Merino Active Living Wool Apparel Manufacturer Smartwool Announces the First Circular Sock - the Second Cut ™ Hike Sock. This sock provides the same iconic comfort and performance as the brand's original classic hiking socks, but adopts Smartwood's Second Cut launched in 2021 ™ The reuse of yarn in the sock recycling program. Second Cut ™ Socks highlight the shift of Smartwool towards a circular business model, which includes collecting and reusing materials for deconstruction and reuse.

Smartwool is known as a pioneer in producing high-performance Merino wool socks and was one of the first brands to focus on sock recycling. After several years of experimentation and donations from thousands of consumers, Smartwood is spinning old socks back into new yarn. The reused yarn is blended with responsibly purchased Merino wool, and features an elastic arch and seamless toe design to ensure comfortable wearing. Smartwool collaborated with Material Return, a circular manufacturing factory located in North Carolina, to develop and refine this process.

The collaboration between Smartwool and Material Return ultimately led to a closed-loop model that goes beyond recycling, "said John Ramsey, Smartwool Product Development Director. We can achieve this goal through new innovative technologies, teamwork, and consumer engagement. Investing in this process enables Smartwood to move towards our goal of moving towards a more circular business model

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), only 14% of textiles are recycled, and socks are one of the most discarded clothing. In April 2021, Smartwool launched Second Cut ™ The sock recycling program aims to drive changes in eliminating waste in the clothing industry and make it easier for consumers to become part of the solution.

Through Second Cut ™ Plan, consumers can recycle any sock brand, color, size, and material, but only donated Smartwood ® The material of socks can only be used to manufacture Second Cut ™ Socks. The first product featuring consumer donations is Smartwool's Second Cut ™ K9 Camp Cushion dog bed, donated socks are reused as bed filling.

From Second Cut ™ Since the launch of the plan, Smartwool has collected over 725000 socks and transferred over 54200 pounds of socks from the landfill. To participate in the recycling program, consumers can add prepaid mailing bags to their shopping cart at checkout to send used socks for recycling.