80%-100% cotton socks (mostly organic)

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Cassia
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13 Aug 2010, 8:11 pm

I have been researching online sources for several kinds of clothing with high cotton percentages, and thought I would share what I've found in case it's useful to anyone with similar sensitivities. My skin can't handle wool or other animal hair fibres (including really soft ones like cashmere and angora), and generally can't handle significant percentages of synthetic material (small percentages are sometimes okay, but it varies according to criteria I don't understand). The fibres that I can wear without trouble are cotton, linen, silk, probably hemp, and sometimes rayon (though I generally avoid rayon). Most of my clothing is cotton, though I'm starting to branch out into the other fibres that I don't have difficulty with.

Some of the hardest things for me to find in 100% or high-percentage cotton have been socks, underwear, and bras, and those are the items in my wardrobe that have been mostly worn-out recently, so they are what I have been researching. In this post, I am listing sources of socks I have found with 80% cotton or more. I have also recently decided to buy organic cotton whenever possible, and since this is a list of resources I compiled for myself, the socks in this list are mostly organic cotton, though some are mixed organic and conventional. They are organized in order of decreasing cotton content. Since I'm currently in the US, most of the resources I've listed are US-based; I've also included a few from outside the US with less detail than the main list.

I'm putting the list of socks in this forum, since socks are mostly unisex; I intend to make similar posts for underwear and bras in the women's discussion forum, since those are typically gender-specific.

The format for the list is:

Maker or seller: name/type of socks (fibre content) - price (comments)

100% organic cotton
Cottonique: Latex-free socks - 2-pack $15.75
Natural Cotton Company: Organic cotton dress socks - $6.50
Natural Cotton Company: Organic cotton crew socks - $5.00
Eczema Clothing: several varieties (UK; overseas shipping expensive)

99% cotton or more
Maggie's Organics: 99% cotton crews (99.8% organic cotton, .2% Lycra (top rim of sock only)) - $8 (I recently bought a pair of these, and I really like them. They do, however, have a seam at the toe which could annoy some people.)
Amelia's: 2x1 ribbed crew (80% organic cotton, 19% non-organic cotton, 1% spandex) - $6
Rawganique: Organic Cotton Casual Crew Socks (83% organic cotton; 16% non-organic cotton (in cotton-covered elastic), 1% Spandex) - 3-pack $24
Rawganique: Organic Cotton Dressy Crew Socks (84% organic cotton; 15% non-organic cotton (in cotton-covered elastic), 1% Spandex) - 3-pack $24 (lighter, thinner than casual)
Rawganique: Organic Cotton Nuby Crew Socks (86% organic cotton; 13% non-organic cotton (in cotton-covered elastic), 1% Spandex) - 3-pack $24

95% cotton or more
Amelia's: Low cut (79% organic cotton, 19% non-organic cotton, 2% spandex) - $6
Amelia's: 8x2 ribbed crew (80% organic cotton, 18% non-organic cotton, 2% spandex) - $6 (lighter, slightly dressier than 2x1 ribbed crew)
Ecolution: organic cotton socks (98% cotton, 2% natural elastic) - $4.49 ($3.99 each for 4 or more) [findable on greenboatstuff website, not Ecolution website]
S. O. S. from Texas: Organic cotton crew socks (exact percentages unclear, but elastic only at the top rim; I'm guessing 98%-99% cotton)- $12 3-pack (another source $4.95 per pair)
Peau Ethique: several varieties (98% organic cotton, 2% elastane) [French; don't appear to have online shop; may be available through other websites]
Eczema Clothing: Ankle socks (98% organic cotton) [UK; overseas shipping expensive]
Peau Ethique: Finger socks (95% cotton, 3% polyamide, 2% elastane) [French; don't appear to have online shop]
Ecolution: men's organic cotton socks (95% cotton, 5% Elastane) - $3.99 [findable on organichut.com, not ecolution website] (compare women's organic cotton socks, fabric content not given)

90% cotton or more
Rawganique: : Big Ribs Padded Organic Cotton Socks (91% cotton, 7% nylon, 2% lycra) - $8.95
Bishopston: several kinds of socks with 90% cotton [UK company; won't ship outside UK/Europe]

