Last post we looked at the 5 pronged approach Swedish Stockings is taking to ensure that their entire business model is environmentally sustainable as well as ethical:
1. Produce from sustainable materials
2. Develop sustainable production methods
3. Secure quality
4. Pack and ship sustainably
5. Manage waste through recycling
You may well ask how nylon (especially poor quality, short-lived nylon), as a synthetic, oil-based, non-biodegradable product could be of any earthly good. You might wonder why we don't just do away with the whole concept of pantyhose!
But what if the process of producing hosiery involved diverting tonnes of post-production and post-consumer nylon from landfill? Well that's exactly how Swedish Stockings are made - with the help of Nilit ,Econyl and Q-Nova regenerated materials.
Nilit Ecocare is a high quality yarn derived from post-consumer sportswear, which retains all the same qualities as virgin nylon. If that wasn't enough to impress, it is also manufactured in a zero-waste facility in Israel, employing state of the art equipment in order to save energy and water. The stats speak for themselves - Nilit Ecocare production saves:
* 18 m3 of water per tonne of yarn
* 1058 KW of energy per tonne of yarn (a 55% saving!)
Likewise, Econyl is 100% recycled yarn made from post and pre consumer waste. This is where your unwanted carpet fluff comes into play! And, on a more serious level, abandoned fishing nets, dredged from the ocean. Raw material for the yarn is processed in Slovenia where 100% of electricity is generated from renewable resources. It is estimated that by using Econyl instead of virgin nylon, saves more than 170 000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and more than 3 million GJ of energy!
Last but not least, Q-Nova is a regenerated yarn made from otherwise unusable scraps of nylon, using mechanical methods instead of chemicals.
These three environmentally sustainable materials form the majority ingredients which go into making Swedish Stockings pantyhose, tights and socks, all of which contain between 67 and 97% recycled components. The remaining percentage is formed by elastene (which gives completely necessary stretch!) Swedish Stocking's ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability remains strong as they search out more sustainable options to replace virgin elastane.
It's pretty amazing to consider the impact that the usage of recycled materials can have within this one industry and that the power to increase this impact and increase the demand for more brands to develop sustainable alternatives is in our hands as consumers.
How are you using your purchasing power to cast your vote for the use of reclaimed and recycled materials?
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