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For the most part,
they are hidden away,

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00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:09,120
but they are an essential part
of our wardrobe.

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00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:11,960
I'm talking, of course, about socks.

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00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:15,080
On average, we own 17 pairs each.

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00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:19,080
That's over 1.1 billion pairs
stuffed into sock drawers

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00:00:19,080 --> 00:00:20,360
all across the UK.

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Whether you like them simple,
striped or just plain silly,

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us Brits can't get enough of socks.

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Spending over £700 million
a year on them.

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00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,400
And what better place to find out
how they're made

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than one of the UK's
oldest sock factories?

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I'm Gregg Wallace, and tonight
I'm meeting the close-knit team

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who operate the weird...

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You are torturing socks.

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..and wonderful machines...

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Crikey! Yeah.

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Hot legs, right? Yeah.

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..that produce 1.5 million socks
every year.

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I'm Cherry Healey,

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and I'll be finding out
if science...

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No-one's smelt me
like you've smelt me.

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..can help us defeat smelly feet.

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My socks are a biohazard.

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And historian Ruth Goodman...

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Gentlemen, I understand
you're in need of some new socks.

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Attention!

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..will be saluting
the stitch that saved lives

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in World War I.

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If you march about for ages and get
nice sore feet,

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we'll get some sort of indication

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of whether the Kitchener stitch
really works.

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In just 24 hours, this factory
will make over 6,500 socks -

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and I'm going to reveal
just how they do it.

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Welcome to Inside The Factory.

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00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,760
This isn't the usual sort of place
I find a factory,

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but here, tucked away amongst
residential streets in Leicester,

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is the Pantherella sock factory.

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They've been making socks
on this street since 1937.

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This old factory is unlike any
I've visited before.

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It's packed with amazing machines...

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..that turn out three quarters of
a million pairs of socks a year...

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..for men and women.

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And working alongside them
is a highly skilled team.

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Each sock still passes through
more than 15 pairs of hands

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on its journey from cotton thread
to cosy toes.

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And tonight,
I'm getting hands-on, too,

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as I discover how they make
one of their best selling socks -

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the Kilburn.

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Along these narrow Leicester
streets, a lorry packed with yarn

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weaves its way to the factory.

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I'm meeting production manager
Simon Ellson...

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Simon. Hello, how are you?

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..just as their latest shipment
has been dropped off

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at a rather unusual intake bay.

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Simon, do you honestly get your
deliveries dumped on the pavement?

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We do. Why?

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Because this is a residential area

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and we have to get the trucks
through here

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and unload them as quick as possible

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so we don't block
any of the residents in.

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Why do you don't move
somewhere more convenient?

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Cos this is not convenient.

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Most of the people who actually
work here

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actually live around these
surrounding areas.

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So, they will actually go home
at lunch time for a cuppa -

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and if we did decide to move,

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it's like we're going to lose
the whole skill set of the factory.

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So, this is thread.
What have you got, yarn? Yarn.

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Yarn - and where's it from?

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It's Egyptian.

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Cotton yarn is made
from the fibres surrounding

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the seeds of the cotton plant.

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Most of the cotton used
in the factory is hand-picked

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more than 2,000 miles away in Egypt,

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one of the biggest cotton-producing
regions in the world.

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From there, the raw cotton
is shipped to Italy,

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where it's cleaned,
spun into thread and dyed.

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Then it's packed into boxes
and transported here,

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to this tiny street in Leicester.

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Do you know how much yarn's on here,
Simon? 800 kilos.

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And how many pairs of socks
would that make?

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This delivery will make
approximately 20,000 pairs of socks.

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20,000 pairs?
40,000 individuals?

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Yes. Righto.

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Well, I'd like to see
how it's done.

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Steady, steady!
All the way from Egypt, this stuff.

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STRAINING, LAUGHING

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All right, go back out again.

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Crying out loud.

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Can I have a go? Be my guest.

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I used to do pallets
of fruit and veg in the market.

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Wahey!

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Still got it.

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There you go.

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As our shipment of yarn is unloaded,

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our sock production begins.

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Each large spindle, known as a cone,

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contains enough cotton
to knit 25 pairs of socks -

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but this stuff starts life
as a plant.

100
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So, how is it turned
into this fine thread?

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Cherry's been finding out.

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Before Manchester had football,
its currency was cotton.

103
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The success of the city was built
on spinning and sewing

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00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,080
during the Industrial Revolution.

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Tower Mill is one of 900
that produced cotton here

106
00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:46,240
during that time - but it's the only
one still spinning cotton today.

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Showing me how it's kept up
with the latest technology...

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00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:51,120
Hi, Andy, nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.

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..is Andy Ogden
from English Fine Cottons.

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It all starts with these -

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250 kilo bales.

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Gregg's sock cotton is from Egypt,
but this factory's supply

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comes from California and Australia,

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where it thrives
in warm subtropical climates.

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Can I cut the bands? Please do.

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Andy, thank you so much.

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SNAP
Oh!

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You knew that was going
to happen. I did. You did, OK.

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Today, we're making yarn
with Australian cotton.

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Using state-of-the-art machinery,

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this mill can produce 3,000 kilos
of cotton yarn a day.

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First, raw cotton from the different
bales has to be mixed together

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using a machine
with the best name ever.

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So, the Blendomat's ready.
Are we ready to start the process?

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I can't wait to turn on
the Blendomat!

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Right. Green button.

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There she goes!

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Since cotton is a natural product,
no two bales are exactly the same.

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The Blendomat's now going to take
a piece

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00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:55,720
of every single one of the bales,

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blending all the cotton together

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to get a uniform product.

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This ensures the whole batch will
have the same strength and colour

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when it's spun into thread.

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What it's actually doing

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is it's rolling across the top
of the bales,

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sucking up the top
five millimetres of fibre.

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So, the Blendomat is giving it
a buzz cut?

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Basically.
That's exactly what it's doing.

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After the five millimetre lengths
of fibre have been plucked,

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00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:25,680
they float upstairs on a bed of air
to six blending chambers.

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It's like a giant tumble dryer.

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It almost looks like
a giant popcorn machine.

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It's a bit like Knight Rider,
as well,

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00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:33,440
with that light across the top.

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00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,640
MUSIC: Knight Rider Theme
And it's just as fast.

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My fluffed up cotton fibres whizz
through a process called carding

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00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:44,480
to form a soft untwisted rope
known as a sliver.

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Someone's had a makeover.
Look at that!

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00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:50,960
It's so clean and soft.

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00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:53,200
I'm just going to get
progressively sleepier

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as the day goes on.

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The multiple slivers
are then compressed

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00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:01,280
to form what looks like a giant
super soft toilet roll.

155
00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:02,960
Here it comes, whoo!

156
00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:06,200
What do we call this? That's a lap.

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00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:08,400
Just one lap? You never do
two or three laps?

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We actually have to do eight laps
for the next machine,

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which is the comber. I'm exhausted.

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My lap is in need
of a serious comb-over.

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What you will see is, the machine
will start to comb the fibre,

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and you'll see it,

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but it'll be combing at
around about 600 combs a minute.

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00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:27,040
I wish I could brush
my daughter's hair that quickly.

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We're making it as soft and luscious
as it can be.

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It's all about softness, isn't it?

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00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:32,440
Absolutely.

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00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,240
My cotton has been cleaned,
blended and combed

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an incredible 360,000 times.

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00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:41,120
Now it's ready to be spun
on this mesmerising

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00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:42,960
ring-spinning machine.

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00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:47,440
It's 40m long. 1,200 spindles

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00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:49,680
of cotton spinning,
all at the same time.

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It's quite a sight to behold.

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00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:59,200
And it's a lot bigger here
than it is here.

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The rollers at the bottom

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00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:04,120
are travelling 80 times faster
than the top.

178
00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:06,160
And that's what spinning is.

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00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:10,360
You're drawing the cotton
and forming it into a yarn.

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00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:12,640
It's so gorgeous.

181
00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:18,920
Next, the tightly spun yarn is wound
onto a six-inch blue tube

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00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,640
called a cop,
ready for one final spin.

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00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,240
This is, in fact, the finished
article - you just need to gather it

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00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,480
into one big roll. Absolutely.

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00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:30,720
It's winding at 1,000m a minute.

186
00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:33,280
Is it happening so fast
it's essentially invisible?

187
00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:35,360
Absolutely.

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00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:40,480
The mill's modern machinery produces
a staggering 4,200 miles

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00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:42,320
of yarn every hour.

190
00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:47,080
That's 50 times more than it made
at the peak of its Victorian heyday.

191
00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:53,640
It is amazing to think that it
started out in that bale downstairs,

192
00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,200
and now it's this pristine yarn.

193
00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,440
We've cleaned it, we've combed it,
we've nurtured it,

194
00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,280
and now that's a consistent yarn
that will last in a garment

195
00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:04,360
for years to come. Beautiful.

196
00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:10,720
It's so exciting to see this company
breathing new life

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00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:14,200
into a British industry
that was the envy of the world.

198
00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,840
So, next time you put on your toasty
socks or your comfy jumper,

199
00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:22,720
think about how much work it takes
to turn this...into this.

200
00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:33,480
Back in Leicester,

201
00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:37,560
I've taken delivery
of 800 kilos of Egyptian cotton -

202
00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:40,080
enough to make 20,000
pairs of socks.

203
00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:43,880
The factory is staffed
by a team of 100 -

204
00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:46,880
entire families from
the local community

205
00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:49,320
have worked here for generations.

206
00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:52,000
But before I can get onto
the factory floor

207
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:56,040
to start knitting socks,
it's a visor, not a hair net for me,

208
00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:57,640
and I'm off to quality control

209
00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:01,920
to get my yarn tested
by department boss Ian Green.

210
00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:05,240
Oh, Ian? What are you doing here?

