About Silverlight

Our Values

Making the Best Product Possible

We don’t compromise on product quality. If we find a way to make a better product we’ll do it, even if that means to lower our margins or forces us to increase our price. We want to make products that are better than anything else on the market and offer them at fair prices by using a Direct to Consumer (DTC) model without overhead and middlemen.
Performance is our top priority. Building products with great durability and long term use makes sense for creating a community of trusting customers, for the environment and lets us make products we can be proud of. That’s why every Silverlight product comes with a Lifetime Guarantee.

Constant Improvement

We’re a small company with limited resources. We can’t do everything we want at the same time and sometimes we run into technology constraints. However, we’re constantly working on improving our existing products to make them more sustainable and improve performance & durability. We never consider a product as done, as new technologies, materials or techniques evolve we’re always improving and stay at the cutting edge of what’s possible.

Doing the Right Thing

We’re striving to create value for all stakeholders. This means we want to provide as much value as we can to our customers, employees, suppliers and investors and contractors. We strive to be an ethical and sustainable company by constantly evaluating how we can improve in every area of our operation and provide more value to everyone involved.

Long-term thinking

Rather than focussing on the short term, we are aiming to make decisions with a long-term plan and mindset, we want to create a company that can last for a hundred years and beyond.

Our Mission

Silverlight’s mission is fourfold. We have a product, social, environmental and economic mission as a company and believe each has to thrive equally to support individuals inside and outside the company in the best way and create the best impact we can have as a company on the communities and environment we’re a part of.

Lifetime Guarantee

Silverlight is a small business and our reputation is everything to us.

Our products are built to last and we rigorously test and refine them based on customer feedback. But things can still happen, even after passing through two inspections.

We stand 100% behind our products and making every single one of our customers happy is our #1 priority. If you have a great experience with Silverlight products we both win. That’s why we offer an unconditional, no hassle, no questions asked lifetime guarantee. If for any reason you’re not completely satisfied with your Silverlight products, you can return them at any time.

Simply send us an email to hello@silverlight.store . If you have a problem, let us know, we will solve it, whatever it takes. If you email us you can expect a response within one business day and help from a person that has the authority to make things right.

Silverlight® Silver Yarn Technology

In order to achieve odor- and blister-free hiking, we had to get a little bit creative and develop a new technology: Silverlight® silver yarns.

Inspired by space suits and medical industries we apply silver yarns for the first time to hiking gear. Silverlight items can be worn longer, so you have to bring less on multi-day hikes. Keeping your gear fresh and odor-free and your pack lighter and smaller than ever before.

Silverlight® technology is using nylon yarns with a 99.99% pure silver layer to prevent bacteria from growing around your feet (and causing that funky smell).

Unlike some other products on the market that spray silver ions on the surface or apply a coating that can easily wash out and lose its effectiveness over time, Silverlight® products have the same performance to prevent odor and bacteria growth even after countless washes and hundreds or even thousands of miles on the trail.

With silver woven throughout the entire fabric, bacteria never has a chance.

Materials

New Zealand Merino Wool

We recently switched from merino wool sourced from Australia to wool from New Zealand. We source our merino wool from farms in New Zealand with high ethical standards regarding animal welfare, environmental sustainability and quality. Mulesing is banned in New Zealand, all our wool is guaranteed mulesing-free. Merino Wool is naturally antibacterial, temperature-regulating and super soft and comfortable. It is the main material used in our Silverlight socks with more than 50% of the socks made from merino wool.

Nylon

Nylon can’t be made from plastic bottles, for now, but we’re always looking for more sustainable alternatives.
Nylon gives our hiking socks fast-drying properties, makes them ultra-durable and enables compression support. Merino wool by itself is not durable enough to withstand walking hundreds of miles without breaking apart. Therefore almost every high-quality hiking sock you can find will contain Nylon. It is the second major ingredients used in Silverlight socks.

