Icebreaker - Pure Merino

Just thought I’d update you on what’s going on at Mt Nicholas at the moment. We are currently in the midst of shearing – we shear the merinos once a year, starting with the ewes (the female sheep). The reason we start with the girls is that they will be having their lambs in early October and we need to get their fleeces off before then. There are several reasons for this, one of the main ones being that once they have their fleece off they are more aware of the temperature and will take their lambs to shelter when it’s cold or stormy.

As we shear the ewes when it’s still quite cool at night we use a special comb on the shearing machine called a ‘cover comb’ or snow comb’ this lifts the shearing machine off the skin and leaves a thin layer of wool on the sheep for warmth (much like they are still wearing their icebreaker base layer!) so they don’t get too chilly.

Shearing is a great time of year as we get to see the results of all the year’s work in looking after the sheep in the quality of the fleeces that they are producing, I’m pleased to report that the wool’s looking great so we’ll have plenty to send on to Icebreaker! I’ve included some photos of just before the sheep are shorn, during shearing in the shed and after shearing with them just wearing their base layer!

- Kate Cocks, Mt Nicholas Station, New Zealand

Last week the Icebreaker New Zealand team took 40 staff from stores around NZ to Muller Station in Marlborough – 2 groups over 2 nights.  It’s got to be one of the most isolated spots in the country, and easily one of the most serene and stunning because of it.    From Blenheim it’s a 2 ¼ hr drive inland, up the Awatere valley – which our bus driver Ryan told us would be the second largest area of concentrated grapes in the country if it wasn’t defined as being part of Marlborough…

After those 2 hours or so of twisting, turning and gaining almost 900m altitude on the drive, we arrived dusty and tired to Muller Station.  Steve and Mary Satterthwaite and their family hosted us in a most SUPERB fashion…I’m sure we all ate 4 x more than we needed to while we were there, somehow Mary manages to be actively involved in every facet of the station, and be an incredible cook!

Once we were fed and watered it was time to pile onto the back of a huge UniMog 4×4 truck and get some sense of scale to the place.  Well – after a 15 min drive up to a high knoll in the snow, the views were simply awe inspiring, as was the cold!  Steve talked about the station – the size, distances and number of Merino they run (14,000!!), the challenges they face on a daily and seasonal basis, as well as the continued work and effort they put into their stewardship of the land, all 97,000 acres of it.

We met one of his superstar Rams – Maximiser! – and heard about the breeding and selection required to get the best and most hardy Merino, that produce the best fleece for Icebreakers contracts.

Following this (when the sun dipped below the ridge, and the temperature dipped to about -8 degrees C) we were back on the truck bouncing our way back to the station.  Mary showed us around the workings of a Woolshed, describing the roles of the various people who make their livelihoods there.  Woolsheds are simply incredible to see in full action in the spring – and if you ever get the chance to see one going at full steam ahead, you’ll know what I mean.

Back at the homestead for dinner, drinks and the usual IB shenanigans later on – and before we knew it, it was morning again.  Some weary and bleary eyes told the story of the night before…and after some great group discussions it was back down the valley for the first group – and up the valley for the second…   Lisa Thompson (NZ Market General Manager) and I got to do it all over again, and by Wednesday morning we really didn’t want to leave.

Station visits have always been a really effective way for people who sell Icebreaker to get a very real and meaningful connection to the places that are start of the process.  They build their own stories and sense of wonder about the Merino and the Mountains, and the people who run the stations that supply Icebreaker.   Every time I go to a station, I leave with an almost poetic sense of being involved in something that harks back to a true sense of our Kiwi heritage, something unique and yet totally cutting edge, these visits always feels special.

So we’re looking forward to the next Station Visit – who knows exactly where or when they’ll be!

Jem Culpitt – NZ Sales Manager

A few weeks ago a group of growers who supply merino to Icebreaker went on a trip to China. The group, which included growers from Bluff Station, Omarama Station, Branch Creek Station, and Motatapu Station, were able to see exactly what happens to their wool once it leaves the farm. They followed the entire supply chain and experienced firsthand the amount of processing required to turn a sheep’s fleece into a pure merino Icebreaker garment.

Here are a couple of comments from them:

“For me the introduction to the Icebreaker team in Wellington set the tone for the trip – the passion about their product displayed by all staff certainly impressed me from the outset.

After seeing the processing and manufacturing elements of the operation I now appreciate the Icebreaker vision as a truly holistic approach to developing a product of the highest quality, requiring meaningful commitment by all participants involved, with the highest standards of environmental and social values.

A visit to the Chinese processing factories contracted to Icebreaker discounts any misconception of sweat shops exploiting cheap labour and pouring pollution into the environment. To the contrary, conditions for the work force are extremely good and waste control protocols are stringent. From the scouring of the wool until the production of the packaged garment the product is barcoded and subjected to numerous quality checks, this enables management to quickly identify where any fault has occurred and take action very quickly.

The hospitality shown by the manufacturing plants and their willingness to give us such a comprehensive insight into their activities was far and beyond expectation.

On behalf of the group I thank NZ Merino and Icebreaker for the opportunity to to get a better understanding of what Icebreaker is about”

- Russell Hamilton, Motatapu Station

“The whole trip was fantastic and such an eye opener to see fantastic Icebreaker product being made from the beginning to the end. It was very exciting for us to see some Bluff hogget wool being tipped into the scour when we arrived and then to follow the whole Supply Chain and see all the processing and quality checking. It was beyond our expectations, in fact it was mind blowing.

The thing that struck me was that everyone in the supply chain seemed equally as proud of the product as the other.

The quality checking at every step of the way is amazing and shows us all why we have such a superior product at the end. Well done to all of you.

Being a small group meant we got to know each other very well and we had an enormous amount of fun together. A lot of laughs, interesting restaurants in dark alley ways eating anything and everything, a good court session each day on the bus so we could enjoy a decent nightcap, plenty of history, culture, enough shopping and fantastic tour leaders and companions Mike, Pete and Viv.

Thank you for the wonderful opportunity. It was not to be missed”

- Sue Murray, Bluff Station

View videos on our supply chain here.