7 key facts about Swedish Stockings Hosiery
- Founded in 2013 by Frisinger and Nadja Forsberg
- The brand was inspired by the documentary “The Lightbulb Conspiracy”, the young label set out to make stockings out of spillover nylon from other tights.
- They’re produced in Italy, in a factory driven by solar panels and renewable energy.
- Tights cost between 12 to 39 euros (13-43 US dollars or 10-34 pounds).
- The brand reinforces the waistband and toe area of each pair of tights and uses four instead of two layers of thread, to make them last longer and increase the life of each pair of tights.
- They’re 3D Knitted, – means they’re knitted in a tube to ensure a good fit.
- Sold worldwide via Swedish Stockings website and other retailers worldwide.
Tights have a short lifespan, especially the pairs that rips easily, but for Swedish Stockings, through their recylcled program, they’ve been accepting old tights of any brand from customers around the world to combat the growing amount of this petroleum product, like plastic, taking up to 30 years or more to decompose, which means it basically sits in the landfils.
Although, tights are really bad for our environment, through their inspired effort, Swedish Stockings is proving that tights can be a sustainable product, by showing other hosiery brands how to take responsibility to promote sustainability in the garment industry.
While it is not yet possible for Swedish Stockings to recycle the old pairs into new tights, the founder and CEO Linn Frisinger, have figured out a way to utilize those discarded pairs collected through their recycled program, by grounding down and mixing them with recycled fiberglass to create functional stylish tables. Depending on the size of the table, each one contains between 80 to 350 recycled tights, manufactured by hand at their wearhouse in Köping, Sweden, it’s a similar process used for creating fibreglass tanks, except the sanding and finishing for the tables are done by hand.
The marbled effect on the table is created through the process of mixed recycled materials blended and molded together, to produce a durable table that’s suitable for both indoors and outdoor use.
This is a collaboration between Swedish furniture product designer Gustaf Westmanis and Swedish Stockings, to create a luxury Scandinavian piece of furniture with added value, “Innovations” table are now available at Swedish Stockings and selected design stores in various sizes and heights. It’s a true symbol of change and the effect of our own responsibility will have on the environment.
Live-streamed conversations about cross-industry collaborations called #swedishstockingstalks, will commence on 11th June 2020 at 4:00 pm CEST (3 pm GMT, 10 am EST), to launch the new line of handmade tables. Sign up at Swedish Stocking website.
Moderator Per Styregård will discuss how to collaborate across sectors and develop unique and innovative solutions to problems.