The Plight of Trying to Find Cotton Socks

Since mid year last year, I tried to find cotton socks. The reason why I wanted cotton socks is because of my allergies (Cotton is an allergy friendly fabric) and because natural fabrics, such as cotton, breathe better. Even though finding these kinds of socks are not as plight worthy as other things in my life, it has been a real pain.

The socks I commonly find in stores do contain cotton, but they have a lower cotton content than the socks I used to own. I don’t think this is such a problem, but I am getting worried about it. In the area where I live, any socks available to purchase in store are usually made completely out of man made fibers. As for the kind of socks I usually like to buy and wear, they are often times sold out in store and online.

As I write this, there is are supply chain issues for stores, which makes it harder to find any kind of sock where I live. Especially cotton socks. The problem is before the pandemic I had problems finding socks as well. Many years ago, I didn’t have nearly as much trouble shopping for socks as I do today or a year or two prior to the pandemic. There could be many reasons why this is, but I think it comes down to a few things about the area where I live.

First, the area where I live is rural. It’s not a rural as it used to be, but I still need to travel over 20 minutes to get to the nearest Walmart. It also takes me ten minutes to get to the post office or somewhere I can purchase any sort of groceries such as eggs, milk, and bread. Because of this, it’s easier, less hassle, and costs less to order things online and have them shipped to the house. Since this is the way of life where I live, the necessity to purchase things inside a store that is so far away has changed. And the stock stores carry reflect that.

And secondly, in my area, the largest population of people in a pre-square-mile sort of way is actually closest to shopping malls and shopping areas. Because of this, people no longer need to shop at the stores located in the rural areas, especially if it’s easier to get to these shopping malls from their house. Most of the time, people live in the more populated areas and travel out to the rural areas, such as where I currently live, for work. Because of this, the amount of foot traffic in the stores are not there. Neither is the need for certain types of products, such as cotton socks. So, instead of selling cotton socks, which are more expensive to produce and sell at a higher price than the man made fiber versions, in store, stores in my area carry more man made fiber socks than ones made with cotton.

Even though cotton socks aren’t something people would normally complain about online, it’s more or less an indication of shopping habits in the area where I live. This is something I see in other areas of shopping, such as for food, medicine, and other important products modern day people need to purchase in store in order to live healthy lives. Knowing this makes it hard for me to figure out where I can find reliable not only socks, but food and other groceries.

I don’t know how many other people are struggling with this problem, but I hope I am just in an area where things are just odd because of the way people moved into the area and how they live their lives. I’m not sure how to adapt to the changing area, but I know I cannot adapt to the area’s changing grocery and commerce scene anymore. It’s only a matter of time before I need to move away in order to be able to live life in an area that is not only more allergy friendly for me, but also carries products I need in order to keep myself healthy on a more regular basis. (Not counting the supply chain problems!)

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!