As we head towards Net Zero, you asked if we could manufacture our riding socks with recycled yarns? Probably first requested in 2012, we did look, but at that time, the yarns were double the price and limited colourways, so introducing a recycled range was just commercially not viable.
There is a general misconception that if it's recycled, it is free material. Therefore, the finished item should be cheaper, and this just isn't true. The recycled yarn is sorted, graded, conditioned, spun and dyed and probably has more attention than a virgin yarn, not to mention the energy and workforce deployed to recycle. Coolhorsesocks is responsible for ensuring that recycled yarn hasn't cost the earth more to recycle than our standard yarns, so it's been challenging to get the balance.
Coolhorsesocks has addressed our own cost to the planet in the past three years, removing excessive packaging, eliminating single-use plastic where feasible and recycled card wraps; and it's a journey we are on and a recycled sock range that matches our vision.
Over the years, we have spoken to yarn producers and brokers alike and kept lobbying for yarns we felt comfortable bringing to market and with an inherent cost base that didn't damage the planet more than traditional yarns.
In 2021 we think we have achieved it. Yarns are coming onto the market that matches our beliefs. Environmentally sound, and although still at a premium price, it is much nearer to where we think our customers will pay. They are happy in the knowledge that their socks will still technically work, wear hard, brighten up the yard, and be ethically produced and environmentally realistic.
Coohorsesocks introduce our Conscious Range. It's a Competition style sock with a lighter gauge to fit tight-fitting boots and is limited initially to single colours to gauge the reaction. Recycled yarn for the leg and a fully engineered fitted organic cotton foot (recycled Coolmax fabric isn't available yet) packed with the same knitted features of the ribbed arch, cushioned footbed and micromesh venting to allow the foot to breathe.
The Conscious Range from Coolhorsesocks - striving to deliver innovation and performance to riders that care deeply for our planet and want their feet in harmony with the survival of the earth.