Natural is Next

The Importance of Merino as Performance Clothing

1. The impact of clothing on the environment is becoming more noticeable every day. We believe that using natural solutions like ZQ-Certified Merino wool is paramount.

2. Merino wool is regenerative. It’s made up of proteins and amino acids. It naturally breaks down in water and soil. It is perfect for making responsible natural performance apparel.

3. We believe that Merino is a superior material for performance clothing. It naturally breathes, helps regulate body temperature, and resists odors—things that plastic alternatives try to replicate.

The Gold Standard of Merino Wool

We partner with the New Zealand Merino Company—who developed ZQ-certified wool—to ensure environmental, social, and economic sustainability while safeguarding animal welfare.

What it takes to be ZQ-Certified

We work with our partners at ZQ Merino to encourage and support them through auditing, training, and innovating methods to achieve our mutual goals.

1.

ANIMAL WELFARE

2.

ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY

3.

QUALITY FIBERS

4.

TRACEABLE
TO SOURCE

5.

SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY

Our Sheep

ZQ sheep enjoy five simple freedoms.

01.

Freedom from discomfort and inadequate shelter

From sea level to mountain passes, Merino sheep thrive in beautiful, yet extreme climates. They’re made for these conditions. However, in order to protect our sheep from stress and to help ensure that they produce the best fiber possible, our farmers provide adequate shade and shelter.

02

Freedom from thirst, hunger, and malnutrition

Farmed on a free-range basis, our sheep forage as they please. Sheep with proper nutrition are better able to cope with things like extreme weather. Our sheep always have access to clean water and proper nutrition.

03

Freedom from significant injury and disease

Farmed on a free-range basis, our sheep forage as they please. Sheep with proper nutrition are better able to cope with things like extreme weather. Our sheep always have access to clean water and proper nutrition.

04

Freedom from unnecessary pain or distress

Our farmers carefully handle and manage sheep to avoid unnecessary pain or distress. Practices like mulesing that cause harm are never permitted, and facilities are properly maintained to ensure that they do not pose a risk of injury to the sheep.

05

Freedom to display normal patterns of behavior

Our sheep spend the majority of their time roaming thousands of acres of open pasture. This allows them to freely express their natural behaviors with minimal human interference. We want our sheep to have happy, healthy, carefree lives.

Our Growers

The best wool starts with the best growers.

The ZQ-accredited growers we work with are devoted to their trade, and we want to keep it that way. We were one of the first companies to create long-term contracts with our Merino wool growers to ensure that we can use ethically sourced wool. These contracts offer assurance of future fiber demands and stable income, so growers can better manage their flocks, plan for the future, and at the same time, provide us with a stable source of high-quality Merino wool.

Great growers are critical to the quality of the wool, the success of their flocks, and our ethically sourced products. Merino wool growers are passionate and work hard to look after their sheep and their land. 

Under the care of our growers, sheep are integrated into the natural environment and help maintain it. As part of our ethical sourcing policy, our farmers commit to exceptionally high standards of animal welfare, responsible use of land and water resources, and sustainable farming practices.

The sheep producing the wool for your favorite Smartwool® socks or base layers are treated humanely, are well-fed, live natural and healthy lives, and are not subjected to harmful practices like mulesing. This means, you’re getting the highest-quality ethically sourced products and Merino wool.

Supply Chain

We collaborate with our supply chain partners, who share our commitment to high standards in order to make more sustainable clothing.

We work with our partners at ZQ Merino to encourage and support them through auditing, training, and innovative methods to achieve our mutual goals. Manufacturers and subcontractors are audited each year with a focus on continuous improvement. We use internal and external resources to evaluate factories. To make sure we are using ethically sourced wool, our review process is collaborative and focuses on root causes.

Sheep

Ethically sourced wool products begin with flocks of hardy Merino sheep grazing on green grass in the shadow of jagged peaks. Our sheep are raised to roam. They always have access to clean water and ample food, shelter, preventive care, and speedy treatment, and often call thousands of acres home.

Shearing

Shearing is essential for the health and hygiene of each individual sheep. Unlike other animals, most sheep are unable to shed. So they get an annual haircut (one wool fleece can produce 40 pairs of socks), after which the fleece heads out to be washed and cleaned.

Cleaning (Scouring)

The fleece coming straight off the sheep’s back is full of lanolin, which is removed in the cleaning process. That lanolin goes to good use—being repurposed for everything from kiln fuel to skincare.

Carding

After mixing and washing the wool, fibers are smoothed out and are aligned to be parallel. Carding also introduces a small amount of twist—creating what’s called a wool sliver.

Combing

Clean wool is combed into “top.” That’s the long fluffy fibers that are left after the short ones are combed out—leaving super soft, beautiful wool. The clean wool is blended again and aligned before spinning.

Spinning

Turning the lofty slivers of wool top into soft, strong, yarn takes a lot of specialized machines. To get the right consistency wool top is blended multiple times. We take a naturally varied fiber and create consistency and evenness. Fibers are gently combed apart. Next, a series of machines compacts and pulls the fibers into yarn. Twist is added to hold the yarn together and provide strength. Finally, the yarn is wound onto a cone and shipped to our knitting mills. A standard cone of yarn has almost 25 miles of yarn.

Learn More About the Performance Benefits of Merino Wool