Moo-ve Aside Rat, ODM’s Year of the Ox Socks are Here!

Finally! The long-anticipated Year of the Ox socks is here for the Year 2021!

Releasing custom promotional socks is a yearly tradition here at ODM and we have been doing this for 6 years in the running.  We enjoy celebrating the Chinese New Year and donning our Lucky Lunar Socks – inspired by the Chinese Zodiac.

May wearing these socks bring you prosperity, wealth, fulfillment in 2021, and also quick recovery from the tumultuous year of 2020!

What does the OX Represent?

Introducing to you, Oscar, the Golden Ox!

The Ox is the second animal in the Chinese Zodiac. They are traditionally associated with diligence, trustworthiness, tenacity, and honesty. Furthermore, they are strongly patriotic, ambitious, and attach importance to family and work.

If you are born in the years 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, or 2021, your zodiac character is most likely the Ox!

Charity

For the Year of the OX, we are proud to support The Christina Noble Children’s Foundation, ODM’s and Mindsparkz ‘s partner charity.

Since arriving in Vietnam (1989) and Mongolia (1997), Christina Noble and her foundation have established over 160 projects providing education, healthcare, and community development humanitarian services to vulnerable and destitute children and their families and poor rural communities. To date, these projects have assisted almost 900,000 children and collectively have impacted the lives of over 1,000,000 children and adults.

For every pair of Lucky Lunar Socks bought, we will be donating US$0.20 to the foundation

 

Coming up with the Design

The design process and coming up with the concept of the Ox actually took over 5 months to develop.

Sketch

We started this project on February 2020. Our Mindsparkz design team started with coming up with some draft sketches, as shown below.

Computer Design

Then,  the designer created a few computer designs. Eventually, we decided to go with number 3.

Colour Matching

Next, our team has to decide what color works best for the socks. Our designers played around with the colours and created multiple designs.

Then, we shortlisted 5 colour schemes and our designers created mockups of the socks with those colours.  As we want to go with green as our base colour, we eventually chose the one in the middle.

Did you know? Green is also the lucky colour for those born in the year of the OX in 2021? The other lucky colours are yellow and white. 

 

New Ox Design

We shared with some of our friends and colleagues the design of the Ox. There was some mixed feedback about it as some feel that the design is not as cute as our other characters and were unable to tell that it was an Ox. Plus, we realised that as the design has sharp edges, which may appear distorted on the socks.

Given this feedback, we explored other alternatives. In the end, we came up with this design. It is inspired by the Highland Cattle, easily recognised by its shaggy hair and adorable fringe. They are also known to adapt to the toughest environments and survive the harshest winters.

 

Pixel Work

Next, we would have to create the pixelated format of the OX which is needed for the sock knitting process during production.

 

Final Changes

One advise when manufacturing socks is to ask the supplier for the fabric swatch books as the colour can appear different on fabrics.

By using their swatch book, we know what colour they have available and is also useful when it comes to colour matching. Also, we have made some minor adjustments to the colour afterward to make the Ox pop.

We decided to add Pink to the socks to make it funkier. Also, we played around with colour combinations such as pairing green with blue.

Other New Changes

Material

We also decided to go for higher quality fabrics. Previously, we used a mixture of cotton, polyester, and spandex in our socks.

Now, we decided to go for polyamide instead of polyester. Polyamide, simply known as Nylon, has a more comfortable and soft feel as they have softer and more flexible fibers. Polyamide has a lustrous appearance and is stronger and more durable. With better elasticity, it is more stretch resistant. Not only that, but it is also more stain-resistant.

The socks are made of 76%Cotton, 22%polyamide, and 2%Spandex.

Completely Plastic Free!

As an effort to go sustainable, we decided to zero plastic for next year’s edition. Previously, the socks come in individual plastic packaging and with a plastic hook. They are also attached together with a plastic wire.

Now, the socks do not come in individual packaging. We have made changes to the header card so that the plastic hook is not needed. Lastly, the plastic wire is replaced with a thread.

Although this will incur a small additional cost, it is better for us to go sustainable as packaging waste is one of the biggest contributors to the waste pollution problem.

Why Have Your Own Year of the OX Socks?

Customisable

Socks are highly customisable and there can be many colour combinations. We can customise the colour to suit your brand.

Can you guess the companies below based on these socks designs?

Year of the Ox Socks – The answers are: Ikea, The ODM Group, FedEx, HSBC, and Baskin-Robbins

Unique

Offering socks as a promotional gift can be unconventional but is out of the box. Offering something new can allow you to differentiate your brand from the competition. Socks also have high-utility and will be useful for your customers.

 

Great for Any Occasion

These socks are great to give away as festive promotions, premium company gifts, employee appreciation gifts, event merchandise, and on-pack promotions. They are indeed great for any promotion!

 

Get Your Year of the Ox Socks today!

This collectible socks project will not be possible without the help and close collaboration of everyone in the ODM and Mindsparkz team. Although the process is long and arduous,  it is definitely worthwhile and will do it again for the future zodiac years!

If you are interested in having your own Year of the Ox Socks to boost your brand, do not hesitate to contact our team today!  For every pair of Lucky Lunar Socks bought, we will be donating US$0.20 to our charity partner,  The Christina Noble Children’s Foundation.

Prices

Ox Style Socks

300 pairs – $3.19 each

500 pcs – $2.89 each

1000 pcs – $2.19 each

Custom Header Cards – additional $150

Custom Designs

1000 pairs – $2.39 each

5000 pairs- $1.34 each

*All pricing above is based on EXW

*Prices valid until 31st September 2020

Check out our other blogs

Check out our last year’s design for the Year of the Rat!

For the Year of the Pig,  we raised awareness about Breast cancer and donated 20% of our sales revenue to charities around the world.

For the Year of the Dog, we had pug plushies and socks. Would you be interested in an Ox plushie next year?

Custom Cufflinks are also interesting CNY promo gifts!

Want to learn how our socks are manufactured? Check out this blog below!