211
00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:06,920
We're going to check the colour

212
00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:09,960
to make sure that that colour
of delivery that we've received

213
00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,080
is exactly the same
as the last delivery,

214
00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:15,320
the delivery before, all the way
back to when we started

215
00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:16,920
taking that colour of yarn.

216
00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:20,600
The factory uses 2,000 yarns
on the production line.

217
00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:23,040
Ian's got samples going back years -

218
00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:26,360
but there's no modern computer
storage here,

219
00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:29,040
just old-school filing cabinets.

220
00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:31,360
I've got to ask you,
how many shades of grey?

221
00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:33,600
Please tell me there's 50. More.

222
00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,280
To colour test my yarn, we need
a sample of thread

223
00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:42,360
which is measured out by this
fantastic-looking contraption.

224
00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:43,960
It's called a roving machine.

225
00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,440
It's like something
out of Wallace and Gromit!

226
00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,440
So if I talk about this,
am I a roving reporter?

227
00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:51,480
You could well be.

228
00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:55,520
A roving is the technical term
for a thicker bundle of yarn,

229
00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:57,480
which is much easier to test...

230
00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:00,120
It's like an assault course
for cotton, right?

231
00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:01,640
..than a single thread.

232
00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:04,440
That'll give us
a 60m roving of yarn.

233
00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,800
GREGG LAUGHS
I don't know why this is such fun,

234
00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:09,160
it just is.

235
00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:11,400
It's not unlike
a pasta-making machine.

236
00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:14,760
There? Yeah. And now,
once I've got me sample,

237
00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:16,080
what do I do with it then?

238
00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:18,320
We're then going to go and look
under the light cabinet

239
00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:19,920
and check it for shade.

240
00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:24,120
Ian's light cabinet contains three
types of light bulbs - daylight,

241
00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,640
shop lighting
and old-fashioned tungsten.

242
00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,880
On the daylight, all of those
look - fairly similar?

243
00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:33,520
The one on the bottom looks slightly
greyer than the other browns.

244
00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:35,600
But if we go under
a store's light...

245
00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:37,720
Oh, it's green!

246
00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:39,840
Because the dyes
that have been used

247
00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:43,280
react differently to that light
than they do with the others.

248
00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:47,720
Under different light sources,
we see colours differently.

249
00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:49,160
Is there a name for that?

250
00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:50,720
It's called metamerism,

251
00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:53,240
and it's one of the things
that we have to avoid.

252
00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:58,880
So, is my navy yarn an exact match
for Ian's 11-year-old sample?

253
00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:00,320
OK, fingers crossed.

254
00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:04,200
And under tungsten...

255
00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:05,600
Yeah, we're fine.

256
00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,240
I'll agree. Get in!

257
00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:12,320
Now my yarn's passed Ian's
light test with flying colours,

258
00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:14,560
all I need is the rest of the cotton

259
00:13:14,560 --> 00:13:16,280
to knit my stripy socks.

260
00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:20,320
So, I'm heading for the yarn store.

261
00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:24,600
If I've got to find the other
seven colours amongst this lot,

262
00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:26,920
I'm going to need a bit of help.

263
00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:30,000
So, where is my sock guru, Simon?

264
00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:35,040
Simon, hello again.
Hello, how are you?

265
00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:36,800
This place is incredible.

266
00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:39,120
We hold 30 tonnes here
at the moment.

267
00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:41,600
Do you know how long that would be
if we tied them all together?

268
00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:44,200
Moon and back, four times over.
Would it really?

269
00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:46,120
If Neil Armstrong would have known
this existed,

270
00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:47,880
he might have done things
differently.

271
00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:51,720
Yep. We could have yanked him up
and pulled him back again.

272
00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:53,600
In different colours. Definitely.

273
00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:55,800
And without his feet being cold.

274
00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,000
VOICEOVER: You can't win 'em all.

275
00:13:58,000 --> 00:13:59,240
Moving on...

276
00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:02,520
I've got to find seven colours
in 2,000 bins.

277
00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:04,960
Yep. Can I take a flask of tea
with me?

278
00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:06,960
All right, first one is blackberry.

279
00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,600
Right, I'm going in.

280
00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,440
679. Well, hang on a minute...

281
00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:15,280
# I'm walking, yes, indeed
And I'm talking. #

282
00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:17,920
Oh. Er...

283
00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:19,680
# Now you come back to me... #

284
00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:20,960
Blackberry.

285
00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:24,720
Where's 319?

286
00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,480
I need another hundred yards
of this. Where is 300?

287
00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:30,520
Got it, got it!

288
00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,600
1,376 - hazy blue.

289
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:36,400
There are 12 types of yarn
in here...

290
00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:38,440
Where's 2,084?

291
00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:41,720
..from luxury cashmere
to recycled cotton.

292
00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:46,600
They're stored on a kilometre
of coded racking.

293
00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:48,680
I hate it when we run out of numbers
at the end.

294
00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:50,560
That's shelves to you and me.

295
00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,400
Two navy, 319. Oh!

296
00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:55,720
There's enough yarn
in this storeroom

297
00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:57,760
to knit two million socks.

298
00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:00,320
2,500, 2,600...

299
00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,400
One pair for every person
in Leicester.

300
00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:08,280
Oh! Yes! Last one. Done it!

301
00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,800
Now, I'm more of a black sock man
myself, but...

302
00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,240
Socks today come in all colours

303
00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,320
to reflect our sense of style,
or lack of it -

304
00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:21,920
but there was a time
when they didn't register

305
00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:23,680
on the fashion radar at all.

306
00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:27,200
Ruth investigates the era
when all that changed.

307
00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:30,960
For most of the 20th century,

308
00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:36,240
socks were considered a dull, drab
and functional piece of underwear.

309
00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:38,000
MUSIC: Stayin' Alive
by the Bee Gees

310
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:42,640
Even into the late 1970s,
socks were squirrelled away

311
00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:45,840
beneath maxi dresses
and long flares -

312
00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:47,720
but in the next decade,

313
00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:51,160
they were to emerge
blinking into the limelight.

314
00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,920
The 1980s was the decade when socks
suddenly took centre stage.

315
00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:58,880
MUSIC: Venus
by Shocking Blue

316
00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:01,520
To find out why, I'm meeting
fashion designer and historian...

317
00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:03,360
Hiya. Hello! How are you doing?

318
00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:04,960
..Teleica Kirkland.

319
00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:08,440
So, how did socks become
such a fashion item in the 1980s?

320
00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:12,600
Socks were speaking really about
what was happening at the time.

321
00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:14,880
Accessories was a big thing
in the '80s -

322
00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:18,280
layering, and having colour,
and fun.

323
00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,320
So, the socks really reflected that,

324
00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:25,280
and we had a lot of moves towards
digitisation and technology -

325
00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:26,880
then the colourfulness of the socks

326
00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:28,360
and the dynamic patterns
of the socks

327
00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:29,840
were able to reflect that, as well.

328
00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:31,600
MUSIC: Blue Monday
by New Order

329
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:35,240
By the mid-'80s, our Walkmans
were pulsing with the music

330
00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:41,000
of artists like Madonna,
Bananarama and Boy George.

331
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,920
These icons,
alongside the mass production

332
00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:45,880
of cheap and stylish clothes,

333
00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,960
helped to propel the simple sock
into the fashion mainstream.

334
00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,920
The high street sees what the artist
is wearing

335
00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:55,240
and then starts
to capitalise on that

336
00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:58,160
by creating accessories,
creating outfits

337
00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:00,840
that have been seen
within pop culture.

338
00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:02,240
MUSIC: Gold
by Spandau Ballet

339
00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:04,520
As well as pop,
a new keep fit craze

340
00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,760
had a sporty influence
on high street fashion.

341
00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,680
You know, we have people
like the Green Goddess

342
00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:13,240
happening at that time
and Lizzie on TV-am

343
00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:16,480
and people like that who were
really going for gold

344
00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:19,120
with the fitness routines
on daytime TV.

345
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:27,080
And then gradually the leg warmers
begin to morph into socks. Yes.

346
00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:34,920
And an entrepreneurial 27-year-old
capitalised on these new trends,

347
00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,000
launching Sock Shop in 1983.

348
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,040
I'm meeting the woman
behind this '80s phenomenon,

349
00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:42,880
sockaholic Sophie Mirman.

350
00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:45,560
Hello. Welcome. Come on in.
Well, thank you.

351
00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:47,760
I've always been a sock fetishist,

352
00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:51,240
and, in fact, my father always had
a drawer of brightly coloured socks

353
00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:53,440
that I used to go and steal
from him to wear,

354
00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:59,160
and the idea behind a shop
just selling socks and tights

355
00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:01,560
was really my own frustration
at shopping,

356
00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:03,600
where I had to go
to a large department store,

357
00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:05,280
couldn't find
the hosiery department,

358
00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:08,120
and it just seemed like a very
inconvenient way of buying something

359
00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:09,920
that should be
an everyday necessity.

360
00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:11,480
MUSIC: Sweet Dreams
by Eurythmics

361
00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:14,480
The Sock Shop pioneered
a new approach to retail,

362
00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:18,960
opening their small, vibrant stores
in tube and train stations.

363
00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:20,760
90% of our customers were women.

364
00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,080
Which women were you sort
of aiming at?

365
00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:25,640
The daily commuter,
to Princess Diana,

366
00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:27,520
who was photographed wearing

367
00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:29,520
a pair of our spotty socks.

368
00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,040
So, it really was a complete
cross-section of society.

369
00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:34,480
# Sweet dreams are made of this... #

370
00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:38,160
The cheeky, brightly coloured
designs were a big hit.

371
00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,760
Them. Them. Saw them for years!
The piggies! Yes.

372
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:44,640
Those pigs were always
a fantastic seller.

373
00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:46,800
And the profits soared.

374
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,400
The rise of Sock Shop
was quite meteoric -

375
00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:52,280
but in a matter of five years,

376
00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:56,640
Sock Shop went from a small business
with two or three stores

377
00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,480
to a much, much bigger business
with 50 stores.

