In Givry, in Saône-et-Loire, Nathalie Gras created Keep’socks. These are sock clips that prevent socks from disappearing in the washing machine. Thanks to its innovation, it won a prize at the Lépine invention competition in May 2022.
No more socks disappearing in the washing machine. In any case, this is the promise made by Nathalie Gras, manager and creator of Keep’socks, a company that sells recyclable sock clips in Gigny-sur-Saône (Saône-et-Loire). With her made in France innovation, Nathalie Gras won a silver medal at the Lépine competition on May 8, 2022 in the lifestyle category.
After 30 years of marriage and two children, I was tired of losing socks and buying new ones!
Nathalie Gras, creator and manager of Keep’socks
For the 54-year-old entrepreneur, who is also a childminder, the idea came at the right time. “I was in the civil service before, and when I left I immediately wanted to get into a project.”
“There were two years between the idea and the realization. I did a market study at the end of 2020 with the Burgundy School of Business (business school).” After conclusive results, Keep’socks became a registered trademark.
It’s a kind of disc in two very resistant magnetic parts, with fins that allow you to hang the socks on a dryer for example.
Nathalie Gras sold almost all of her first series at the Paris fair. “That’s also why I wanted to enter the competition, it’s a full-scale market study. I even discovered new targets“.
It is true that the sock tie has attracted other people such as young parents or childminders. “People use the clip to wash baby fabric squares or to hang cuddly toys on strollers. As soon as I meet people, I discover a new use“, explains the 50-year-old.
“My husband even uses it to wash the glasses cloths he keeps losing” she confides, laughing.
Initially, Nathalie Gras assembled the attachment parts herself, at her home in Givry (Saône-et-Loire). Since winning her prize at the Lépine competition, she has been working with an ESAT (establishment and service of help through work) in Crissey, still in Saône-et-Loire. It’s MK3D, specialist vshalonnese 3D printing which takes care of making the prototypes.
As for the recycling part, Nathalie Gras specifies that her fasteners are made of recyclable polypropylene. It is a material that is part of the plastics that form under heat and harden afterwards reversibly.
“I tested several materials but it became too expensive for me. I have an initiative honorary loan and a bank loan to finance everything, but I am not living from my project for the moment.“
The entrepreneur decided to create a deposit to recover worn fasteners. They will be used to make others. The Keep’socks are guaranteed for two years and cost 6.95 euros on the website. “I’m already taking the steps for the deposit but the first clips I sold are not yet two years old.“
video length: 14sec
A givrotine innovation to avoid losing your socks in the washing machine
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©Agatha Njanji / France Televisions
If you lose your socks, Keep’socks are sold on the internet and in three stores in Burgundy, including one in Tournus (Saône-et-Loire), one in Chalon-sur-Saône (Saône-et-Loire) and one in Dijon (Golden Coast).
In Dijon, it is in the Chouette France store that you can find devices that can save the life of pairs of socks. “I heard about it from acquaintances and I thought it totally belonged in the shop“, comments Marie-Laure Mouillon, manager of the shop which only sells Made In France.
The Keep’socks have been in the shop since February and often appeal to children with their bright colors. “Often it is mothers who take it for their sons (laughs) or young people who try to manage on their own,” says Marie-Laure Mouillon.