German troops have occupied neutral Belgium, and Great Britain is entering the war alongside France and Russia. For the next four years, the little town of Newtownards will mainly be making socks for soldiers heading to the front.
More than 100 years have passed since then, and in one and the same factory near Belfast, Bridgedale socks are still being born. A lot has changed in that time. The clink of knitting needles has given way to the steady clatter of automatic machines. New materials such as merino wool have appeared. The typical black and grey yarn has been replaced by cheerful colours. And Eirinn remembers all of these changes. For 40 years now – every weekday morning – she has set off from nearby Dundonald to Newtownards to make some of the toughest socks in the world.
And Eirinn is far from alone. You'll find quite a few people at the factory who have worked at Bridgedale for 40 years or more. They know their job inside out, and their long experience goes into every pair of socks.
The Appalachian Trail – the oldest long-distance trail in the world. In 2018, Petr Kosek set out on a four-month journey through 14 US states, climbing and descending an incredible 140 vertical kilometres along the way. With just two pairs of Bridgedale socks. And he still uses them today.
Bridgedale socks are made completely differently from most other socks in the world. A natural fibre – usually merino wool – is first wrapped in a tough synthetic fibre, and only then is this combination knitted into socks. The result is a dense and incredibly durable knit that you won't wear through even after several thousand kilometres.
Yes, really! In Newtownards they stand behind their socks, and the lifetime guarantee on every pair is proof of that. Would you have guessed, for instance, that each sock is first knitted half as big again as the product that ends up on your foot? Only after repeated steam washing and shaping on a last do the socks reach their final size. That's why they won't shrink by even an inch.
What's more, every pair goes through a hand inspection before heading to the shops. That's how they do things there.
All day on your feet. In the evening you pitch the tent, cook dinner in your billy can and crawl into your sleeping bag. And the next day, all over again. The scenery around you changes, but the socks on your feet stay the same. One and the same pair. For a week now. All you need to do is let them air on a rock in the evening, and then you slip back into them without any after-effects of the long march. They stay soft and don't smell. Thanks to the natural antiseptic, antifungal and antibacterial properties of merino wool.
So tell us – how many pairs of socks can you use for 10 years? We know of one.
In the Northern Irish town of Newtownards, socks were already being made during the First World War. And they still are today. Just completely differently from most others in the world. The natural merino wool fibre is first wrapped in a synthetic fibre, and only then is it knitted into socks. The result is a dense, durable knit you probably won't wear through even in 10 years. And before leaving the factory, every pair of Bridgedale socks goes through a hand inspection.
