Johannesburg — A LOCAL company has launched what it claims are SA's first ladderless stockings, backed up with a guarantee.

Sheer Ladderless MD Rosalind Lowe said the stockings would benefit women, schoolgirls and ballet dancers -- and create jobs, empowering people as agents.

"Who wants to keep throwing money away?"

Lowe, who formed the company with Eddie Toevs after securing intellectual property rights to a type of stitching, said 50 representatives had been employed. The agents, selling to individual consumers, corporations and schools, were provided with marketing material, start-up stock and swatches in addition to receiving training. "I see hundreds and hundreds of jobs."

Once the market was aware of the product, she said, the company would look at selling into the retail sector. But she was concerned the stockings might be overlooked initially unless they were marketed in-store.

The company hoped to garner a 10% share of SA's annual sales of at least 30-million stockings.

Lowe said the company spent a year developing the stockings, and teamed up with the country's largest stocking manufacturer for production, which was running at "hundreds a day".

With six varieties in the range, and three "high-fashion" styles, Lowe said the company was only just starting. The packaging, designed by the company, was being made locally, she said.

Production of the "revolutionary" stockings started two-and-a-half months ago. Sales had at least doubled every month with thousands of orders coming in.

Lowe is confident the stockings will help the ailing textile industry, keeping at least one factory running.

She said the stockings were economically priced when compared with locally manufactured and imported products.

She was confident that with normal wear the stockings would not ladder, but said they would be swapped without question if that happened within 10 days.