WHY CHOOSE ICEBREAKER®?
Is all merino created equal? No is the simple answer. Icebreaker® buy the world's best merino wool from the Southern Alps of New Zealand.
New Zealand produces the longest, strongest, purest, whitest merino fibre on the planet, which means it's more durable, stays softer for longer and is less likely to pill.
Icebreaker® have long-term contracts with the world's best and most ethical merino growers in the country which creates a win/win situation. The contracts allow Icebreaker® to take responsibility for every step of the production process, from the quality of the wool to how the animals are treated. And growers can lock in long-term security, which gives them a secure future.
The three-year-contract terms with growers are the biggest long-term merino contracts by a single brand in the world.
When you wear Icebreaker® merino, you know the sheep felt as good making it as you do wearing it.
MERINO: NATURE'S PERFORMANCE FIBRE
For generations, everyone wore clothes made from traditional wool for the outdoors. That's why people in old photos are never smiling! Traditional wool may have been warm, but it itched like crazy. And it was bulky, heavy, and took forever to dry.
In the 1970s, synthetics such as polyester took over. While artificial fibres are lightweight, easy care and usually non-itch, they can also feel clammy, require anti-odour treatments to avoid becoming stinky and are flammable - and they're all petroleum-based which is not a good ethical way forward. You could choose cotton instead, but you'll freeze to death when you get wet in the cold.
So What's the solution? A performance fibre invented by nature and engineered for people.
Icebreaker® merino combines the best qualities of traditional wool, synthetics and cotton. It's soft and non-itchy, it's warm in the cold and cool in the heat and most definitely not just for winter, it breathes to prevent clamminess, and it has a miraculous natural ability to stay fresh without additional treatments - you can run a marathon and still smell as sweet as if you've spent the day on the sofa.
And because it was made in the mountains, rather than a lab, merino wool is renewable, recyclable and biodegradable and therefore sustainable and ethical.