My in-laws recently took a trip to New Zealand and while they were there one of the things they did, besides, eat great food, party and visit friends and family, was shop. One of the things they shopped for was a birthday gift to give me when they got back to the States.
I'm very excited to have been given a great product that is native to New Zealand and I want to write about it since the weather doesn't seem to be consistent. The brand is "Icebreaker" merino wool. Many of you who are into activewear and sportswear may already be familiar with this company. This was the first I had heard of them and the cute tops that I received are pretty darn awesome!
Icebreaker creates clothing that are as thin as a cotton tee but are made of merino wool. I found that these fine guage wool tops come in handy especially now when the temperature is constantly changing from mid 50's in the morning to mid 70's in the late afternoon. You're never sure exactly what to wear. It acts as a thin shirt that's great for layering or when it starts to warm up can be worn alone. So it basically keeps you warm when it's cold and yet stays breathable for when it's warmer. The fine guage merino wool is right on par with temperature reactive materials that are becoming a major part of apparel manufacturing.
Another reason I wanted to write about Icebreaker is because it's Earth Week and as part of the growing trend of buying products from companies that behave responsibly with humanity and with the environment, I think Icebreaker deserves some props. Not only do they put alot of care into their products but they have a great philosophy and the clothes are well designed with nature and you in mind! Gotta love that!
One of the things they do is source locally grown fibers, farm raise in the southern alps of New Zealand. Then they look for global manufacturing plants that have the latest technology and also have ethical manufacturing practices, as in no child labor, clean air, good lighting and ventilation, a healthy and caring working community for their workers. The manufacturing plants that are chosen by Icebreaker must also adhere to international standards such as ISO 9001 (Quality Management ), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) and the European environmental standard Oeko-Tex. The plants must also make an effort to reduce energy consumption and the use of chemicals to minimize the environmental impact of the manufacturing process. So when you wear Icebreaker clothing, you are wearing a thoughtfully and ethically created product.
When you purchase one of these Icebreaker items, don't forget to go to their website and type in the baacode from your clothing tag so you can check out where your wool came from.
Check them out here: http://www.icebreaker.com/site/index.html
