Technical outdoor socks maker Lorpen has won its first ISPO Award in the run up to the leading Munich sportswear show (28-30 November). A jury of international experts chose the Pyrenean manufacturer’s T3+ Biowarmer Inferno Expedition Overcalf from a group of 57 finalists for its unique composition and high degree of technicality, designed for winter mountaineering.

“It is probably one of the few socks that are not knitted but sewn from individual pieces of fabric,” Lorpen says. “With this, Lorpen, the sock manufacturer from the Pyrenees, proves that it is not necessary to knit socks to make them comfortable, warm and even sustainable.”

We've buried one of the socks to see what the biodegradation process is like and how long it takes to degrade completely

The company says the socks are top-of-the-line and they use biodegradable textiles with a Sensil BioCare textile with PrimaloftBio as a filler. The seams are also made with Sensil BioCare used as yarns, while the cuff has been made with chlorine free wool. accordingly, during their useful life the socks help the wearer suffer less in extreme cold conditions, either while doing an activity or at rest. “And after their useful life they'll never become trash, because they're biodegradable. Furthermore, they're very warm and supple and they adapt perfectly to your feet and prevent blisters,” adds Lorpen. 

“We gave ourselves the challenge of making a sock with these characteristics in December 2021. And in March 2022 we started working on the design for the product. This prize is recognition for the hard work we've been doing all these years. Since Lorpen was founded, we've tried to make the best and most sustainable socks without sacrificing technicity. This ISPO Award is further confirmation that we're on the right track. And it encourages us to keep following our path of sustainable innovation,“ says Lorpen.

With the T3+ Biowarmer Inferno Expedition Overcalf specifically, Lorpen has also started an experiment. “We've buried one of the socks to see what the biodegradation process is like and how long it takes to degrade completely.” 

Lorpen will present the new technical sock at the ISPO trade fair in Munich (booth A3-508) alongside the rest of the new products in its winter 2023-2024 collection, which is the brand's first 100% sustainable winter collection where all the yarn and threads are environmentally friendly. 

Designing these socks with biodegradable textiles is an exercise in sustainable innovation applied to a product and it confirms Lorpen's claim to be the best and most cutting-edge in the technical sock industry.

www.lorpen.com