378
00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:02,720
When you were at your height,
how many socks were you selling?

379
00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,960
My goodness. Tens of thousands.

380
00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:09,120
I mean, Sock Shop was turning over
millions and millions of pounds.

381
00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:10,880
It was extraordinary.

382
00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,880
And all on the back of socks?
And all on the back of socks.

383
00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:17,040
MUSIC: Don't You
by Simple Minds

384
00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:20,200
After flying high for seven years,
a recession hit

385
00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,720
and the brand went
into administration in 1990 -

386
00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:28,320
but the legacy of those brightly
coloured socks lives on today...

387
00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:32,160
..and, for some of us,
that's very good news.

388
00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:42,320
Back at the factory in Leicester,
I've got my colour-approved yarn

389
00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:45,560
and I'm ready to start making socks.

390
00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:48,440
I'm heading to the knitting plant.

391
00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:51,280
Now, it was news to me,
but socks aren't sewn -

392
00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,320
they're knitted.

393
00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:56,760
And I'm meeting
knitting mechanic Mark.

394
00:19:56,760 --> 00:19:58,400
Mark. Hello, Gregg.

395
00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:00,280
Is this a knitting machine?
It certainly is.

396
00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:02,480
It's a single cylinder sock
knitting machine, Gregg.

397
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,080
It's actually a bit smaller
than I thought it was going to be,

398
00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:06,880
but it's a beautiful thing.
Oh, it's nice.

399
00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:12,600
The knitting plant covers
more than 460 square metres

400
00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:15,440
and is packed
with 50 knitting machines.

401
00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:22,400
We're running 16 hours a day,
which gives us about 6,720

402
00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:24,400
socks every day, Gregg.

403
00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:27,000
That's a lot of socks.
It's a lot of socks.

404
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:28,640
Tell me how it works. Right.

405
00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:30,760
First, Gregg,
we've got to put the yarn on.

406
00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:32,920
I'll put the cones on,
you tie 'em up.

407
00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:34,600
The machine's high-tech...

408
00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:36,560
Brown goes over there, Gregg.

409
00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:38,720
..but loading is still done by hand.

410
00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:40,680
Bring 'em on next, Gregg.

411
00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:44,640
These are not unlike
a set of heated rollers.

412
00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,160
They're pretty similar, aren't they?
I use them regularly.

413
00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,160
I'm sure you do.

414
00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:52,640
The eight different yarns are then
laced into the machine.

415
00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,360
It's like a big
and very fiddly version

416
00:20:55,360 --> 00:20:57,920
of your nan's old sewing machine.

417
00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:00,200
It takes some time.
And a steady hand.

418
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,160
I mean, you have enormous tweezers
on there,

419
00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:04,000
a couple of little holes
to get it through.

420
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:05,600
Yes, you don't want a bottle of wine

421
00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:08,440
on the night before you're threading
it up, that's for sure, Gregg.

422
00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:11,320
It takes 20 minutes to put
my yarn up -

423
00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,960
but that's not all I need
to knit my socks.

424
00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:18,920
What's those big ones at the back?
Ah, the big ones, there, Gregg,

425
00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,200
are the nylon. They're the magic
ingredient to the sock.

426
00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:25,720
They give the sock the strength
and elasticity.

427
00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,240
So we're not cotton socks at all,
we're nylon socks.

428
00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:32,000
We're more cotton than nylon.

429
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,680
Without the nylon, the cotton socks
wouldn't work?

430
00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:37,200
Without the nylon,
you're making a dish cloth, Gregg.

431
00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,360
I don't want my sock ending up
in the kitchen sink!

432
00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:45,800
So, we're using a mix of 70% cotton
and 30% nylon.

433
00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:50,320
So, how many socks are we making
with this much thread?

434
00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:54,000
Today, Gregg, you're going to make
120 socks.

435
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:57,800
That's going to take us around
ten hours. All on the same machine?

436
00:21:57,800 --> 00:21:59,840
All on the same machine.

437
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:03,160
But before we can get knitting,
we need a pattern.

438
00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:04,520
To collect mine,

439
00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:08,160
I'm heading upstairs to the design
department to meet the woman

440
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,000
in charge, Carol Bielak.

441
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,080
She's been at the factory
for 32 years!

442
00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:15,960
Carol. Hello.

443
00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,280
How many pairs of socks
do you think you may have designed?

444
00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,040
Ooh, around 6,000 or more.

445
00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:22,840
Really?! Yeah.

446
00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:25,440
And did you design this one,
the Kilburn?

447
00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:26,640
I did, yes.

448
00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,800
We play around with colour,
with different scales of stripes,

449
00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:34,400
and this one, we found, was really
well-balanced throughout the sock.

450
00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,920
Nowadays, most socks
are designed by a computer,

451
00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:42,040
but Carol first drew the pattern
for my sock by hand on graph paper.

452
00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:43,720
In this particular sock,

453
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:49,160
we have 475 courses,
and "courses" is each row.

454
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:52,760
My sock pattern is ten rows navy...

455
00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:56,840
So from here, the machine
will start knitting.

456
00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:59,600
..and the coloured stripes
are all nine rows.

457
00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:03,040
And then they go nine times,
and that makes up the green. Yeah.

458
00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:04,840
Then ten times again makes up
the blue.

459
00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:06,840
Nine times again, the green.
Exactly.

460
00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:09,760
All the way through.
Crying out loud.

461
00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,560
But the pattern
isn't just graph paper.

462
00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:17,320
Here, you will see,
there's 18 pages...

463
00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:21,240
What?! ..of different steps
to make this sock,

464
00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,040
saying how many courses,

465
00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:25,720
where it should knit
the heel and toe...

466
00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:28,200
My grandmother used
to have knitting patterns.

467
00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,240
They were a quarter
of the size of that!

468
00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:33,960
So how did you get all of
that information

469
00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:37,040
into a sewing machine?
The knitting machine,

470
00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:40,200
it's all stored on a USB stick.

471
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:42,440
Thank you, Carol. Bless you.

472
00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,240
And bless your cotton socks!
SHE LAUGHS

473
00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:47,360
Now I've got my knitting pattern,

474
00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:50,960
I'm heading back down
to the knitting plant.

475
00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:54,560
And there's no hanging about -
Mark's raring to go!

476
00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:56,200
Green button, Gregg.

477
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:57,280
We're not a touch screen.

478
00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:58,880
We're not that modern.

479
00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,320
You ready?
This is a historic moment.

480
00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:05,920
This is the first time anyone in
the UK has ever seen a Gregg sock.

481
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:11,480
We're making the sock.

482
00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:16,040
That finger has launched
so many products

483
00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:18,360
it's unbelievable. The magic finger.

484
00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:20,600
From cream cakes to socks,
that finger.

485
00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:28,320
This crazy contraption is spinning
at 200 revolutions per minute.

486
00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:32,120
To make each sock
takes 2km of yarn.

487
00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:36,400
After it comes off the cone,
it goes through the yarn guide.

488
00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:40,720
Then the yarn counting sensor takes
a record of the amount of thread

489
00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:46,000
being used, which is kept taut
by the yarn take-up devices,

490
00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:51,280
before it passes through the feeders
ready to be fed to the needles.

491
00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:52,920
Whoa.

492
00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,920
All the threads end up in the centre
of the machine,

493
00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:58,800
where the knitting magic happens.

494
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:00,200
Well, that's incredible.

495
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:04,240
In the mouth of that monster
is the beginnings of a sock.

496
00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:05,800
I kind of imagined it would be flat,

497
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:07,720
and the needles would go backwards
and forwards

498
00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:08,800
and a sock would emerge -

499
00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,040
but this is like inside a tube.

500
00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:13,200
The needles are housed
in a cylinder.

501
00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,000
The cylinder
is continuously rotating.

502
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,720
The round cylinder is called
the dial,

503
00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:20,920
and it's loaded with 200 needles,

504
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:24,160
which knit each sock
as an individual tube.

505
00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:27,440
Looking down into the mouth
of a mythical beast -

506
00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,040
and the teeth of that beast,

507
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:31,280
they're all the needles,

508
00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:33,280
but they're constantly
doing this thing.

509
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:35,160
The needles inside the machine

510
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:38,040
aren't pointed like
knitting needles at home.

511
00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:40,440
They are bent at the top
like crochet hooks

512
00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:42,840
and are called latch needles.

513
00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:47,720
As they revolve three times a
second, they catch the yarn,

514
00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:51,120
make a loop and add a stitch
to the row below.

515
00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:53,840
The computer program tells
the machine when to feed

516
00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:55,480
in a new colour.

517
00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:57,560
In this one sock alone,

518
00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:00,760
we have 200 stitches on one course,

519
00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:03,800
475 courses -

520
00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:08,280
in total, 95,000 different stitches.
No way!

521
00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:10,520
Nearly 100,000 stitches in a sock?

522
00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:13,560
How long do you reckon
it's taking to make one sock?

523
00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:15,760
It's just a tad over five minutes.

524
00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:20,040
In the world of automated
production, that sounds like a lot -

525
00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:23,960
but when you consider, really,
they are still knitting needles,

526
00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:25,320
that is immense.

527
00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:27,960
It's not bad going.
As good as my mum is,

528
00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:29,960
she'd never do it that quick.

529
00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,480
And like clockwork,
five minutes later...

530
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:34,280
Wahey! There she blows, Gregg.

531
00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:37,640
..out pops
the first-ever Gregg sock.

532
00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:38,760
Wait a minute.

533
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,800
What's all that? Look.
It's got an 'ole at both ends!

534
00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,640
That's not a sock,
that's a leg warmer!

535
00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:47,040
I can't believe
you went through all that,

536
00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:49,320
and it's not sewn up at the end.

537
00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,560
I'm a bit disappointed,
to be honest.

538
00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:54,320
It's a beautifully made sock,
but I thought it'd be complete.

