Comrades Urged to Join the Icebreaker Revolution

January 23, 2007

Icebreaker - the New Zealand-based leader in outdoor apparel that revolutionized the use of pure merino wool - is leading a revolt against oil-based synthetic fabrics and challenging people who love the outdoors to make a ewe-turn and choose clothing made of natural sustainable fibres.

Throughout Salt Lake City, flocks of protesters are recruiting followers to free themselves from outdoor apparel made from nonrenewable, odor-harboring synthetic fabrics such as polypropylene or polyester. These popular fabrics are created with petroleum - a finite carbon-based molecule. Icebreaker merino is a made from a renewable protein-based fibre, keratin, a sustainable source.

Chants of "Feel fantastic without plastic!" and "THINK! Don't stink!" can be heard outside the Salt Palace Convention Center. Signage about the protest has also been spotted (and sprayed) in bathrooms at the annual winter Outdoor Retailer tradeshow, January 23-26, 2008.

One protester holding a sign reading, "Polyesterday: Pure Merino Tomorrow!" sported a polyester suit similar to the out worn by John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever." He shouted, "Keep polyester and disco in the 70's! The future is in our hands! Viva la Merino!"

Leader of the Pack

These protesters are following the rallying cry of Jeremy Moon, founder and CEO of Icebreaker. "When you're outdoors, does it make more sense to wrap yourself in something natural, or something plastic?" challenged Moon. "Icebreaker clothing is made from a fibre that came from nature on the back of an animal and which enables humans to return to nature."

The daily disruptive demonstrations at OR and outside related events extended onto the airways when the revolutionaries took over a television broadcast during a bus that runs between the on-mountain demos and the Salt Palace.

BAACODE Points Us to Origins of the Uprising

The insurgency began with the introduction of Icebreaker's pioneering "Baacode," a system to enable customers to trace their pure merino garments through every step of the production process - right back to the New Zealand sheep station the wool came from. Fans of Icebreaker began to think of the origins of most other outdoor apparel: oil. Soon after, support grew for the Viva-la-Merino movement.

Moon added, "We are trying to design a company that is inherently self-sustaining without being at the expense of the environment. We are looking for a win-win-win. Our contract is not just with the customer, but with the environment."

From August 2008, most Icebreaker garments will have an internal label bearing a one-off Baacode number. Customers will be able to go to the Icebreaker website, enter in their Baacode and trace the wool in their garment through to the sheep stations in the Southern Alps of New Zealand - the finest merino region in the world.

The protesters know that while many outdoor clothing companies make token gestures towards being eco-friendly, Icebreaker's commitment to sustainability has been a non-negotiable part of its core philosophy since its launch in 1994. Customers already love the unmatched technical performance and cool stylishness of Icebreaker garments: now they'll be able to see for themselves Icebreaker's unshakeable commitment to sustainability, animal welfare, social ethics, practices that have a low environmental impact, and the latest clean technology.

Added Moon, "Nature is an astonishing designer. Our high-performance ecologically sound clothing system is based on respect of the environment, ethics and sustainability. This is a natural choice in an age of synthetics. We hope our clothing allows our customers to reconnect with nature."

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.