85% cotton or more
Maggie's Organics: cotton crews (89% cotton, 10% nylon, 1% spandex) - $8 (currently on sale for $6.80; also comes in tri-pack and 6-pack with discounts) (more colours by Kasper organics - $7.95)
Organic Threads: short top crew socks (88% cotton 10% stretch nylon (outer foot), 2% elastic, rubber core covered with nylon (inner top)) - 3-pack $13.50
Organic Threads: tall top crew socks (88% cotton 10% stretch nylon (outer foot), 2% elastic, rubber core covered with nylon (inner top)) - 3-pack $14.95
Zkano: Aspire - Basic Organic Cotton Crew Sock (87% cotton, 9% nylon, 4% spandex) - $6 (also 3-pack)
Zkano: Tempo - Organic Cotton Sport Crew Sock (86% cotton, 12% nylon, 2% spandex) - $7.50 (also 3-pack)
Maggie's Organics: footie socks (natural and white) (85.9% cotton, 10.5% nylon, 2.3% spandex, 1.3% rubber) - $6
Ecoland: women's organic cotton moisturizing socks (85% organic cotton, 3% spandex, 12% nylon) - $8
Zkano: Venture - Basic Organic Cotton 3/4 Crew Sock (85% cotton, 13% nylon, 2% spandex) - $5.50 (also 3-pack)

80% cotton or more
Ecoland: women's organic cotton ankle arch support socks (84% organic cotton, 13% nylon, 2% rubber, 1% spandex) - $6
Zkano: Ridge - Organic Cotton No Show Sock with Heel Tab (84% cotton, 15% nylon, 1% spandex) - $7.50 (also 3-pack)
Zkano: Slack - Organic Cotton Lightweight Everyday Sock (83% cotton, 14% nylon, 3% spandex) - $5 (also 3-pack)
Maggie's Organics: tall sport socks (82% cotton, 16% Coolmax, 2% spandex) - $10.50
Maggie's Organics: short sport socks (82% cotton, 16% Coolmax, 2% spandex) - $9 (also comes in tri-pack)
Maggie's Organics: footie socks (black) (81.5% cotton, 16.9% nylon, 1.6% spandex) - $6
Zkano: Tread - Heavyweight Organic Cotton Full Cushion Crew Sock (81% cotton, 17% nylon, 2% spandex) - $10.50 (also 3-pack)

And that's the end of my list. Feel free to add more; if they're organic cotton, I'll probably add them to my list, and if they're not, they may still be useful to others.


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Francis
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13 Aug 2010, 8:57 pm

I hate cotton. I'm all about polyester.

But I am happy you found something that works for you. Its important to be comfortable.



psych
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14 Aug 2010, 7:47 am

i dislike that synthetic elastic can have a very strong chemical smell, even after many wash cycles. The only way to get rid of it seems to wait for weeks on end until its offgassed in its own time. Its annoying when youve spend time looking for the most natural clothing, then you have to wait ages for it to smell non-toxic because of a 1% synthetic content.



happymusic
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14 Aug 2010, 8:22 am

What a cool post - thanks. I prefer natural fiber socks, too with as little synthetic material as possible in the yarn (mine just have to be natural, not especially cotton). I even used to knit my own wool socks and they were heavenly. My feet get funny feeling with too much synthetic fiber wrapped around them.

When I was studying textiles at school I got to see nylon being made - it's a disgusting substance that really stinks. In fact, it is common for people who work in nylon factories to become ill from the fumes. Some synthetic fibers also begin to liquefy over time, which is a major concern for museums that have plastic based items (think boots, raincoats, funky 60s clothing) - they literally turn into a very disturbing liquid that puddles in the storage box. After going through the program I became convinced that synthetic fibers have a negative impact on our health. A simple example is that dust from acrylic yarn can cause me breathing difficulties (asthma) while wool, cotton, linen, etc. does not.



AB
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15 Dec 2010, 4:41 pm

Hello. I just signed up for this site in a bit strange way - I own Natural Clothing Co and sell organic socks and organic clothing. I saw people coming from WrongPlanet and wondered what that is. I do want to share something with you that maybe helpful to somebody. The whole reason why I got into organic clothing business is that my son got very very seriously ill few years ago. It was a digestive problem Inflammatory Bowel Disorder, never really sure if it is Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis. We went through a lot of very hard times.
In a process of researching how we can help my son better I kept seeing in him some characteristics of autism or probably more Asperger. He is very brilliant but a bit different. Nobody else in a family observed that so we did not pursue it further but I have read as much as I could and tried to find more answers. In a process I found Dr Yasko on the East Coast who works with autistic kids. I purchased her preparations (along with continuing with medical treatments) . It took a long time but my son gradually got better.
We made many changes in our life, like moving out of the city, growing own organic vegetables and fruits, using organic clothing and different supplements, as well. We even have our own chicken now. All of it combined allowed my son to be able to function and eventually go back to school, where he succeeds now. It's not over, the doctors say he will have Crohn's for the rest of his life but at least he is very stable.
I though maybe this will be helpful for somebody, especially parents with children.



squonk
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23 Dec 2010, 8:57 am

A really good post. Interesting to read the research. I am the same, I think, I have to have cotton for all vests, knickers and socks, my skin hates the feel of things like nylon and silk.