Cotton Socks
We invite people to look behind the label in a quest for more transparency, greater sustainability, and true ethical practices from farm to finish. Maggie’s works to honor products, people, and planet because we believe that these threads connect us all.
Read on to see how this happens with each pair of cotton socks we create.
1. Growing the Organic Cotton
The organic cotton in most of our socks is grown by 1,900 Tanzanian farmers near Mwanza. Each farms on an independent, family owned farm that averages 15 acres. All farmers must be certified organic for at least three years. Many have worked their project for more than 20 years.
We proudly partner with the bioRe Foundation, which provides our farmers with training facilities, organizes pre-payment for seed, and hires agronomists and others to provide important direction. Every year, communities present ideas for projects to bioRe, and we help fund them. When you buy Maggie's, you are helping support these projects like water wells, clean cooking stoves, and bio-gas facilities for electricity. Part of our Real Fair Trade pledge entails brining more income and resources to communities at the farmgate.
2. Ginning the Organic Cotton
Our cotton is ginned near the fields in Mwanza, Tanzania in a facility that only processes organic cotton. This is important because it is common during the ginning process for organic and non-organic fibers to be mixed up if great care is not taken.
3. Spinning the Fiber into Yarn
It is uncommon for clothing brands to own their own raw materials. But Maggie's purchases our cotton yarn for socks directly from our partners, so we can ensure that our high standards are being met. This is part of our Real Fair Trade pledge.
With bioRe, we developed a partnership with Sunflag, a Tanzanian spinner that has been in business since 1965. Sunflag is SA-8000 and Oeko-tex/GOTS certified, and their workers are supported by a collective bargaining agreement. Our containers of yarn are spun in Tanzania and shipped directly to our knitters in North Carolina.
Spinning yarn is complex. The blend of our fiber and the twist of our yarn is carefully adjusted each year in accordance with Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS).
4. Knitting the Socks
Every pair of Maggie's Organics socks is knit by independent family knitters in North Carolina. With each purchase order, our knitters use the yarn that we own, and bill us as if it's theirs. We deduct the cost of the yarn, but we pay them as a full-package vendor. This helps their cash flow and assures us both that our organic yarn is tracked through every step of production.
Our financial advisors think we're crazy, acting like a bank to our vendors. But we see it differently. We believe in partnering with our suppliers. It helps us secure good quality organic cotton, and it helps us grow manufacturing jobs in the United States.
5. Dyeing and Finishing the Socks
Every pair of our socks is dyed and finished in North Carolina. We work directly with our dyemasters, and at times we challenge conventional methods.
We convinced one dyemaster to take a leap of faith on a hand-made, time-cured process that resulted in our well-loved "tie dye" crew socks.
All of our dyemasters work in accordance with EPA-enforced United States dye standards and support our low-impact dye criteria. Frequent and honest interaction with many employees at our production facilities helps us carry out our Real Fair Trade pledge.