Stockings website says: ​“Every year, 8 billion pairs of tights are produced, worn once and then thrown away. This makes the textile industry the second most polluting industry in the world. Landfills everywhere are full of poorly made and cheap, non-biodegradable textiles and it is only getting worse.”

That is why Swedish Stockings not only researches the recycling potential of their tights, but also researches the development of tear-resistant materials. They always focus on the quality and durability of the material when designing new tights, so you can keep wearing them longer!

On the website, you will also find numerous tips and washing instructions so that you can continue to enjoy your tights for as long as possible.

Despite all this, the lifespan of tights remains short, especially for more sensitive items, such as the transparent and lace tights, which can only be worn a few times.

By focusing firmly on transparency, Swedish Stockings demonstrates their commitment and ambition when it comes to sustainability. The brand aims to make all products fully traceable in their sustainability report of 2023 (to be published in by the end of 2024). The brand publishes an annual sustainability report, sharing figures on their supply chain, materials and recycling project.

You can also find a lot of information on the website about the producers, materials and impact of each product. On some product pages, you can even read a full ​‘product footprint’ report. Transparency at its best!