Icebreaker - the Merino pioneer from New Zealand

In 1995, Icebreaker founder Jeremy Moon was given a homemade prototype of a merino shirt by a sheep farmer friend. He found it so comfortable to wear that he also used it when running and mountain biking. He was surprised and delighted by the positive properties such as temperature regulation and odor control. He even slept with the shirt and wore it under his dress shirt during the day in the office. He never wanted to take it off.

He couldn't stop thinking about what this T-shirt did to him and so, with an idea in his luggage, he went back to the farmer who had given it to him.

With this idea, Jeremy not only laid the foundation for Icebreaker, but also for the first industrial production of functional clothing made from merino wool. His vision is nothing less than a milestone and is instrumental in ensuring that there is now a natural alternative to petrochemical-based synthetic fibers for sport. The idea that drives Jeremy is the natural cycle of wool, which he expresses with the slogan "Born in nature, worn in nature."

The name Icebreaker is inspired by Jeremy's desire to connect his idea, which originated in his homeland, the mountains of New Zealand, with the rest of the world and to offer people this new option for natural sportswear. The goal that Jeremy is pursuing with Icebreaker from now on is to show the way to a healthier and more sustainable future for people and the planet, based on natural solutions. He wants to get people to think consciously about what they wear on their bodies and to move away from the omnipresent "plastic drug", as he calls it.

From the beginning, it was about working with nature for nature. For Jeremy, there was no question that sustainable management and respectful treatment of animals were of particular importance for the quality of the material. To this day, 10-year purchase contracts for the wool are concluded in order to give farmers a long-term planning basis for investing in animal welfare measures and regenerative agriculture.

100% of Icebreaker wool comes from RWS-certified farms. RWS (=Responsible Wool Standard) is the best-known animal welfare seal for wool and guarantees that mulesing is not used. In addition, the majority of wool farmers are members of the "Growers Club", which is committed to the even stricter ZQRX program. The ZQRX standard goes far beyond the animal welfare standard and sets high standards for regenerative land management (e.g. biodiversity, soil health, CO² reduction, common good economy...). By 2028, the proportion of ZQRX certified wool will also rise to 100%.

With the Transparency Report, Icebreaker has been making the entire production process from sheep to finished product public every year since 2017 in order to make responsible actions in every segment transparent. Icebreaker stands for animal welfare, sustainable business, fairness and the highest possible product quality.