Are you getting the wool pulled over your eyes?

At ioMerino, we’re really proud of how we do business. Sustainable production. Ethical manufacture. And no pulling the wool over our customers’ eyes. Which is more than we can say for some companies. And to be honest, we’ve had a gut full of it, and if you knew what we were talking about, we think you would too.

 

So it’s time we talked about the thing no one seems to want to come right out and say. Until now.

 

We’re on ‘Team Merino’

Let us start by acknowledging, there are some really great outdoor clothing companies out there making some pretty good merino wool products. We don’t think of them as our competitors, so much as our teammates. We’re all on ‘Team Merino’ using this awesome natural fibre to create clothing for people who love the outdoors and the high-performance real Merino delivers. Sure there are some quality differences between companies, but at least we’re using genuine Merino.

Then there are the other companies who talk about having Merino clothing when really, it’s not. And this is the number one thing you need to look out for. If you’re looking at something someone says is Merino, the very first thing you should check is just how much Merino is in the actual fabric. It’s not complicated, somewhere on there, by law, will be the composition of the fabric.

 

Is your Merino garment, actually synthetic?

If there’s less then 50% Merino in a garment, you’d be well within your rights to wonder if it’s really a Merino garment at all. More accurately, we’d say it’s a synthetic garment with a bit of Merino in it. And they’re not the same thing. If you really want to benefit from the high-performance qualities of Merino, you’re going to want a garment that is ‘Merino-rich’. That is more Merino than anything else.

Unfortunately, there are no regulations around what companies can and can’t say. So a company can claim their top is Merino, even if it only has 20 or 30% Merino in it. And that sounds a bit ridiculous to us. We won’t name names, if you keep an eye out when you’re looking at gear, you’ll see who they are soon enough.

 

It’s time to get real.

We think it’s a bit of a stretch that a cycling jersey that’s 64% Polyester, for example, gets to brag about the performance qualities of Merino like one leading cycling brand does. And a long sleeve running top that’s 81% Polyester and just 11% Merino that talks up it’s Merino performance? Oh, come on. Get real. Merino isn’t chilli – you don’t need just a pinch of it to make a difference.

Most of our tops and leggings? 90+% Merino which means you get 90+% Merino High Performance. Our socks? 80% Merino. (Socks need a little extra Nylon to be functional.) Our beanies? 100% Merino. You get the idea.

So before you buy your next Merino garment, check the fabric content and make sure it’s actually, really, authentically a Merino garment made from actual Merino. Not some token gesture. Not a bit. But more Merino than anything else. Otherwise, you’re just letting those companies pull the wool over your eyes. Or at least whatever fabric it is they’re passing off as wool.

Click here to shop our actual, real, authentic Merino gear.