7 Sustainable Hosiery Brands with Eco-Friendly Tights Made from Recycled & Organic Fibers
Why Talk About Sustainable Tights?
Usually cheaply made and produced using thin synthetic fibers, tights are frequently disposed of after just a few wears and then left to sit in landfills, slowly breaking down into smaller microplastics that pollute the environment.
Two billion pairs of tights are produced and discarded each year according to Swedish Stockings and though the source of this particular number is not clear, the problem of disposable hosiery is certainly apparent.
What Are Sustainable or Eco-Friendly Tights?
There are a few main attributes to consider when browsing for better tights.
What material are the tights made from? The brands featured here all use recycled, regenerated, and/or organic materials. While many brands do use a percentage of virgin elastane in their tights for added stretch, the majority of the fabric is made from recycled materials.
What initiatives does the brand have? Some examples of initiatives and practices you’ll find from the eco-friendly hosiery brands below are the use of 100% renewable energy, hosiery recycling programs, and certified fair production practices.
Are the tights durable and comfortable? In other words: will they last? Look into the product descriptions and see what considerations a brand has made (do they have a wide waistband for comfort? Do they have reinforced toes to help prevent ripping?) and read the reviews of a brand to get insight into this. Also, tights with a higher denier (40+) tend to be less prone to runs, though the quality of the fabric is also important to consider. Now you may be wondering: what is "denier"?
What is Denier?
You'll see the word denier a lot when browsing through for tights and hosiery! Denier is essentially used to describe the thickness of fiber.
High denier tights (40d+) are thicker, heavier weight, warmer, more opaque, and usually more durable as well.
Low denier tights (below 30d) are thinner, lighter weight, sheerer, and typically not as durable, and can be easy-to-run, especially if the denier is 10 or under.
Note: this guide contains affiliate links. As always, all brands are thoroughly vetted for sustainability and are brands we truly love (and that we think that you'll love too).
CLOECO
Utilizing her background in physics and science, CLOECO founder Megan set out to engineer durable, comfortable, and sustainable hosiery. The result was the first plant-based sheer tights!
Made from 71% Tencel™ Lyocell, these natural tights are both eco-friendly and long-lasting. In fact, CLOECO guarantees that they will last 5x longer than typical nylon tights.
CLOECO has also partnered up with Cool Effect to offset their carbon emissions to become a net carbon neutral company.
Investment: $19 - $32 per pair | $42 - $54 for sets of two pairs
Swedish Stockings
Perhaps the best-known brand for sustainable hosiery, Swedish Stockings has a vast range of colors and styles of their recycled tights, all made from post- or pre-consumer waste. In addition to using recycled materials, the brand's supplier in Italy powers their production with renewable energy and re-uses any textile waste. Swedish Stockings also has a recycling program where they'll recycle your synthetic pantyhose from any brand!
Thickness: 20 - 200 denier options available
Investment: $25 - $55 / €14 - €40
Dear Denier
When it comes to sustainable tights, Dear Denier is the real deal. Not only does Dear Denier use recycled polyamide and elastane for their tights (most brands use a percentage of virgin elastane even for their eco-friendly hosiery), but the circular-minded brand follows low waste production practices, has a water recycling management system, and offers a recycling program that accepts tights from any brand. Dear Denier's factories also use efficient energy practices and are powered by only renewable energy.
Thickness: 15 - 80 deniers available
Investment: $22 - $50
Seasalt Cornwall
Seasalt Cornwall has organic tights (their Leven Tights are made with organic cotton) and recycled tights (aptly called Recycled Tights, these tights are made from 95% recycled nylon). Beyond using organic and recycled materials, Seasalt Cornwall has sustainability initiatives such as using renewable energy across their direct operations and sourcing from factories that follow the standards set forth by Ethical Trading Initiative.
Investment: £17.50 - £18.50
Thickness: The Recycled Tights are 90 denier and the organic cotton Leven Tights are 200+ denier
Thought
Eco-fashion brand Thought has sustainable hosiery made from stretchy recycled nylon sourced from post-consumer recycled plastic. Thought's tights are designed with a generous fit for comfort, so if your measurements are on the lower side of a size range, you may want to size down.
Thickness: 40 denier
Investment: £12
Lanius
German conscious fashion brand Lanius has eco-friendly tights made from 100% ECONYL®, which is regenerated nylon made entirely from landfill and ocean waste like fishing nets, and tights made from recycled polyamide and a percentage of virgin elastane. Note that Lanius only ships within Europe at the time of publishing.
Thickness: 50 denier
Investment: €14 - €20
Aare
Finish brand Aare has tights made from 54% Q-NOVA® polyamide, a recycled fiber that reportedly uses 90% less water than regular polyamide production. These tights meet the Oeko-tex 100 standard and the packaging used for Aare's partially recycled tights is made of 80% recycled materials as well.
Thickness: 20 and 50 denier options
Investment: €13 - €16; €25 for a two-pack
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Cover image: Organic Basics