Silver Yarn

Silver yarn is a nylon yarn with a pure silver layer. Unlike nanosilver particles, it doesn’t wash out and provides superior antibacterial performance. It is our “secret sauce” to stop odor and it keeps bacteria around your feet in check. It is a minor material with about 5% of our socks made up from silver yarns. However, due to the high price of silver, it’s responsible for about 50% of the production price. Even though it makes our socks more expensive, we believe to make the best product possible, silver has to be part of the equation.

Spandex

Spandex is critically important in our products. It provides elasticity, strength and is very fast-drying. Without it we wouldn’t be able to add compression to our socks. So far it’s not possible to recycle Spandex, we’re actively looking into more sustainable alternatives for Spandex. However so far nothing is on the market that can replace Spandex and comes with comparable performance and quality. Spandex is usually a minor ingredient, just 2% of our Silverlight socks are Spandex.

1% for the Planet

We are proud to be a member of 1% for the Planet. We are committed to donate at least 1% of our revenue to environmental causes starting for the year 2021. This includes our 1 Pair – 1 Tree campaign and additional donations we want to dedicate towards removing plastic pollution from oceans and beaches, to meet our 1% commitment. We believe everyone can do a part in conserving the environment and protecting the nature we all love.

1% for the Planet was started in 2002 by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, founder of Blue Ribbon Flies. Since then 1% for the Planet business members and individual members have given hundreds of millions of dollars to approved
nonprofit partners to date. Today, 1% for the Planet’s global network consists of thousands of businesses, individuals and environmental nonprofits working toward a better future for all.

Currently, only 3% of philanthropic giving goes to the environment. Our planet needs more support and the 1% for the Planet network is on a mission to change that.

One Pair – One Tree

For every pair of Silverlight socks sold, we plant one tree. We partnered with Eden Reforestation Projects a non-profit organization dedicated to reforestation and alleviating poverty. Planting trees not only restores animal habitats, improves soil, stops erosion and provides one of the most effective ways to combat CO2 emissions and global warming, it also provides stable jobs for local villagers, decreasing extreme poverty, boosting local economy and increasing crop yields.

Eden Reforestation Projects is active in Nepal, Madagascar, Haiti, Indonesia, Mozambique, Kenya, Honduras and Nicaragua.

The Benefits of Planting Trees

Trees Combat Climate Change

A single mature tree absorbs an average of 48 pounds (22kg) of CO2. (Source: European Environmental Agency)That means half an acre of trees (or 2000 sqm)  absorbs about the same amount that is produced by driving 13,000 miles, about the average driving distance in the US. Trees remove and store carbon dioxide and release oxygen back into the air. As a matter of fact, without any trees no one would be able to breath and life couldn’t exist on our planet. Forests and trees absorb up to 30% of worldwide CO2 emissions and are therefore a crucial part of combating global warming. (Source: NASA)

Trees Cool the Air and Planet

Trees cool the environment through a process called transpiration. It can be compared to sweating, which also has a cooling effect on your skin. During this process trees transpire water through tiny pores in their leaves, where it cools down the air in evaporated form.

Studies have shown that CO2, besides its direct warming effect on the climate, also reduces the amount of water that is released by plants into the air (acting as a natural air conditioner). As much as 25% of the temperature increase from carbon dioxide is due to this suppression of plants and trees transpiration abilities, making it even more essential to combat this effect by planting more trees. 

(Source: Carnegie Institution for Science)

Trees Improve Air and Water Quality

Air and Water are two of the most elementary needs for survival.Trees filter pollutants and odor from the air by absorbing particles that settle on the leaves through their pores. Gases such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur and carbon dioxide and ammonia are some of the pollutants trees are able to absorb and clean the air from. Roadside trees in cities are able to reduce pollutants indoor by more than 50% (Source: Lancaster University)

Trees don’t stop there though and are just as essential for water quality by serving as natural filters for rain & stormwater. By acting like a sponge, they slowly collect rainfall and release it over time into streams and rivers. Trees also prevent soil erosion from polluting waterways.

Trees Increase Biodiversity

By providing shade, habitat and food for countless species, trees are one of the most important pieces in creating a diverse ecosystem. From plant species growing on and around trees, to insects, birds and other small animals, which in turn pollinate crops and plants and provide a food source for larger animals. Forests are the most diverse ecosystems in the world.