Walmart in a first with sustainable private brand socks
Walmart Inc. is making history with a new line of recycled polyester socks.
Walmart is partnering with sustainable fiber company Infini to launch the first commercial product comprised of Infini’s Repreve Takeback polyester fabric, which is made with recycled garment fabric as well as other consumer products like water bottles and varied plastics. The discounter is releasing a sustainable ankle cut, frilly sock made with Repreve Takeback under its Joyspun lingerie and sleepwear brand.
"When you think about clothing, one of the biggest challenges we have today is, 'When you’re done wearing it, where does it go?'" said Scott Bingham, a director in private brand sustainability for Walmart. "We’re creating a more circular system where, instead of landfills, we take textiles we no longer need and turn them back into products we can use."
According to Walmart, early data shows that in its first week, the Joyspun Textile Takeback sock is the second-highest selling style in the Joyspun P6 dress sock assortment.
"Our partnership with Walmart to launch Joyspun socks made with Repreve Takeback is a powerful step forward in making circularity a reality for everyday consumers," said Eddie Ingle, the CEO of Unifi. "This collaboration moves us closer to a future where products are intentionally made to be remade, and waste is redefined as a valuable resource."
Walmart seeks supply chain sustainability
Walmart actively seeks to reduce waste generated in the apparel production process. In March 2024, the company began piloting first-of-its-kind 3D weaving technology from Unspun in its apparel supply chain.
[READ MORE: Walmart pilots 3D weaving technology for apparel]
Unspun’s proprietary solution uses 3D capabilities to eliminate the steps of cutting and stitching fabric from apparel creation, going straight from yarn to garment.
As a result, fabric loss, discarded inventory and transport emissions are removed from the apparel supply chain, while production can be sourced locally and on demand. Walmart is testing Unspun technology in its supply chain for private label men’s chinos.
In another effort to cut waste and improve efficiency in its apparel supply chain, Walmart is partnering with Rubi, a company that creates natural textiles 100% from carbon emissions, to utilize on-site reactor technology in pilot projects involving Walmart's sourcing and manufacturing collaborators' infrastructure.
The output of those projects will be leveraged to produce a prototype apparel collection using Rubi's fabric made from carbon emissions.
And more than 5,900 suppliers globally are engaged in Walmart’s Project Gigaton, an initiative the discounter launched in 2017 to avoid one gigaton (one billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide from its global value chain by 2030.
The retailer says that its suppliers have reported projects that are expected to exceed that one billion metric ton mark six years early.