539
00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:57,400
What we have to do, Gregg,
is take that to another department

540
00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,320
and we'll close the toe. Oh, really?

541
00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:02,160
So are we going to make
the other 119 socks now, then?

542
00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:05,760
Ah, not before we get the sock past
our quality control department.

543
00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:08,800
She's going to send it back -
it's got an 'ole in the end.

544
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:14,040
Right now, I don't have a HOLE lot
of confidence in my sock,

545
00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:18,800
but I'm heading off to quality
control where I'm meeting Ola.

546
00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:20,200
Ola? Come in. Yeah.

547
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,880
Can you show me how to
quality control my sock, please?

548
00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:25,600
Yes, I will. Now, listen,
I'm fond of this sock, all right?

549
00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:27,040
So be gentle with it.

550
00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:29,920
OK. The first thing to do
is to check the pattern.

551
00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:33,080
See if the pattern is the same? Yes.

552
00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:35,240
Two green, two green.
Two grey, two grey.

553
00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:37,240
Two brown, two brown.
Two blue, two blue.

554
00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:38,800
Two pink, two pink, two green...
Good.

555
00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:40,680
Whew! Pass. All right, I'll go now.

556
00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:42,160
No, don't go yet.

557
00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:46,360
Ola's putting my sock
through a battery of eight tests.

558
00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:47,840
Yeah, it's good.

559
00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:51,480
The factory produces
ten different sizes of sock.

560
00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:54,400
Mine needs to be a perfect 12.

561
00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:55,520
Good.

562
00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:57,160
That's another tick -

563
00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,400
but it's not over yet for my sock.

564
00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:03,240
Your next step is the leg lateral
and the foot lateral.

565
00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,240
We are checking it
on the rack here.

566
00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:08,000
The rack?!

567
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:09,760
Ola's not kidding.

568
00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:13,760
This instrument of torture
measures the give

569
00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:15,440
in the sock width wise.

570
00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:16,600
OK.

571
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:20,600
My sock is 9cm wide,
but this dastardly machine...

572
00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,560
..stretches it to more than double.

573
00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:25,560
It's supposed to be 23.

574
00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:27,400
It's 23. Good.

575
00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:29,480
Why do you do that?

576
00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:32,280
Because we don't want it
to be too tight on the foot

577
00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:34,120
or in the leg.

578
00:28:34,120 --> 00:28:37,160
It's the nylon thread
that makes the sock stretchy.

579
00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:38,680
And now the foot.

580
00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:42,280
Yes. Nylon's less than half
a millimetre thick,

581
00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:46,520
but this thread can stretch
to twice as long as cotton yarn.

582
00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:48,200
23.5.

583
00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:50,960
Good. You are torturing socks.

584
00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:52,680
I love doing this work.

585
00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:55,240
I've been doing it
for the past 15 years.

586
00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:57,280
Now we want to check the lengths.

587
00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:02,200
How much more can one sock take?

588
00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:04,960
Good. We've done it?

589
00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:06,800
Yes. Get in there, sock.

590
00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,960
There's still a hole in my sock
where the toe should be,

591
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,760
but that's a result. Good!

592
00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:19,640
That shouldn't make me that happy,
but it has.

593
00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:21,840
Good. Thank you very much.
You're welcome.

594
00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:25,440
So my toeless sock
has been stretched

595
00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:28,160
to within an inch of its life.

596
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:30,920
She passed it!
Fantastic! 119 to go.

597
00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:34,040
And now we can crack on
with the full batch.

598
00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:36,440
Sock away! Sock away.

599
00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:44,400
If you work on your feet all day,

600
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,000
you can expect them to get a bit hot
and sweaty -

601
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:50,360
but could the sock you're wearing
be part of the problem?

602
00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:52,040
Cherry's finding out.

603
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:03,120
It's just a part of life
that feet smell -

604
00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:05,800
some slightly more than others -

605
00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:10,000
but can socks help or hinder
this stinky situation?

606
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,640
There's a huge range of socks
out there,

607
00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:15,480
and some claim
to prevent pong altogether -

608
00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:19,640
but before I put them to the test,
I want to know what causes the whiff

609
00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:21,600
in the first place.

610
00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:25,800
I've come to Northumbria University
to meet medical microbiologist

611
00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:27,120
Dr Clare Lanyon...

612
00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:28,320
Hello there!

613
00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:31,720
..who specialises
in the science of stink.

614
00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:33,800
Why do we get smelly feet?

615
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,320
The reason we get particularly
smelly feet

616
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:38,720
is there's a lot of bacteria
on our feet.

617
00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:42,240
We have a lot more sweat glands
per square inch of our feet

618
00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,120
than we do
in any other part of the body.

619
00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:47,160
So when we sweat,
it creates a thin layer of water.

620
00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:50,600
That layer of water likes
to interact with the bacteria

621
00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:54,480
and fungi on our feet,
and that's what produces the smells.

622
00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:57,960
It's a dream team
for odours to be produced.

623
00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:03,040
But can I defeat this stinky dream
team by choosing the right sock?

624
00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:05,440
I'm going to road test
three different types

625
00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,080
wearing each pair for a ten-hour day

626
00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:10,480
before putting them
under Clare's microscope.

627
00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:11,560
DING!

628
00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,600
Day one,
and I'm testing 100% cotton.

629
00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:17,160
I really don't feel like
doing any exercise,

630
00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:19,600
but in the name of science
and fairness,

631
00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:21,920
I'm going to go on a run.

632
00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:27,400
Cotton is a naturally
breathable fibre.

633
00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:29,600
I'm hoping that helps.

634
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:30,960
SHE PANTS

635
00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:32,040
DING!

636
00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:34,240
Day two
of the stinky sock challenge,

637
00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:37,320
and today we're trying out
synthetic socks.

638
00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:41,640
These ones aren't as breathable,
but claim to soak up less sweat,

639
00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:45,080
DING!
Just one more pair to go.

640
00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:48,680
And we're testing out
the antibacterial socks.

641
00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:51,960
These are supposed to kill
the bacteria causing smells

642
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:55,200
using copper woven into the sock.

643
00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:59,000
After three hot and sticky days,
the courier's arrived

644
00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,080
to transport my socks
to Clare's lab.

645
00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:02,800
All right? Thanks, Gary.

646
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:04,560
Bye. Thanks. Bye-bye.

647
00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:07,320
Sorry, Gary!

648
00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:12,680
A week later,
and the tests are back.

649
00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:15,400
I mean, the results
are pretty shocking, really.

650
00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:17,560
Oh, no! Compared between the two.

651
00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:22,440
First, Clare shows me the culture
taken directly from my bare feet

652
00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:24,880
to assess the odours
that they produce naturally

653
00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:27,120
without socks.

654
00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:29,200
That's my bacteria family.

655
00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:31,160
And everybody has bacteria
on their feet,

656
00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:33,000
regardless of how clean
that you are,

657
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,440
or how clean that you think
that you're going to be.

658
00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:37,880
What does it smell like?
Oh, it's very yeasty.

659
00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:40,080
Yeah. Very bready.

660
00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:42,560
So, Clare, of the three pairs
of socks

661
00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:45,800
that I lovingly donated to you -
you're welcome -

662
00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:49,160
which of them was the least stinky?

663
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:50,880
I think we should have a look.

664
00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:54,360
Clare took swabs of the bacteria
from inside each sock,

665
00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:57,680
which were then carefully cultured
for five days in the lab.

666
00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:00,200
So which sock is the least stinky?

667
00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:02,040
First up, cotton.

668
00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:04,280
This is what you would expect.

669
00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:06,320
This is exactly what we would
expect to see.

670
00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:09,960
Haven't got one particular
organism dominating the other.

671
00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:13,040
But has the mix of bacteria
on the cotton contributed

672
00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:15,240
to the aroma of my feet?

673
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:17,960
It smells similar to your skin swab.

674
00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:20,520
Still got that yeasty,
fermenty smell on there.

675
00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:24,400
So nothing particularly bad
has grown as a result

676
00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:25,920
of you wearing that cotton sock.

677
00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:28,440
So that's a good result
for the cotton socks.

678
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:29,880
Exactly.

679
00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:33,200
So what about the synthetic sock?

680
00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:34,960
Look at the comparison there.
Oh, wow.

681
00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:37,000
That's very, very different.

682
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:40,040
That's really uniform.
It looks like a...just like a gel.

683
00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:43,080
Well, that's because
there's so much bacteria on there,

684
00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:46,440
we can't actually see
the individual colonies any more.

685
00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:49,800
It's designed to pull the sweat away
from the foot,

686
00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:53,360
but in doing so,
it holds it into that material.

687
00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:56,640
But does this make
the synthetic sock smellier?

688
00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,120
Yeah, you can smell...
Are your eyes watering? A little.

689
00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:01,200
I feel really bonded to you, Clare,

690
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:04,080
because no-one's smelt me
like you've smelt me.

691
00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:06,920
It is quite pongy. Bleurgh!

692
00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:09,200
That is... That is spicy.

693
00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:12,920
Last up, antibacterial.

694
00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:14,800
The antibacterial sock,

695
00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:18,320
I would expect to be much cleaner.
And that is the claim of the sock.

696
00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:21,280
They tend to have copper fibre
woven into them.

697
00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:26,400
Metals like copper have a natural
ability to kill bacteria

698
00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:28,520
by rupturing their cell walls.

699
00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:31,560
But we've got a domination
of a particular organism.

700
00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:35,920
And this organism is a spore former,
which means it's very resistant

701
00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:37,960
in the environment.

702
00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:41,240
Bacteria which form spores
are tougher to kill.

703
00:34:41,240 --> 00:34:45,800
And it looks like my antibac sock
has struggled to do the job.

704
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:50,120
This organism produces
very smelly smells.

705
00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:51,880
Oh, gosh, it smells like wee!

706
00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:53,240
It does smell like urine.

