New Zealanders are sitting on a staggering 28 million single, unmatched socks and are surprisingly patient when it comes to reuniting them.
The Great Kiwi Sock Survey, commissioned by Norsewear and conducted by independent research agency Snapshot, surveyed hundreds of quality sock buyers to uncover what’s really going on in sock drawers and sports totes.
On average, Kiwis are holding onto 6.3 single socks each, or 13.7 per household, with no obvious match in sight. Across the country, that adds up to an estimated 28 million single socks tucked away in wardrobes.
And many of us have little idea where our missing socks actually go.
Forty percent believe they are somehow lost in laundry transit, or that they’re “eaten” by the washing machine; meanwhile, around a third of us think our socks are stashed under beds or behind furniture.
A small percentage blame school and gym bags, and 29 percent claim to have absolutely no idea where their singleton socks have gone.
Rather than being thrown out straight away, most orphaned socks get a fighting chance at reunion.
Thirty-seven percent of solo socks go straight back into the sock drawer “like nothing’s wrong”, and a further 37 percent in a dedicated place like a basket or bag.
And Kiwis are a patient bunch – two thirds of us will hold onto a single sock for over a month, hopeful that its partner will reemerge. Eighteen percent keep the solo sock indefinitely.
Norsewear Managing Director Tim Deane said the survey, while a bit of fun, uncovered some surprising insights.
“Socks disappear, and Kiwis have made peace with it – in fact, we’ve built entire rituals around it! I love that so many New Zealanders have shared the bare truth about their secret sock stashes and hopeful solo sock drawers,” he said.
“What this research really tells us is that a good sock is worth holding onto, even when it’s lost its other half, and that we don’t give up on family.”
Perhaps because our country is missing 28 million single socks, some never to be found again (RIP), mismatched sock wearing is now firmly mainstream, with 38 percent of quality sock buyers admitting they regularly wear odd socks.
For nearly half of them, it’s simply because they’ve lost the matching one, but plenty are embracing the look on purpose. The survey also confirmed that lucky socks are a thing, with a third of us confiding we’re superstitious about a particular pair that we keep for special occasions.
