Socks from recycled fishing nets become commercially available
25/06/2014
The Healthy Seas project was launched in October 2013 after the Netherlands-based European Centre for Nature Conservation (ECNC), a not-for-profit environmental group, engaged a group of divers to cut nets from shipwrecks off the Dutch coast. Stunned by the realisation that they would be charged for their disposal as nets are considered industrial waste – “I assumed it would be free as we were doing something good for the environment,” said ECNC’s executive director, Rob Wolters – they began to look for alternatives.
Around the same time, sock manufacturer Star Sock, which counts sportswear brand New Balance among its clients, had been searching for a more sustainable source of material and had turned to Aquafil for the solution. The Italian fibre producer had begun to produce recycled nylon 6 at its factory in Slovenia, with the end product, Econyl, mainly used for carpets. “It seemed like an ideal solution,” says Mr Wolters.
The Healthy Sea socks will be available through 1,150 Kaufman stores in Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.
For an in-depth look at the project, see WSA November/December 2013.
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