“Born from nature” – the birth and worth of merino wool

Florian Fischl: While hiking back in ’94, did you know anything about merino sheep and their wool, or did the initial encounter with merino farmer Brian Brackenridge completely catch you by surprise?

Jeremy Moon: I didn’t even know what a merino was, I thought a sheep was a sheep and I hated wool because it was heavy and always itched. I was wearing a synthetic t-shirt at the time and it stunk terribly. When I met Brian the lights went on. Merino was lighter and it didn’t stink. It was just this beautiful kind of wool that felt great on the skin. I no longer needed to make any compromises like I did with synthetic materials. I thought that if I could sell this around the world, I’ll be able to travel all my life!

How exactly does merino function on the body, what makes it so unique?

Jeremy Moon: Merino is a natural fibre that works like an air-conditioning system. Merino traps heat when you need it and it ventilates heat to the outside when its hot outside. This means that in the winter when you’re working out you don’t feel cold because the merino fibres don’t cool down, even when they’re wet and holding moisture. In the summer, you remain cool even if its hot outside. Basically, merino manages the micro climate of your body. And the best part of it is that the whole system has been created by nature and the whole technology is in the fibres.

In which daily situations do you appreciate the benefits of merino the most?

Jeremy Moon: There has not been one day in the last 19 years on which I didn’t wear merino, and that’s not just because I’m the founder of the company. It’s because I absolutely love what the fabric does for me in different situations and conditions. If you step away from sports, merino still delivers fabulous benefits. It’s a lightweight product that responds to the environment. Merino is all about mobility, whether you are in the office or in and out of your car. It encourages movement and travel without compromises. Merino also allows you to combine various layers without losing the original function. When the fibres from the different layers lock together, the whole system breathes and acts as a unit.

Does the quality of the raw material vary, for instance depending on weather or origin? What are the key factors for sourcing high-quality merino wool? Is a “keep the sheep happy”-approach a good way to start?

Jeremy Moon: Oh yes, it certainly does. I like to compare it to wine. There is exceptional wine from Bordeaux and there is also low-quality wine from Bordeaux. The quality of the merino fibres greatly depends on how it is sourced. The fibre needs to be controlled meticulously at all times to ensure the highest quality for Icebreaker garments. Control is necessary because harsh winters for instance can affect the quality and the fibre may become a bit itchy. Icebreaker’s outside  “fibre factory” encompasses 2.5 million acres and we use 1.600 tons of fibre each year – that’s about one fourth of the fibre production in New Zealand. We pay premium prices and offer long term contracts to our merino farmers to ensure only the highest quality fibres for our products.

2014 Summer Collection – Diverse and Functional

Compared to 2013, the 2014 summer collection is a big step towards diversity. What was the primary inspiration for this colourful and broad collection?

Jeremy Moon:Well, we have a fantastically creative product team. All of them are active outdoor people and all of them are close to the root of the different scenes. For the 2014 Summer Collection, we wanted to find new ways to get into the customer’s wardrobe and we wanted the customer to be able to do more in Icebreaker garments. Basically, we know that when people try merino, they love it so we thought about what products could enhance the merino experience for the customer – and because merino can be packed very small and doesn’t wrinkle, we had many options to expand the product portfolio. Basically, we are using the same fibre that went into expensive Italian suits. It’s just that nobody ever applied it to outdoor clothing.

The Icebreaker “Art of Nature” series for winter 2014/2015 is based on a progressive and ecological partnership with snow artist Simon Beck and supports the global climate initiative “Protect our Winters”. It seems like a prefect fit and another unique and positive way of getting into the mindset of conscious Icebreaker customers. What was the inspiration for this partnership?

Jeremy Moon: On the one hand, Icebreaker has always meant icebreaking between people, building new relationships and so forth. But it also means building relationships between humanity and their environment. If the whole outdoor industry is about reconnecting people to nature then why would you run around in synthetic materials. That is something that drove me crazy when we first started out. When I first met Simon Beck I was completely amazed by his work. Simon uses his imagination and creativity to redefine his relationship to nature in his art. Instead of using a paintbrush, he uses a natural element (snow) to create spontaneous and beautiful designs in the snow. Simon’s work is incredibly technical and absolutely beautiful. At the same time, I admire what Jeremy Jones has achieved with his global “Protect Our Winters (POW)” initiative and their unique approach on educating people about climate change. POW goes into schools and works very closely with the younger generations, educating them to make conscious choices. My daughters are always telling us about reducing waste, preserving water etc. I think that anything which is about trying to make a positive impact on an entire generation is absolutely amazing. That was a key inspiration behind our cooperation.