707
00:34:53,240 --> 00:34:55,480
The sock that claimed to be
antibacterial

708
00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:58,880
reduced the number of bacteria
that we were able to recover

709
00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:02,280
post wearing, so it didn't stop
the growth of the bacteria

710
00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:04,760
that created
the most pungent smell.

711
00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:08,800
Is there a sock that completely
eliminates bacteria? No.

712
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:12,080
And we wouldn't be able to survive
and live without bacteria

713
00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:15,040
in and on our body.
They're very much our friends.

714
00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:17,800
The bacteria is there
to regulate skin health.

715
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:20,320
It's that as part of our first line
of defence.

716
00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:23,080
And we shouldn't be frightened
of having bacteria on our feet -

717
00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:24,800
it's a good thing.

718
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:28,080
So while all my socks did give
off a hint of a whiff,

719
00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:30,360
there was a clear winner -

720
00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:32,120
cotton.

721
00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:35,400
Well, can I have my socks back?

722
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,280
Unfortunately, no, because
we now have to treat them

723
00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:39,680
as a biohazard material.

724
00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:42,960
So, unfortunately, Cherry,
they've been incinerated.

725
00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:45,560
My socks are a biohazard.
I think that's where I'll leave.

726
00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:58,360
In Leicester, we're over 13 hours
into the production process

727
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,120
and my 120 socks
are still a holy mess.

728
00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:04,640
Get your socks!
They're lovely. Keep your feet warm.

729
00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:07,080
I'm meeting my mate Simon again.

730
00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:10,440
Hello. I have got
a basket of socks.

731
00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:11,760
Yes.

732
00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:13,960
What on earth is that?

733
00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:16,280
This is our sock sucker. A what?

734
00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:17,680
Our sock sucker.

735
00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:19,360
What does a sock sucker do?

736
00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:22,120
It sucks the sock inside out.

737
00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:26,200
Wh... Why do you want to suck
a sock inside out, Simon?

738
00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:29,240
Because on the next process,
where the toe has to be closed,

739
00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:31,280
the socks have to be inside out.

740
00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:34,280
Is there a technical name for that?
It's a sock turner,

741
00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:36,880
but we like to call it
a sock sucker. May I?

742
00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:41,440
Definitely. Cos that doesn't
look particularly technical.

743
00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:44,040
Put the top end in first.

744
00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:46,920
Onto the pole, now let it go. Ha-ha!

745
00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:50,160
GREGG GIGGLES GIDDILY

746
00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:53,480
The sock sucker is like
a powerful vacuum cleaner nozzle.

747
00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:56,360
Ah! Fantastic. Brilliant. Fantastic.

748
00:36:56,360 --> 00:36:58,920
And who hasn't lost a sock
up one of them?

749
00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:02,960
How many socks can an experienced
sock sucker suck?

750
00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:05,120
A sock sucker can suck, in a day,

751
00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:06,600
9,000 socks.

752
00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:08,240
That's about 20 socks a minute.

753
00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:10,280
Really? Really - very quick.

754
00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:12,320
Can you time me?
See how many I can do?

755
00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:13,680
Definitely.

756
00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:15,960
Ready, steady... Go!

757
00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:25,280
Oh, it's getting them off
that's the...

758
00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:30,000
Sock suckers! Look at that.
I'm not doing bad.

759
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:32,000
How many seconds left?
Two seconds left.

760
00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:40,000
13 socks. Yes! That's not bad,
but... Pass me a sock.

761
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:44,600
Not turned properly.

762
00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:48,040
You've got no idea
how crestfallen I am.

763
00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:49,520
I thought I was doing really well.

764
00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:52,520
If you don't stretch it
all the way up the pole,

765
00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:55,600
it won't turn itself
completely around.

766
00:37:55,600 --> 00:37:59,760
So I've got 120 of these to do,
right? And that's my batch.

767
00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:05,440
Look at me, I've mastered
this machine now.

768
00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:06,560
I don't need Simon.

769
00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:08,160
No-one saw that, right?

770
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:12,440
I don't need Simon.
HE LAUGHS

771
00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:15,080
# I'm just upside down... #

772
00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:16,440
Fun and games aside,

773
00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:18,760
it's an essential part
of the process

774
00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:21,000
to get the socks inside out
before the toes

775
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:22,560
are stitched together.

776
00:38:24,720 --> 00:38:26,400
Last one.

777
00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:31,680
Six minutes later, hey presto,
ten dozen inside-out socks.

778
00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:35,800
I'm taking them
to the toe linking department

779
00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:40,240
where I'm meeting expert
sock finisher Sharon.

780
00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:45,960
Sharon. Hello, Gregg. I've made a
load of socks, but they need fixing

781
00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:48,840
cos they've got an
'ole at both ends. That's right.

782
00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:51,760
And what do you do?
I sew one of the ends up.

783
00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:53,760
How do you link the two
ends of the sock?

784
00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,600
Well, if you can see all the little
stitches there,

785
00:38:56,600 --> 00:38:58,800
you have to thread it on the points.

786
00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:01,000
You have to get the points
in those holes?

787
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:02,200
Yeah.

788
00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:05,200
Sharon has to match
up the stitches perfectly

789
00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:07,680
from the top and bottom
edges of the toe.

790
00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:08,800
Wow!

791
00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:12,360
If she misses a stitch,
it'll mean the toe has a hole in it.

792
00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:14,360
Well, that is really, really tricky.

793
00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:17,040
And that means one ruined sock.

794
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:18,800
Why do you do this job?

795
00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:20,080
Cos I like it.

796
00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:22,360
It's enjoyable to see
the end product.

797
00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:24,360
I've been here 33 years.

798
00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:26,800
You're kidding me!
Since you were five years old?

799
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:28,480
Yeah. I wish...

800
00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:31,280
The machine revolves
every four minutes.

801
00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:36,160
If I wasn't bothering her, Sharon
could do four or five socks at once.

802
00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:39,360
How old is that machine?
It's the machine I've had 33 years.

803
00:39:39,360 --> 00:39:40,600
Wow.

804
00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:43,040
Good bit of old-fashioned
engineering, right? It is, yeah.

805
00:39:43,040 --> 00:39:44,400
Old faithful, I call it.

806
00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:46,280
Cos I've been going
since the '60s,

807
00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:49,720
and I break down at least
three times a month!

808
00:39:49,720 --> 00:39:51,760
So, now what's going to happen
to that sock?

809
00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:54,560
It'll go round to the knives.

810
00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:59,280
It will cut the excess yarn off
and then it will get stitched up

811
00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:02,320
and then the excess thread
gets cut off.

812
00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:05,080
The factory does have knitting
machines that turn out socks

813
00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:06,720
with toes already closed,

814
00:40:06,720 --> 00:40:08,800
but for their
top of the range products...

815
00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:10,440
The human touch is best.

816
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:15,480
And then when it's done
the clippers,

817
00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:17,400
hopefully, we should have
a perfect sock.

818
00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:18,960
Look at that!

819
00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:21,120
And how many socks do you do?

820
00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:23,440
About 360 a day.

821
00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:25,440
How long does it take you
to do each sock?

822
00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:27,000
About 45 seconds.

823
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:29,480
Wow! That's a skilful job.

824
00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:31,800
It is, very skilled.

825
00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:36,640
Today, I've knitted over 11 million
stitches to make my batch of socks,

826
00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:40,880
which beats my previous knitting
record by, well, 11 million.

827
00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:45,160
As Ruth's been finding out,

828
00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:47,240
during the First World War

829
00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:50,200
using the right stitch
could save lives.

830
00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:53,280
MUSIC: The Last Post

831
00:40:57,160 --> 00:41:00,240
More than three quarters
of a million British soldiers died

832
00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:01,840
during the Great War.

833
00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:06,560
Charge!

834
00:41:06,560 --> 00:41:07,920
BATTLE CRIES

835
00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:13,840
As many as 75,000 of those
casualties

836
00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:18,680
could probably have been prevented
by a simple pair of socks.

837
00:41:20,520 --> 00:41:25,000
To discover the significance of the
humble sock during World War I

838
00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:28,440
I've come to this village hall
in Hampshire to meet Joyce Meader,

839
00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:31,480
a military historical
knitting expert.

840
00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:34,480
What on earth is so important
about socks and the First World War?

841
00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:37,920
You only got issued two pairs
by the British army.

842
00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:40,840
Men would wash them out
in these grubby holes

843
00:41:40,840 --> 00:41:43,840
and either pop them under their
armpits to dry out

844
00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:46,120
or in their groin.

845
00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:50,120
But that didn't help the trench
foot. What exactly is trench foot?

846
00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:54,160
Fungal infection that looks
a bit like frostbite

847
00:41:54,160 --> 00:41:58,000
and it just eats your feet away
because they're soggy all the time,

848
00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:00,320
and they end up having legs
and feet amputated.

849
00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:07,600
The trench warfare of the First
World War battlefields

850
00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:10,240
created appalling sodden conditions.

851
00:42:10,240 --> 00:42:12,520
The suffering was described
in letters home.

852
00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:16,400
"I am wet through to the skin."

853
00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:20,240
"I've heard men scream
with the pain."

854
00:42:21,280 --> 00:42:23,920
"How can you expect men
to live in this?"

855
00:42:25,800 --> 00:42:29,760
Trench foot was rampant
and in severe cases fatal,

856
00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:32,320
as it led to gangrene and sepsis.

857
00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:35,320
So, all these men go through
an enormous amount of suffering

858
00:42:35,320 --> 00:42:37,640
for the lack of socks.
Very much so, yes.

859
00:42:39,160 --> 00:42:42,800
Minister of War Lord Kitchener
drafted in an army of women

860
00:42:42,800 --> 00:42:46,040
back home to knit supplies
for men at the front,

861
00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:49,080
but some of the home-made socks
had rough seams that were hard

862
00:42:49,080 --> 00:42:51,440
on the soldiers' feet.

863
00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:52,960
Men are getting blisters,

864
00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:54,560
and, of course,
if you've got a blister,

865
00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:56,640
then you get infection in it.

