Monday 24 May 2021

The Tights Club Launch New Range Of Sustainable Tights

Just over a year ago we introduced Hosiery For Men readers to The Tights Club, a tights subscription service. They provide the tights of your choice every month, with an added bonus that the products are environmentally friendly. However, as we found out, The Tights Club now sell tights on an individual basis too.



You can still read our interview from last year with Leanne Goold, founder of The Tights Club.

We recently spoke to Leanne again to catch up with how the business is going, engagement with male customers and the new range of sustainable tights that is launching today.

Hi Leanne. It's been a year since we first introduced Hosiery For Men readers to The Tights Club. What impact has the COVID-19 pandemic had on the business?

The pandemic hasn’t been great for business given that everyone’s been holed up for most of the year in their casuals so tights haven’t seen much action! But in some senses we were lucky because as a small start up we don’t employ anyone and our overheads are low. I would hate to have had to worry about people keeping their jobs.

It’s also given me some time to reassess where I want to go with the business. The result is our own range of tights made from recycled yarn and a switch from only selling subscriptions so that 
we can also serve all the commitment-phobes out there.



We know that The Tights Club welcomes male customers. Are you growing your male customer base?

We have had quite a bit of interest but the range of tights we used to stock was quite restrictive in terms of size which has been a barrier for quite a few of the men who have been in touch.

Inclusivity is something I’ve been keen to address from the start which is why our own brand tights are available in a huge size range and I’m planning to introduce sheers in a wide skin tone range too. So I’m hoping to be able to deliver for more men now that our own range has launched!

Which subscription packages are currently the most popular with The Tights Club subscribers?

It’s really evenly split between our two main products and our seasonal subscriptions which send you opaques in the winter months and sheers in the summer. Everyone wears their tights in different ways – I even have one subscriber who has been known to wear their 80 deniers throughout the summer!



That’s why we have tried to make the service as flexible as possible by providing seasonal options as well as allowing customers to set their own frequency or pause any time. By spacing out your deliveries you prevent a build up of unused tights at times when you don’t wear them that much.

Our seasonal subscriptions are on a break at the moment while we finalise our sheer product, but they will be back!

Tell us about the new range of recycled tights that you are launching at The Tights Club?

I’m so excited to finally have our own range of sustainable tights! They are made in Italy from pre and post-consumer recycled yarn, so they make use of fabric that would otherwise go to landfill. By doing so they not only save water and energy usage but also drastically reduce emissions because the creation of new nylon releases nitrous oxide which is a potent greenhouse gas. That’s why I felt that recycled was the way to go, rather than biodegradable – it addresses a lot of the issues around sustainability rather than just waste, including raw material usage and other forms of ecological damage.

The tights are available in UK sizes 8 to 34 and thanks to the 3D knitting technology they have a great stretch in all directions, so they should provide a good fit for all body shapes and stretch up as well as out for our taller customers! The 3D technology also makes the tights more durable which is another tick for sustainability.

In the new range we have two styles: 50 Denier Recycled Tights and 80 Denier Recycled Tights.

They are available in 6 sizes (UK sizes 8 to 34)


50 Denier Recycled Tights


 8
0 Denier Recycled Tights

The 50 Denier Recycled Tights are priced at £12.50, and the 8
0 Denier Recycled Tights at £14.00. Shipping is free on all orders (The Tights Club currently only ship to the United Kingdom). There is a 15% discount when purchasing more than two pairs.

In what ways do you think this new range will appeal to guys buying tights for themselves?

We are starting small in terms of the product range but I think the size range should be appealing. But clearly our main selling point is our approach to sustainability, so I’d expect us to appeal mostly to men who are also trying to reduce the impact they have on the environment. 




























It’s not just our products that are better for the environment, but our packaging has been thought through too. We pack the new tights in just tissue paper which although coloured is fully recyclable and obviously lighter for transport. 





All our paper labels are also fully biodegradable. And our mailing envelopes are made from recycled cardboard and have been certified plastic free (not all adhesives are plastic free). And we still have our recycling scheme for customers who want us to recycle their (clean!) used tights for them.



Great to catch up with you Leanne. We are looking forward to trialling and reviewing the new range of recycled tights. 

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