Avoid the microplastic madness with textiles made from merino wool!

Since the early 1980s, synthetic fibers have been used on a large scale in outdoor clothing. Polyester & Co. are now also widely used in the fashion world because they are easy to dye and inexpensive to produce.

What remained hidden until a few years ago, however, are the immense and irreversible effects of microplastic particles in the world's oceans.

According to studies, up to 500,000 fibers are released into the wastewater every time a polyester fabric is washed . The majority of these microparticles cannot be filtered out by the sewage treatment plants and end up in our rivers and ultimately in the oceans (the rest ends up in the fields via sewage sludge).

Wave movement and UV rays break down the fiber particles further and they enter the food chain as microscopic particles and, via fish, onto our plates. Recent studies have already found evidence of microplastics in human stool.

Since many synthetic fibers contain so-called additives such as hormonally active plasticizers or carcinogenic heavy metals, the effects of microplastics on our bodies are extremely worrying, even if the long-term effects have not yet been researched.

The difference to many other global environmental problems is that we can directly and immediately contribute a large part to solving the problem ourselves by no longer using existing synthetic fiber clothing, in particular by no longer washing it and by switching to plastic-free cosmetics when showering. In addition to the abrasion of car tires, cosmetics and synthetic fiber clothing are among the main causes of microplastics in the world's oceans.

Each of us can immediately minimize our share of microplastics by switching to natural fibers - every load of laundry counts!

The outdoor industry in particular is contributing to endangering precisely what is most important to customers - nature itself. Even today, many people still insist on outdated wisdom from the 90s that quick drying and sweat evaporation are essential for functional clothing and that there is therefore no alternative to synthetic fibers.

But people forget that quick drying is not always an advantage. Anyone who arrives at the summit, sweating, where the cold wind is blowing, will see how unpleasant the increased evaporative cooling caused by synthetic fibers is, because they do not dry in real time. Many people therefore change their shirt at the summit - but is that the point of functional underwear?

There is another way: Merino wool is the natural air conditioning system, because when you are active, moisture is temporarily stored as a cooling buffer and when you stop the activity, the wool does not get cold, despite the moisture. Sounds impossible? Sheep do it - they stand in the pasture with their fur in summer and winter and feel good. More information about the advantages of Merino can be found under "Why Merino underwear?"

Why sustainable merino wool?

Merino wool is a renewable raw material that is completely biodegradable. No fertilizers or pesticides (cotton) are needed for its production, nor are fossil raw materials such as petroleum (synthetic fibers). Merino sheep only need a few lush New Zealand alpine meadows. No specially grown feed is needed.

In many places, sheep are used for landscape maintenance on steep slopes and thus support the preservation of meadow habitats.

The only thing that counts in the ecological balance of merino wool is the relatively high water consumption when washing the wool and during transport. This factor can also be minimized through modern water treatment.

Our supplier Ortovox is known as a model company when it comes to resource-saving wool processing, sustainable sheep farming and animal welfare (Ortovox Wool Promise). Icebreaker, the largest supplier of Merino sportswear, also disclosed its entire manufacturing process in its Transparency Report in order to underpin the high standards of animal welfare and a sustainable value chain with facts.

The Merino Store only lists manufacturers whose wool comes from ecologically responsible animal husbandry (no factory farming in confined spaces and no mulesing).

Avoiding risks to health and biodiversity

Unlike synthetic fibers, wool as a raw material poses no health risks. Caution is only required if you are allergic to animal hair. The only downside is that there is still no satisfactory solution to completely avoid using chemicals when dyeing and straightening wool.

By purchasing clothing made from merino wool and other natural fibers, you can avoid a number of other hidden dangers from synthetic fiber products, in addition to the dangers already described from microplastics in the water cycle and the food chain:

• Wool does not require antibacterial treatment. To reduce the well-known odor development of synthetic fibers, toxic biocides (organotin compounds or chlorophenols, which are highly toxic to aquatic organisms and can damage organs in humans) or silver threads, which are suspected of promoting antibiotic resistance, are used!

• Wool is naturally flame-retardant. Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) used in synthetic textiles accumulate in the environment and are now widespread. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) can affect the hormonal balance and thereby cause growth disorders and affect the development of sexual organs.

• Wool is kind to the skin. Wool's ability to absorb a lot of moisture means the skin stays dry for a long time. This reduces chafing and the formation of blisters. The naturally antibacterial structure of the wool fibers can also have a positive effect on existing skin problems.

• Wool is a renewable raw material and 100% biodegradable. Synthetic fiber production is based on the fossil raw material petroleum. Synthetic fibers do not rot and, due to the material mixtures, are difficult to recycle or require a lot of energy and expense. The long-term economic consequences of the environmental damage caused by synthetic fiber production are not yet factored into the gross domestic product and will be passed on to future generations.

In our shop you will find functional clothing made of natural fibers for almost every application, from Merino underwear to Merino midlayers and wool insulation jackets. The following manufacturers offer mostly plastic-free shirts and functional underwear:

• Icebreaker
• Aclima
• Kari Traa
• Devold
• Angel
• Pally'Hi