The opportunities and challenges of the merino-boom

For certain garments, Icebreaker uses a small amount of elastic fibres (4%). What are the advantages of fibre-mixes?

Jeremy Moon: If we see that a certain fibre will enhance the function of merino, we will use it as a structural element in our garments. In our Icebreaker GT-Series for example, we use 96% merino and 4% lycra. The lycra functions as an internal skeletal layer and not only adds stretch abilities but also metabolizes moisture even more so that the garment dries faster. So the whole point of why we use fibre-mixes in some of our garments is to further improve the function of merino. Another good example is the Merinoloft material used in our winter 2014/2015 collection.

Is there any aspect about merino which drives you crazy and which you have learned to accept because you can’t change it?

Jeremy Moon: We’ve run into limitations here and there, but we have always been able to find solutions, for instance fibre-mixes. We’ve managed to enhance comfort and we’ve figured out how to make merino hold colors really well also. We’ve also made merino waterproof, shrink resistant and for the future we’ve developed newer concepts to make merino even lighter than it already is. So, I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I love the challenge of overcoming frustration. My belief is that merino is the most amazing fibre out there. The limitation is that it does not dry quite as fast as synthetics do, but the tradeoff is that it holds moisture to regulate temperature. So when you’re active, merino is a huge enhancement for your workout and you never feel cold. Therefore, if I had to decide, I would always choose merino over any other fibre.

From the root of the product to the roots of success

The merino farmers and their stations are at the root of the product life-cycle. Can you give us some insight into a typical merino station.

Jeremy Moon: Quite frankly, the animals are doing the work and all of them need to exhibit natural behaviour at all times in order to produce high-quality merino wool. This is one reason why animal welfare and the close relationships to the people on the merino stations is so important to us. We work together with more than 100 families and tens of thousands of animals spread over even more acres. Typically, five people run one ranch and there is actually a rising number of young people which are attracted back into this agricultural industry. On the ranches, it’s wonderful to see the people connecting to their environment – they grow their own vegetables and have pigs and chickens walking around. They all have a very ethical and sustainable approach and thrive on self-sufficiency, some of them producing their own electricity. In the beginning, the farmer’s taught me a lot about the merino fibre, the spinning and knitting. Not knowing anything about it and listening to the farmers was a huge part of getting us to where we are today.

Because of their merino fibres, Icebreaker products carry an incredible environmental aspect for the brand. Please tell us a little bit about this.

Jeremy Moon: Icebreaker products are sourced and manufactured in a very sustainable way. In addition, the fibre itself comes from nature and is naturally renewable. There is less impact on the environment during the manufacturing process and there is also a great deal less negative impact when the product is in the customer’s hands – because merino doesn’t stink, you don’t need to wash it often and it will also last longer. The exterior of merino fibre has a rough surface, which automatically prevents the colonization of bacteria on the wool. This is nature at its absolute best!

Pioneer and visionary in a global merino market

When all the ice has been broken, what are your visions for the brand?

Jeremy Moon: We want to get into people’s minds, but in a subtle and positive way. Kind of like poking at their consciousness. Rather than being manipulative, this creates an emotional connection and helps us to create great products for people who think like us. If you look at nature, it’s adaptive, sustainable and symbolic. I believe that those principles can be applied to a business as well. It requires a lot of discipline, but the output can be incredible. Icebreaker is like a living case study and we do our best to preserve a sustainable business model by talking about what we do good and what we can improve.

Out of curiosity: How do you start your day, is there a mantra which you live by?

Jeremy Moon: (Jeremy laughs) There’s many mantras I live by. One of them is that I like to say “this will work unless I screw it up”. When I first started Icebreaker I figured that it was up to me to not get in the way of this powerful product. If I could manage that, then it would work! Today, I am happy to work in a constantly changing environment with great people. When the idea is good and the people are great then I believe you can make things happen!