The Summer Socks of Standard Merchandise will Knock Your Shoes Off, They are THAT Fantastic! Whom You Know Highly Recommends Standard Merchandise.
You know we love this brand, Standard Merchandise!
And we love the Kara in Khaki, Caviar (ooh more about Caviar soon!) and Red.
In the winter, we featured Standard Merchandise for the first time:
& they are such quality products, we even did a men's winter feature:
They are anything but standard: they raise the standard for the industry.
You know Peachy is obsessed with things she can put on her feet of quality; there are four columns dedicated to just shoes. However, you will see that we feature very few sock brands. Why is that? We don't see many we like!
We not only like Standard Merchandise, WE LOVE THEM.
Let us count the ways:
A lot of their products are made in the USA, of imported yarns. When this brand says imported yarns, they mean imported from Italy, which is the right answer. The amount of people at trade shows that are embarrassed to say their products, most often of poor quality, are made in Asia is truly shocking. And they wonder why they don't get featured! We are dedicated to finding quality across the board, and when a brand gets multiple reviews, you can bet we are excited about them.
So today we are ready to tell you about the latest and greatest socks of summer by Standard Merchandise. You may think: Why do I need socks? It is summer! Well you don't want your sneakers to start to exhibit a bad odor, or worse yet, your prized shoes from Italy. Also, you need to wear socks when you are Rollerblading, and if you don't think you do, you aren't going far enough. Peachy once forgot her socks and thought she'd try it without them. And, she has the blisters to prove it now. Not that the rollerblades aren't terrific, but if you go far you need socks. We like the above model for sneakers. The pima cotton really lets your skin breathe and they have a lovely texture as well-model Zazu.
This above model is so soft and fluffy, it is ideally named BUNNY. We put it upside down so you can see right at the top how lush these toes are. An angora blend, they are perfect for all of you women that freeze in the office because men annoyingly blast the air conditioning. Peachy at times takes her shoes off at her desk and only wears socks. No one can see the difference and she is more comfortable.
The Angie in Caviar has a fun texture above, and below, Taryn in Teal even has some silk in it. All of these socks feel amazing and you will be left with very happy feet.
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HISTORY
Standard Merchandising Co. is a family owned business-the current owners are the third generation to own and run the business. We have been manufacturing in the US since 1922. In 1978, we expanded from our New Jersey base, opening a small knitting plant in nearby Reading Pennsylvania to knit headbands and wristbands for the tennis market. Shortly thereafter, the company knit its first sock in Reading. Little did we realize at that time that socks would shortly grow to dominate not only the knitting plant, but the business as a whole.
We have been knitting socks in Reading for over 30 years now, during which time the facility has grown to seven times its original size. Over that period, we have manufactured socks for a large number of major hosiery brands- names that everyone would recognize. We still manufacture socks for a number of very well known labels, but today our main focus is on the development of our own brands.
We put all of our 30 plus years of sock manufacturing know how and experience into producing our branded hosiery. In the past few years, we have expanded our lines, so that now, we offer something for a very wide variety of customer. Red Lion offers top quality athletic socks in the most creative designs on the market. Our b.ella brand features cashmere and cashmere blends, angora, extra fine merino and alpaca yarns, among others, in some of the finest and most luxurious hosiery available today. Nouvella, QTFeet and E.G.Smith offer novel yarns and constructions for more adventurous and youthful customers. 2Brother’s products are made from organic and recycled yarns for more health and environmentally conscious consumers.
OUR COMPANY POLICIES & GOALS
Commitment to Domestic Manufacturing
When we started operations in Reading, we were one of perhaps 15 knitting mills in what was then a small regional knitting center, though some companies were already beginning to abandon their domestic operations. Today, we are the last knitting mill operating in Reading, having chosen to stay and find ways to make manufacturing viable in the US. We did so simply because we would not have felt very good about ourselves as a family if we had rewarded our employees by shipping their jobs to a foreign country. We have in turn been repaid by the dedication and continuing loyalty of a very skilled workforce, many of whom have been with us for decades. Together, we all strive to keep our products at the top of their class in quality and design. Over 95% of the products featured on this website are manufactured in our plants in the US. We are very proud to be manufacturing in the United States.
Sustainable Manufacturing
We are committed to minimizing our impact of our operations on the environment Some of the measures we have implemented to further that goal include:
· Re-use and recycling of office paper.
· Recycling of corrugated.
· Re-use of manufacturing waste. Even difficult to reuse manufacturing byproducts can sometimes be given a useful second life if you try. For example, the fabric rings generated by our toe sewing operation are used internally for tying bundles of socks. Outside our plant, they replace rubber bands in local newspaper distribution (they’re great- they slide off without tearing the newspaper!).
· Reduction and elimination of paper. We have eliminated paper in many phases of our operation. We invite all of our customers who can to accept invoicing from us by email instead of snail mail or fax).
· We use post consumer content in much of our packaging.
· We re-use process water in parts of our dye operation.
· We use cold water dyes where possible. They take longer but do not require the use of fossil fuels.
· We have even designed and built dye machinery that uses less energy and less water.
Manufacturing for the Greater Good
We support a number of charities. A portion of our revenue from the sale of our breast cancer ribbon socks is donated for breast cancer research through the sponsorship of participants in the 3 day breast cancer walks. We help sponsor Team Tania, the largest non-corporate team in the City to Shore MS150 bicycle ride, providing free custom cycle socks to nearly 500 riders. A portion of the revenues from the sale of our 2Brothers line is donated annually to different organizations promoting environmental causes. We donate socks to several local organizations supporting the homeless. We also outsource work to Goodwill Industries, giving a workforce of individuals with disabilities the opportunity to learn, to work and to earn a weekly paycheck.
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