866
00:42:56,640 --> 00:43:01,080
So, in 1915, Kitchener issued
a new sock design to knitting groups

867
00:43:01,080 --> 00:43:05,040
around the country
to try and solve the painful issue.

868
00:43:05,040 --> 00:43:09,400
There is this absolutely wonderful
thing called "Kitchener stitch",

869
00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:13,280
which is a way to finish off the toe

870
00:43:13,280 --> 00:43:15,920
so you don't get a seam

871
00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:19,480
which can rub on to your toes
when you're marching.

872
00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:24,160
Nobody can find
if Kitchener actually invented this.

873
00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:25,440
CHERRY LAUGHS

874
00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:28,160
Or had just got his name.

875
00:43:28,160 --> 00:43:31,160
Whether it was devised by Kitchener
or not,

876
00:43:31,160 --> 00:43:36,440
this clever stitch grafted together
the two sides of the sock smoothly.

877
00:43:36,440 --> 00:43:39,640
So, there was no painful
seam at the toe.

878
00:43:39,640 --> 00:43:43,720
So, it's a stitch done
with a needle.. Oh!

879
00:43:43,720 --> 00:43:45,600
..to join the two together.

880
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:48,920
Yeah, well, theoretically
it looks fine!

881
00:43:48,920 --> 00:43:50,640
Could I pass all my socks on to you

882
00:43:50,640 --> 00:43:52,880
for you to do
the Kitchener stitch on?!

883
00:43:52,880 --> 00:43:55,520
Hm. I don't think I was cut out
for 1915...

884
00:43:56,760 --> 00:43:57,960
Attention!

885
00:44:00,200 --> 00:44:02,280
To put the Kitchener stitch
to the test,

886
00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:07,000
we've enlisted the help of a band
of World War I re-enactors.

887
00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:09,320
Gentlemen, I understand
you're in need of some new socks.

888
00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:10,360
Yes.

889
00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:12,920
THEY LAUGH

890
00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:15,440
Joyce has brought along an odd pair
for each soldier,

891
00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:18,680
one Kitchener stitch on the left
foot and a home-made rough seam

892
00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:19,880
on the right.

893
00:44:19,880 --> 00:44:22,920
Hopefully, if you march about for
ages and get nice sore feet,

894
00:44:22,920 --> 00:44:25,920
we'll get some sort of indication
of whether the Kitchener stitch

895
00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:27,600
really works. Indeed, yes.

896
00:44:27,600 --> 00:44:30,040
Well, thank you very much,
gentlemen. Please take it away.

897
00:44:30,040 --> 00:44:31,440
Let's go.

898
00:44:32,920 --> 00:44:34,320
The men are in the uniform

899
00:44:34,320 --> 00:44:36,920
of the Royal Warwickshire
Infantry Regiment,

900
00:44:36,920 --> 00:44:40,200
which fought at the Battle
of Passchendaele in 1917.

901
00:44:41,720 --> 00:44:45,960
They'll undertake World War I
combat drills in exact replica kit

902
00:44:45,960 --> 00:44:48,160
with packs of almost 50 pounds.

903
00:44:50,360 --> 00:44:51,840
Detail ready for manoeuvres, sir.

904
00:44:51,840 --> 00:44:54,760
How will the socks stand up
to 40 minutes of training

905
00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:56,440
on a sweltering day?

906
00:44:56,440 --> 00:44:58,280
Left, right. Left, right.

907
00:44:58,280 --> 00:44:59,920
Halt!

908
00:44:59,920 --> 00:45:02,080
Eyes right!

909
00:45:03,400 --> 00:45:06,120
MUSIC: The British Grenadiers

910
00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:07,440
Bayonet!

911
00:45:08,640 --> 00:45:09,800
Charge!

912
00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:18,600
So, what's the verdict? For me,
that one's more comfortable,

913
00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:21,520
particularly because I can feel
the seam under the pads of the toes,

914
00:45:21,520 --> 00:45:24,120
so I think that would get quite
uncomfortable after a while.

915
00:45:24,120 --> 00:45:25,960
It's really worked
its way round, hasn't it?

916
00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:28,120
You'd get blisters from that
probably quite quickly.

917
00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:29,560
So, how are you finding it?

918
00:45:29,560 --> 00:45:32,800
Can definitely see a good difference
between Kitchener and pre-war.

919
00:45:32,800 --> 00:45:36,080
This ridge here, after a mile, it
would begin to turn into a blister.

920
00:45:36,080 --> 00:45:39,920
Yeah, there's quite a lot there,
isn't there? Like a hard piece...

921
00:45:39,920 --> 00:45:42,160
Yeah.
..right on the end of your toes.

922
00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:43,360
Yeah, yeah.

923
00:45:43,360 --> 00:45:47,760
So, what we think then, is that
there's a real difference in feel?

924
00:45:47,760 --> 00:45:50,680
Yeah. So Kitchener stitch is
actually a thing, and a good thing.

925
00:45:50,680 --> 00:45:53,320
Yeah. I like the Kitchener socks.

926
00:45:53,320 --> 00:45:55,360
So, a simple change to a stitch

927
00:45:55,360 --> 00:45:59,440
showed the importance
of the humble sock.

928
00:45:59,440 --> 00:46:02,680
It made such an enormous difference
to the comfort

929
00:46:02,680 --> 00:46:06,320
and indeed the fighting fitness
of millions of Tommies.

930
00:46:11,760 --> 00:46:16,480
At the factory, I'm over 15 hours
into production of the Kilburn sock.

931
00:46:16,480 --> 00:46:18,720
My batch have had their toes
stitched together

932
00:46:18,720 --> 00:46:22,200
so I'm heading to
the wet process department

933
00:46:22,200 --> 00:46:25,440
to meet factory veteran
Adie Markham.

934
00:46:25,440 --> 00:46:29,080
He's been in socks his whole
working life, as it were.

935
00:46:29,080 --> 00:46:33,200
Sir, I'm told to bring my batch
of socks to you. That's right.

936
00:46:33,200 --> 00:46:34,640
What happens to them now?

937
00:46:34,640 --> 00:46:36,840
They'll go into the washing machine.

938
00:46:36,840 --> 00:46:39,640
Why are we going to wash
these socks? No-one's worn them.

939
00:46:39,640 --> 00:46:42,520
What it will do is relax
the yarn, dampen it,

940
00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:44,040
make it better for pressing.

941
00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:45,160
Give a nice finish.

942
00:46:45,160 --> 00:46:47,920
Just throw them in there
with that lot? Yeah. Straight in.

943
00:46:49,600 --> 00:46:51,800
Pull down. Mind your fingers.

944
00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:54,560
The green button. That one? Yeah.

945
00:46:54,560 --> 00:46:56,720
Unlike a washing machine at home,

946
00:46:56,720 --> 00:47:00,560
this cleans the socks using steam
mixed with fabric softener

947
00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:02,800
heated to 140 degrees Celsius.

948
00:47:02,800 --> 00:47:04,400
LOUD FLUTTERING STEAM

949
00:47:06,040 --> 00:47:08,520
Frightened the life out of me,
that did!

950
00:47:08,520 --> 00:47:11,960
Washing gets rid of any dirt the
socks have picked up in the factory

951
00:47:11,960 --> 00:47:15,400
and shrinks the fibres to
give them a smooth finish.

952
00:47:15,400 --> 00:47:17,960
So, how many socks can that handle?

953
00:47:17,960 --> 00:47:21,080
Up to 750 socks, 30kg.

954
00:47:21,080 --> 00:47:23,800
After three minutes they're done...

955
00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:26,200
That tells you you're finished.

956
00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:28,760
Do you know my first job when I left
school was in a dry cleaners?

957
00:47:28,760 --> 00:47:31,040
Was it? Yeah!

958
00:47:31,040 --> 00:47:33,680
..and ready for the next process.

959
00:47:33,680 --> 00:47:36,960
Right, off to the ironing room.
Let's go.

960
00:47:36,960 --> 00:47:40,400
I don't mind ironing, you know. I'm
pretty good at shirts. Off we go.

961
00:47:40,400 --> 00:47:43,200
I've never in my life
ironed a pair of socks.

962
00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:47,040
Ha-ha!

963
00:47:48,080 --> 00:47:49,320
What is that?

964
00:47:49,320 --> 00:47:51,000
This is the ironing machine.

965
00:47:51,000 --> 00:47:53,560
How many socks does it do?
30 legs on there.

966
00:47:53,560 --> 00:47:55,200
The boards are very hot.

967
00:47:55,200 --> 00:47:57,640
Oh, crikey! Hot legs, right? Yeah.

968
00:47:57,640 --> 00:47:59,640
Thank you very much.
I've been working out.

969
00:47:59,640 --> 00:48:01,280
ADIE LAUGHS

970
00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:02,800
You've got chef's hands.

971
00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:05,560
You want to have a go, then? You've
got to be quite quick, haven't you?

972
00:48:05,560 --> 00:48:07,080
Yep. Wahey!

973
00:48:07,080 --> 00:48:09,280
It's a lot easier if you...
Oh! Ha-ha!

974
00:48:09,280 --> 00:48:12,480
Wrong way round.
Oh! Ho-ho!

975
00:48:12,480 --> 00:48:13,920
Whoa!

976
00:48:16,120 --> 00:48:18,600
That's level with the toe.

977
00:48:18,600 --> 00:48:21,600
Oh!
They should be together there.

978
00:48:21,600 --> 00:48:24,360
Every time I put one he alters it!

979
00:48:24,360 --> 00:48:25,720
Got to all be level.

980
00:48:25,720 --> 00:48:27,360
Now that's perfect.

981
00:48:27,360 --> 00:48:28,800
The lines are out there, look.

982
00:48:28,800 --> 00:48:30,960
GREGG GROANS
Get out of it!

