Monday 12 May 2008

Holey Tights!

Hooray...

What a beautiful May we've been enjoying in Suffolk

With the warmer weather upon us, I've happily ditched my thick, comfortable "40 deniers" for the more flirty "7 denier barely there" number... just in time for our friends' wedding this weekend (which was perfect by the way).

But BOO...

I'd forgotten about those darn ladders!

You know the ones....

They appear in the wrong place at the wrong time and cannot be fixed easily, not even with clear nail polish!

Yes, I'm talking tights, nylons or pantyhose!

Aside from the more heavy-duty winter thickness type, lighter denier tights can suffer from such a short "shelf-life", they could be more associated with disposable items than reusable objects....Just take the two pairs that I managed to ladder at the weekend for example!

At least hope is on the horizon with a new material that has been developed that might extend the usability of tights.

Before I started The Rubbish Diet, I'd never given much thought to such things. I'd just buy, wear, ladder and then throw them away, all in that particular order, which sadly didn't even include a single visit to the washing machine.

But I now realise that just because they are laddered, tights shouldn't automatically be sent to landfill, especially as they don't biodegrade.

Fortunately I have discovered other options enabling them to be reused, from stuffing cushions to using them for plant ties. In fact you will find a whole host of ideas at the websites Self Sufficient-ish and Recycle This.

However, despite best intentions, I'm not sure if I've got enough space around the house to keep hold of my tights for such opportunities, which is why I am delighted to have found an alternative option, where they can be put to much better use.

The great news for nylon laddering offenders like me is that the people at the online hosiery store Tightsplease are collecting old clean tights for their charity appeal, to support women in Ethiopia who have suffered a fistula injury due to complications in childbirth. All tights will be sent to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, where they can use the panty element of the hosiery to secure bandages in place. The remaining material will be woven into rugs, so there is no waste. Even holey, laddered tights come in useful.

So, if you have some old tights knocking around that would be better suited to a new home, please support this worthwhile cause by sending them to:


Ethiopia Tights Appeal, Tightsplease, 2nd Floor Albion Court, 18-20 Frederick St, Hockley, Birmingham, B1 3HE.

More information can be found at the Tightsplease website, so please check for latest news. If you would like to support the work of the hospital directly, please see the hospital's website for details about financial donations.

Finally, if you think that hosiery is just for ladies, be prepared for the news that apparently hosiery sales for men are on the increase. You don't believe me? Then check out www.tights-for-men.com, which claims to be the first UK online store dedicated to men's legwear.

I just hope that men in tights are much better at looking after their ladders than me!

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6 comments:

Karin said...

Thanks for this. It's amaazing what can be recyled and reused if you only know.

My dad used to dry onions in my mum's old tights, btw. They used to be hanging in the garage. He may still be doing so, but I haven't been in their garage for years.

Almost Mrs Average said...

Hi Karin - As you can tell, I am becoming more and more curious about how to keep things out of the bin. I'll probably blog about this soon, but this morning I've just delved into the bag of stuff that my husband has gathered from around the house for the textile bank. I'm now wearing his old shirt and cut the scraggly hems off a pair of my youngest's jeans to turn them into shorts...

Love the idea about the onions. I think it's time to have a nosey around your dad's garage the next time you visit ;-D

Anonymous said...

My 17 yr old daughter has loads of Old Tights id like to get rid of..but they are Black 60/70 denier opaque school tights which will be of no use to fistula.

Hertfordshire Gardener said...

Better late than never, I say!
I was in the process of finding an envelope to send my tights to Tights please, when my husband was moaning that he had not got any gauze to keep the aquatic soil in the pots in the pond.
In a flash of inspiration, I said to him "why not use the top of the tights?". After looking at me slightly strangely, he thought this was an excellent idea and so we have now succesfully used the tights on the inside of the pots to keep everything "contained"

Almost Mrs Average said...

Hi Hertfordshire Gardener - great to see you again. LOL - love you ingenuity. Glad to see that hubby was happy too ;-D

jj said...

I was so delighted to find out about Tightsplease's appeal for used tights. Went on to their website to find out more and discovered that they don't want them any more. What a pity. Any other ideas? JJ

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