Hedoines against throwaway culture
Let’s be real, truly sustainable clothing consumption doesn’t exist (as much as we wish it did). However, at Hedoine we want to make every effort possible to craft high quality products that are less harmful to the planet. Our sustainability agenda, as always, is guided by our values to craft responsibly, elevate each other and always tell it like it is.
It is common knowledge that our throwaway clothing culture is contributing millions of tonnes to landfill waste every year.
Circular economy business models have come into play so as to redirect textiles and footwear away from overfilled landfills into more sustainable avenues, including resale, rental, and recycling. However, hosiery often fails to meet the necessary criteria of these alternative disposal options, due to product fragility, hygiene restrictions, and recycling limitations.
According to Forbes, as many as 8 billion pairs of tights are made, worn less than a handful of times, and discarded every year. It is estimated that there is in excess of 103,000 tons of hosiery waste created annually across the globe- the equivalent of more than 8,000 double-decker buses…
Tights have also been described as the single-use plastic of the textile industry- once in landfills, tights break down into plastic particles that leak into waterways and contribute to increased micro plastic pollution, with disastrous environmental effects.
Whilst we are all well aware of the devastating environmental impact of plastic production, most notably plastic bottles and bags, most people are significantly less aware that it is the exact same polymer that goes into the production of hosiery tights as goes into most single-use plastics we use daily. Many people meticulously recycle their household waste but wouldn’t even think twice about throwing another pesky laddered pair of tights in the bin.
Whilst we generally encourage misbehaving, the environment is one of the places we don’t. Giving hosiery garments a longer lifespan is key to making them more sustainable. It is crucial that the hosiery industry understands that items like tights have become an incredibly disposable item to us. As pioneers pushing forward the hosiery sustainability agenda, Hedoine encourages people to really invest in their hosiery in the first place. Our focus on quality, durability and ladder-resistance ensures our customers are using their legwear for as long as possible. So you can continue to wear your tights for longer, we have created the tights-care guide, and take a stand against contributions to throwaway culture by clothing production and consumption. This is how we are working to reduce the impact of tights on the planet.