983
00:48:30,960 --> 00:48:32,640
I can't hold up production

984
00:48:32,640 --> 00:48:35,240
so we need to ramp
it up to full speed,

985
00:48:35,240 --> 00:48:37,640
but this is one hot job.

986
00:48:37,640 --> 00:48:40,520
Eurgh! I don't like it
when they move.

987
00:48:40,520 --> 00:48:44,160
All right, mate, hat's off to you,
because that is skilful and hot.

988
00:48:44,160 --> 00:48:46,560
Can you show me
what's in this machine? I can.

989
00:48:48,480 --> 00:48:51,080
As my socks waltz off
in to the machine,

990
00:48:51,080 --> 00:48:53,320
the steam and the hot metal legs

991
00:48:53,320 --> 00:48:56,920
give them the perfect press
at 130 degrees Celsius

992
00:48:56,920 --> 00:48:58,880
in just three minutes,

993
00:48:58,880 --> 00:49:02,200
and the attention to detail
doesn't end there.

994
00:49:02,200 --> 00:49:05,080
There's a little clamp here pulling
the socks up and down.

995
00:49:05,080 --> 00:49:06,520
What's it doing?

996
00:49:06,520 --> 00:49:09,320
Basically getting them down to the
right leg length for your socks,

997
00:49:09,320 --> 00:49:13,200
12 inch, so 120 socks all
measure exactly the same size.

998
00:49:13,200 --> 00:49:15,960
My mum used to do that before
I went to school every day.

999
00:49:15,960 --> 00:49:18,640
I had to stop it when I was 17.
People were laughing at me!

1000
00:49:20,120 --> 00:49:22,360
As it disappears around the corner,
where's it going?

1001
00:49:22,360 --> 00:49:24,560
Going in to a drying chamber.

1002
00:49:24,560 --> 00:49:27,040
145 degrees in there.

1003
00:49:27,040 --> 00:49:28,840
Why do you need to dry it?

1004
00:49:28,840 --> 00:49:31,000
So it sets the shape of the sock.

1005
00:49:31,000 --> 00:49:34,920
No-one would believe that much
attention goes into something

1006
00:49:34,920 --> 00:49:36,640
as simple as a sock.

1007
00:49:36,640 --> 00:49:38,600
No, they wouldn't. Until they know.

1008
00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:44,800
A bit like me, the socks are too hot
to handle, so an automatic arm

1009
00:49:44,800 --> 00:49:47,960
pulls the sock off the leg
and sends it down a slide,

1010
00:49:47,960 --> 00:49:51,200
stacking them neatly into piles,
ready to be paired.

1011
00:49:54,200 --> 00:49:57,800
A huge amount of cotton is used
to make not just socks,

1012
00:49:57,800 --> 00:49:59,560
but most of the clothes we wear

1013
00:49:59,560 --> 00:50:03,680
and keeping up with demand is having
a big impact on the planet.

1014
00:50:03,680 --> 00:50:05,480
Cherry's been finding out

1015
00:50:05,480 --> 00:50:08,760
about a new environmentally friendly
way of growing it.

1016
00:50:10,680 --> 00:50:14,160
Cotton is normally grown
in warm subtropical climates

1017
00:50:14,160 --> 00:50:17,160
across the globe,
from America's Great Plains

1018
00:50:17,160 --> 00:50:19,440
to the rural heart of India.

1019
00:50:19,440 --> 00:50:24,440
But can you guess which exotic,
balmy part of the world I've come to

1020
00:50:24,440 --> 00:50:26,760
to harvest this year's crop?

1021
00:50:26,760 --> 00:50:30,000
Well, believe it or not,
I'm in Essex.

1022
00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:32,640
# We are young, we run green...#

1023
00:50:32,640 --> 00:50:34,680
These ten foot British cotton plants

1024
00:50:34,680 --> 00:50:38,120
are being grown in a 100 square
metre greenhouse

1025
00:50:38,120 --> 00:50:39,920
run by Ed Hill and Ed Brial.

1026
00:50:39,920 --> 00:50:43,400
Well, they do say two Eds
are better than one.

1027
00:50:43,400 --> 00:50:45,840
You must be Ed and you must be Ed.

1028
00:50:45,840 --> 00:50:48,480
They formed their company,
hydroCotton,

1029
00:50:48,480 --> 00:50:50,920
to try and change
the way we grow it.

1030
00:50:50,920 --> 00:50:54,320
This is not what I expected
a cotton field to look like.

1031
00:50:54,320 --> 00:50:57,000
You'd actually be right.
It's not your typical cotton field.

1032
00:50:57,000 --> 00:50:59,240
What are the problems with growing
cotton at the moment?

1033
00:50:59,240 --> 00:51:01,040
So, cotton is generally regarded

1034
00:51:01,040 --> 00:51:03,600
as one of the world's thirstiest
and dirtiest crops.

1035
00:51:03,600 --> 00:51:05,760
So, a pair of jeans, for example,

1036
00:51:05,760 --> 00:51:08,800
can take up to 10,000 litres
of water to grow.

1037
00:51:08,800 --> 00:51:11,960
On top of that,
16% of the world's insecticides

1038
00:51:11,960 --> 00:51:14,080
are used for growing cotton.

1039
00:51:14,080 --> 00:51:15,920
So, how are you going
to rectify that?

1040
00:51:15,920 --> 00:51:17,760
We're using new technologies,

1041
00:51:17,760 --> 00:51:22,160
which allows us to reduce the amount
of water used by up to 80%.

1042
00:51:22,160 --> 00:51:28,000
We buy an astonishing 80 billion
garments globally each year,

1043
00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:30,920
and a quarter of that
is cotton fabric.

1044
00:51:30,920 --> 00:51:33,120
In an effort to reduce the impact

1045
00:51:33,120 --> 00:51:35,600
of this fast fashion
on the environment,

1046
00:51:35,600 --> 00:51:39,440
the Eds are pioneering a more
sustainable way of growing cotton.

1047
00:51:39,440 --> 00:51:43,720
Wow. So, you've grown a jungle
without any soil? Correct.

1048
00:51:45,360 --> 00:51:47,600
The plants are growing
in coconut husk

1049
00:51:47,600 --> 00:51:51,400
and each one gets its food and water
delivered through drip lines.

1050
00:51:51,400 --> 00:51:55,120
The system, called hydroponics,
is already used to grow salad,

1051
00:51:55,120 --> 00:51:57,040
but this is a first for cotton.

1052
00:51:59,560 --> 00:52:03,320
It really is like an IV
that you would get in hospital.

1053
00:52:03,320 --> 00:52:05,000
Exactly.
Oh, is it feeding time?

1054
00:52:05,000 --> 00:52:06,880
It is. Look! Exactly.

1055
00:52:06,880 --> 00:52:09,360
So, the plants are getting
their nutrient rich water.

1056
00:52:09,360 --> 00:52:10,920
Look, I won't keep it up
for too long.

1057
00:52:10,920 --> 00:52:12,560
I don't want this plant
to get thirsty.

1058
00:52:14,280 --> 00:52:16,640
But the other big issue
with traditional cotton farming

1059
00:52:16,640 --> 00:52:19,080
is its reliance on pesticides.

1060
00:52:19,080 --> 00:52:20,920
Instead of chemicals,

1061
00:52:20,920 --> 00:52:25,560
Ed and Ed are using insects called
lacewings to control bad bugs

1062
00:52:25,560 --> 00:52:27,160
like aphids or whitefly.

1063
00:52:28,640 --> 00:52:30,840
Just 500 lacewing larvae

1064
00:52:30,840 --> 00:52:35,920
will devour 150,000 aphids
in just two weeks.

1065
00:52:35,920 --> 00:52:38,760
Let's go insect hunting.
It's just what I want to do!

1066
00:52:38,760 --> 00:52:40,320
OK, where are they?

1067
00:52:45,200 --> 00:52:47,360
This is what we call
a release box.

1068
00:52:47,360 --> 00:52:49,560
Basically, we get insects.

1069
00:52:49,560 --> 00:52:52,680
We put their eggs inside this box,
they hatch out,

1070
00:52:52,680 --> 00:52:54,040
they go into the greenhouse,

1071
00:52:54,040 --> 00:52:55,880
and they basically eat
all the bad insects

1072
00:52:55,880 --> 00:52:57,280
that we don't want to be in here.

1073
00:52:57,280 --> 00:52:59,480
So, you introduce these bugs.

1074
00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:01,800
What exactly are they looking for?

1075
00:53:01,800 --> 00:53:05,080
So, a lacewing, which I have here,
their larvae will go out

1076
00:53:05,080 --> 00:53:08,200
and they will search for things
like whitefly and aphids

1077
00:53:08,200 --> 00:53:10,360
and they will kind of eat on those.

1078
00:53:10,360 --> 00:53:14,000
For us, the alternative would be
kind of going in here, you know,

1079
00:53:14,000 --> 00:53:18,600
in protective clothing and spraying
a lot of insecticide and pesticide.

1080
00:53:20,200 --> 00:53:24,120
So, the first British cotton crop
requires far fewer chemicals

1081
00:53:24,120 --> 00:53:26,080
and uses much less water -

1082
00:53:26,080 --> 00:53:28,960
but what does it look and feel like?

1083
00:53:28,960 --> 00:53:32,400
Hey, Ed, have you got some
cotton that you think's ready?

1084
00:53:32,400 --> 00:53:35,560
Yeah, I think these guys
are perfect.

1085
00:53:35,560 --> 00:53:38,720
Is that what you might call ripe
or ready to harvest?

1086
00:53:38,720 --> 00:53:40,720
Yeah, perfect, perfectly ripe.

1087
00:53:40,720 --> 00:53:42,480
You can just grab some
if you want.

1088
00:53:42,480 --> 00:53:46,040
It takes six months
for a crop to ripen.

1089
00:53:46,040 --> 00:53:49,040
Oh, my gosh, it's so soft.
It just comes straight out.

