What To Do With Old Tights In The UK

Wondering what to do with your old ripped and laddered tights? Don’t bin them! Instead, I’ve got heaps of ways to recycle and reuse them to keep them out of landfill.

Do you have a drawer full of old tights that have seen better days? Don’t consign them to a life in landfill. Here they may never break down, or worse, break down into plastic fragments that leach into waterways, contributing to microplastic pollution. Instead, I’ve got heaps of ideas to recycle or reuse your old hosiery.

From clever organisations that will take your old nylons and turn them into something new, to practical solutions and DIY projects, there are so many ways to breathe new life into those worn-out stockings. You don’t even need to do the leg work – I’ve done it all for you!

What To Do With Old Tights

Ready to get recycling? I’ve got lots of eco-friendly ideas for repurposing your old tights, whilst helping to reduce waste in the process.

Use the quick links to jump to a specific section of this post, or keep scrolling for the full guide:

• Send Them To Tights Recycling Organisations
• Donate Unworn Pairs
• Make Zero-Waste Hair Baubles
• Make Garden Ties
• Use Them In DIY Crafts & Upcycling Projects
• Grow Sprouts
• Keep Your Onions Fresh
• Make Natural Moth-Repellent

Send Them To Tights Recycling Organisations

Tights are tricky to recycle as they’re often made from a blend of materials like nylon, elastane, or polyester. It’s this blend of materials, which is tricky to separate, that makes them so hard to recycle.

Add in the fact that the thin and stretchy nature of nylon means they easily can get tangled up in machinery or mixed in with other materials, and you’ve got a recycler’s worst nightmare.

Thankfully, a few brands offer pioneering hosiery recycling schemes:

• Hedoine – Sustainable legwear brand Hedoine runs its Tights Recycling Programme. Whether your tights are from Hedoine or not, you can send your holey and laddered pairs here, and they’ll be turned into useful items such as tyres and insulation. Whilst you do have to cover the postage cost (to Spain), once your parcel has been received, you’ll get a £10 store credit to use at Hedoine.
• Swedish Stockings – Similar to Hedoine, Swedish Stockings also operates its own recycling programme. Send it your torn hosiery from any brand and they’ll be turned into anything from furniture to industrial filters. Again, you have to cover the postage cost to Sweden, but you’ll get 10% off your next order by way of thanks.
• Snag Tights – Size-inclusive brand Snag makes hosiery that is fully recyclable. This means you can send any Snag tights back, and they will be turned into industrial components. They must be Snag branded though – you can’t add in pairs from other brands. You do have to pay postage, however, Snag is based in the UK so it is cheaper to send them.

You can also put old tights into textile recycling banks. However, as they are so tricky to recycle, there’s no guarantee they will get recycled.

Donate Unworn Pairs

If you’ve got unused and unworn pairs in their original packaging that you haven’t worn, then you could donate these to your local charity shop or sell them online.

It might seem obvious, but make sure they are unused and unworn. Charity shops are unable to sell used hosiery and let’s face it, no one wants to buy worn tights!

Make Zero Waste Hair Baubles

Short of hair baubles? In our house, it feels like they all disappear into a void! Don’t worry, there’s no need to buy more. I’ve found that you can cut up a pair of ripped or laddered tights to make some zero-waste hair baubles, that are surprisingly good yet gentle at securing your hair.

Simply cut the toe off of a freshly washed pair, and then cut the tight legs into bands roughly 2.5 cm wide. Avoid using any ripped or laddered sections. Give the bands a little stretch, and you’re good to go. You’ll never need to buy new hair baubles again!

Make Garden Ties

If you are looking to green your garden, then you can make soft garden ties – perfect for securing climbing plants or for tying pea and bean plants to supports. Make ties in the same way that you would make hair baubles, but snip through the loop to make a ribbon that you can tie.

Use Them In DIY Crafts & Upcycling Projects

If you’re feeling crafty, then the good news is that you can incorporate your old hosiery into your projects. Use them as stuffing for homemade pillows or cushions, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional polyester filling.

Grow Sprouts

If you’re partial to sprouts, then there’s no need to buy plastic tubs or bags of them. You can easily grow them at home using an old jar and an old pair of tights.

Simply cut your tights into squares, and then stretch the nylon fabric over the top of a jar – securing it with an old elastic band. The nylon cleverly lets you drain out the water without losing your seeds down the sink. Pickles & Honey has a great DIY to help keep you right.

Keep Your Onions Fresh

If you’ve grown a crop of onions and are looking to keep them fresher for longer, then old tights are your friend. You can store heaps of onions in one pair. Simply pop your onions in your tights, with a knot or a clip between each onion to prevent them from touching each other. You should then hang up your hosiery in a cool dark place.

It’s a great way to keep your onions fresh for months on end, whilst giving your hoisery a whole new life. Who knew tights could be so useful?!

Make Natural Moth-Repellent

Bothered by moths munching your best woollens? If your tights have a hole or ladder further up the leg, then you can use the feet of them to make herbal moth-repelling pouches.

Simply cut off the foot end of your tights, so that it forms a pouch, and then stuff it with dried lavender and thyme. You can then tie a knot in the nylon to keep the herbs from spilling out. Place these in your cupboards and drawers, where the strong scents of these herbs may help to keep moths at bay.

Make Deer Repellent

If you live in a rural area and have issues with deer munching on your plants, shrubs or trees then you can use your old nylons to make a natural but effective deer repellent.

Simply place half a bar of highly scented soap into the leg of the tights, and tie them to a tree or fence near the boundary of your garden. It may sound like a surprising technique, but it works because deer find the smell of soap offensive, and so will hopefully keep out your garden.

More Recycling Guides

Looking for more ways to recycle your clothes? I’ve got tons of ideas right here:

• What To Do With Your Old Socks
• How To Recycle Old Underwear
• The Bra Recycling Charities To Know
• What To Do With Clothes That You Can’t Give To Charity Shops
• Creative Ways To Reuse Old Clothes