Give Icebreaker - Make the holidays as sustainable as the rest of the year

August 25, 2008

We're all trying to live a greener life -- reducing our carbon footprint by catching the bus, using environmentally friendly dishwashing liquid, and taking reusable cloth bags to the supermarket.

There's no reason why the holidays should be the exception. They don't have to involve buying shoddily-made plastic gifts that waste both money and environmental resources – it is possible to find presents that are made with respect for nature, and that will last for years.

New Zealand's own Icebreaker is the perfect choice. It's sustainably produced and sourced from the world's finest merino, grown in the Southern Alps.

Icebreaker's cool, great-looking garments are grown and manufactured according to strict social, environmental and ethical guidelines (see www.icebreaker.c.m/site/philosophy/#/sustainability for the full story).

We take responsibility for every step of the supply chain, and have just introduced our revolutionary new Baacode traceability programme to enable Icebreaker wearers to trace their individual garment right back to the farm where the fibre was grown.

Icebreaker garments can be given with a clear conscience, and are always welcome. People love Icebreaker because it's silky soft to the touch, a superb insulator, and breathes far more effectively than synthetics (which are made from oil). Our merino is also odour-resistant, non-itch, easy care and lasts far longer than inferior merino garments. The merino's fleece is designed to protect it in scorching summers and freezing winters, and works equally well as a winter and summer fibre for people. The alpine merino wool in Icebreaker garments is far finer than traditional wool, which makes it much softer on the skin.

An Icebreaker garment may last a decade, and then it can simply be buried in the garden.

Icebreaker makes tops, bottoms, underwear, coats and accessories, and has a full kids' range. Garments can be worn solo or layered with other Icebreaker pure merino pieces to create a fine, breathable system that moves effortlessly between the mountains and the city.

About Icebreaker

Launched in 1994, Icebreaker was the first company in the world to develop a merino wool layering system for the outdoors. It was also the first outdoor apparel company in the world to source merino direct from growers, a system it began in 1997. There are now 10 distinct pure merino fabrics in the Icebreaker system, covering underwear, mid layer, and outerwear.

Icebreaker is sold in nearly 2000 stores in 24 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Australasia and North America. Based in Wellington, New Zealand, Icebreaker uses only pure merino hand-picked from 120 high country stations in the country's Southern Alps to create edgy outdoor clothing that combines nature's work with human technology and design.