1090
00:53:49,040 --> 00:53:51,720
The round fluffy clumps
are called bolls,

1091
00:53:51,720 --> 00:53:56,120
and each one contains
over 250,000 cotton fibres.

1092
00:53:56,120 --> 00:53:58,760
This small crop from 400 plants

1093
00:53:58,760 --> 00:54:01,480
will eventually be enough
to make 40 T-shirts.

1094
00:54:04,480 --> 00:54:07,320
Made it!
Out of the jungle!

1095
00:54:07,320 --> 00:54:11,000
You have proved
that this technique works.

1096
00:54:11,000 --> 00:54:12,440
Where do you go next?

1097
00:54:12,440 --> 00:54:14,520
We're looking to run
our pilots next year.

1098
00:54:14,520 --> 00:54:18,320
We want to approve the product in
pre-existing large cotton markets

1099
00:54:18,320 --> 00:54:21,160
across South Asia,
so countries like India.

1100
00:54:21,160 --> 00:54:24,200
Where they plan to use cost
efficient polytunnels

1101
00:54:24,200 --> 00:54:27,600
rather than greenhouses
to cover the crop.

1102
00:54:27,600 --> 00:54:30,480
What you're doing here
is really innovative.

1103
00:54:30,480 --> 00:54:33,480
I just really hope
that this works globally.

1104
00:54:33,480 --> 00:54:34,760
Fingers crossed.

1105
00:54:44,040 --> 00:54:48,600
It's been over 16 hours since my
cotton yarn entered the factory.

1106
00:54:48,600 --> 00:54:50,760
My socks have been knitted,

1107
00:54:50,760 --> 00:54:52,400
tortured,

1108
00:54:52,400 --> 00:54:53,920
and steamed.

1109
00:54:53,920 --> 00:54:57,280
Now they're off to the packing
department for one last test

1110
00:54:57,280 --> 00:54:59,960
by examiner Maxine James.

1111
00:54:59,960 --> 00:55:01,960
I can tell you right now
this one's perfect.

1112
00:55:01,960 --> 00:55:03,000
SHE LAUGHS

1113
00:55:03,000 --> 00:55:04,880
Take your tape measure.

1114
00:55:04,880 --> 00:55:06,240
That's a foot.

1115
00:55:06,240 --> 00:55:08,960
It's slightly ironic
that the sock is a foot.

1116
00:55:08,960 --> 00:55:11,920
Check your linkings.
Linkings, linkings...

1117
00:55:11,920 --> 00:55:14,880
That's the sewing of the toe, right?
It is, yeah. These are fine.

1118
00:55:14,880 --> 00:55:16,200
Then I check the 'eels.

1119
00:55:16,200 --> 00:55:17,640
What do you check with the heels?

1120
00:55:17,640 --> 00:55:19,840
Just in case there's any
more 'oles in the 'eels.

1121
00:55:19,840 --> 00:55:21,480
Holes in an 'eel. Yep.

1122
00:55:21,480 --> 00:55:23,080
You drop your aitches like I do!

1123
00:55:23,080 --> 00:55:24,560
SHE LAUGHS

1124
00:55:24,560 --> 00:55:27,160
And then, start pairing.

1125
00:55:29,000 --> 00:55:31,560
Maxine, seriously, do you have to
look at every single sock

1126
00:55:31,560 --> 00:55:33,200
that comes through?
Yes, I do.

1127
00:55:33,200 --> 00:55:35,480
How many do you do at a time?
About ten dozen an hour.

1128
00:55:35,480 --> 00:55:37,120
What?!

1129
00:55:37,120 --> 00:55:39,760
You want this to come out,
leave here absolutely perfect.

1130
00:55:39,760 --> 00:55:42,720
Course I do. The customer expects
them to be perfect.

1131
00:55:42,720 --> 00:55:44,680
Even if they roll them up
into a little ball

1132
00:55:44,680 --> 00:55:46,480
and throw them in the
drawer afterwards.

1133
00:55:46,480 --> 00:55:48,320
Well, you shouldn't do that, really,

1134
00:55:48,320 --> 00:55:50,480
because it affects the quality
of the yarn.

1135
00:55:50,480 --> 00:55:53,560
So, what I would do is, just give
them a little fold like that.

1136
00:55:53,560 --> 00:55:56,640
Don't tell me you're going
to hang them up!

1137
00:55:56,640 --> 00:55:59,280
And then just place them
in the drawer like that.

1138
00:55:59,280 --> 00:56:00,680
I can't believe, actually,

1139
00:56:00,680 --> 00:56:03,600
that so much of what goes on here
is done by eye and by hand.

1140
00:56:03,600 --> 00:56:05,080
Yes, it is.

1141
00:56:05,080 --> 00:56:08,600
So, the Gregg socks measure up
to Maxine's high standards

1142
00:56:10,240 --> 00:56:14,480
Then Yvonne Taylor takes
over to iron a stamp on each pair.

1143
00:56:14,480 --> 00:56:17,040
Put your finger on that.
That's it. Hold that.

1144
00:56:17,040 --> 00:56:19,480
Press it down hard.
That's enough.

1145
00:56:19,480 --> 00:56:22,040
You said press it down hard...
Oh, look at that.

1146
00:56:22,040 --> 00:56:24,240
There you are. I'm good at
this lark. They're lovely.

1147
00:56:24,240 --> 00:56:26,720
And a care label is stitched on.

1148
00:56:26,720 --> 00:56:29,880
Are you going to stick a special one
on there saying that I made it?

1149
00:56:29,880 --> 00:56:32,120
Er, no, I'm afraid not.
I think you're missing a trick.

1150
00:56:32,120 --> 00:56:34,280
I'll talk to the management.

1151
00:56:34,280 --> 00:56:38,040
Finally, my socks are ready
for boxing up by Marie James.

1152
00:56:38,040 --> 00:56:40,720
Proof the factory's a family affair,

1153
00:56:40,720 --> 00:56:43,080
she's Maxine's sister in law,

1154
00:56:43,080 --> 00:56:47,200
and must be the quickest sock packer
in the Midlands.

1155
00:56:47,200 --> 00:56:49,000
It takes Marie just 20 minutes

1156
00:56:49,000 --> 00:56:52,440
to pack my 60 pairs
of finished socks.

1157
00:56:52,440 --> 00:56:53,960
Thank you, Marie.

1158
00:56:53,960 --> 00:56:57,400
And now they're ready
to head out the door.

1159
00:56:57,400 --> 00:57:00,960
In dispatch,
my favourite sock sucker, Simon.

1160
00:57:00,960 --> 00:57:03,200
Hello, Simon. Hi.

1161
00:57:03,200 --> 00:57:06,920
What you have here are beautifully
made, completed, packaged socks.

1162
00:57:06,920 --> 00:57:09,040
I did that.
Well, some of it.

1163
00:57:10,560 --> 00:57:13,400
How many pair of socks are
you stocking in this warehouse?

1164
00:57:13,400 --> 00:57:16,720
We stock probably around
210,000 pairs at this moment.

1165
00:57:16,720 --> 00:57:19,520
I don't suppose you know
the monetary value of those socks?

1166
00:57:19,520 --> 00:57:22,160
It's just under £3 million worth.

1167
00:57:22,160 --> 00:57:24,360
Under three million quid's
worth of socks?

1168
00:57:24,360 --> 00:57:27,240
Under three million quid's
worth of socks, yes!

1169
00:57:27,240 --> 00:57:30,040
The sock stocks in the factory
are ready for dispatch

1170
00:57:30,040 --> 00:57:31,480
across the country.

1171
00:57:31,480 --> 00:57:33,760
In the UK,
most are sold in the southeast,

1172
00:57:33,760 --> 00:57:36,520
but they've got lots of fans
in Scotland, too,

1173
00:57:36,520 --> 00:57:38,200
and they're shipped abroad.

1174
00:57:38,200 --> 00:57:40,560
They're especially keen
on traditional British socks

1175
00:57:40,560 --> 00:57:42,840
in America and Japan.

1176
00:57:44,280 --> 00:57:46,360
Unlike any other factory
I've visited,

1177
00:57:46,360 --> 00:57:48,760
we're back out on the pavement.

1178
00:57:48,760 --> 00:57:51,840
Fabulous, my friend.
How many do you send out every day?

1179
00:57:51,840 --> 00:57:54,360
Roughly around 2,500 pairs a day.

1180
00:57:54,360 --> 00:57:55,880
How many is that a week?

1181
00:57:55,880 --> 00:57:58,880
15,000 pairs a week.
15,000 pairs of socks!

1182
00:57:59,960 --> 00:58:02,760
Right. Come on!
Let's go.

1183
00:58:02,760 --> 00:58:04,880
Let's put the kettle on, shall we?
Definitely.

1184
00:58:04,880 --> 00:58:06,800
It's hard work,
all that making socks, innit?

1185
00:58:11,360 --> 00:58:14,520
Do you know what? I've never, ever
considered how my socks are made,

1186
00:58:14,520 --> 00:58:18,560
but now I've seen the level of
precision and care in this factory,

1187
00:58:18,560 --> 00:58:20,040
I am really impressed.

1188
00:58:20,040 --> 00:58:22,640
Each pair of my colourful socks

1189
00:58:22,640 --> 00:58:25,920
contains nearly 200,000 stitches.

1190
00:58:25,920 --> 00:58:29,280
I love the wonderful, crazy
collection of machines

1191
00:58:29,280 --> 00:58:31,800
that produce over
30,000 pairs a week,

1192
00:58:31,800 --> 00:58:35,320
and I really love
that they've all been touched

1193
00:58:35,320 --> 00:58:37,720
by highly skilled human hands.

1194
00:58:37,720 --> 00:58:40,200
So, from the cotton fields of Egypt
via Italy

1195
00:58:40,200 --> 00:58:42,000
to the streets of Leicester -

1196
00:58:42,000 --> 00:58:44,600
that is quite a journey
for the humble sock.