Icebreaker

Outdoor favorites made of natural materials – for over 25 years. Icebreaker sells versatile and durable products as sustainable alternatives to synthetic clothing.

Icebreaker Highlights

Colors of natureIcebreaker uses natural and renewable plant pigments to dye the fibers. Ingeniously, the dyeing process uses 65% less water than conventional methods.

The challengeWearing the same shirt for 7 days. The T-shirt should not be washed for a week, but only aired out at night. The motto is to wear more, wash less, use fewer resources.

Icebreaker Blog themes

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More about Icebreaker

Why is Icebreaker a WIR DENKEN UM brand?

Motivated by the conviction that nature has the best solutions, Icebreaker offers natural alternatives to synthetic clothing to create a healthier and more sustainable future. As a WIR DENKEN UM brand, Icebreaker stands out in the following ways:

- The company is committed to accountability throughout the supply chain

- It prides itself on environmentally friendly, resource-saving production with the goal of being plastic-free by 1923

- Icebreaker promotes fair working conditions and maintains high animal welfare standards

Icebreaker: Innovation by nature

Icebreaker is still driven by the founding idea of challenging the practices of the outdoor clothing industry and breaking the synthetic boom of the 1990s: "Care, responsibility and integrity are the values that have always guided us, both in running our business and in manufacturing our clothes – from sheep to finished shirt." Every step in the supply chain is carefully selected and constantly checked, from the selection of materials to long-standing partnerships with the sheep farms in New Zealand and all the way to educating the end consumer on how to care for their merino product in a way that conserves resources. The company’s annual Transparency Report provides a more in-depth look. “Still we are not perfect and are constantly evolving. Our goal is to completely eliminate plastic from the materials we use in our products by 2023." Icebreaker’s vision: Inspire a global community of people to find natural solutions and change for the better.

“What are the odds?”

In 1994 a seemingly trivial accident formed the passion of Jeremy Moon, the founder of Icebreaker. Back than he was aged 24 years and he recognized the potential in sustainable production of outdoor clothing. He met a sheep farmer on Pohenui Island in New Zealand. When this farmer gave Moon a T-Shirt made of merino wool, he changed his way of thinking from “technical” synthetic clothing to original resources of fabric. Jeremy was impressed by the softness and functional highlights of this merino shirt.

This experience led to the foundation of Icebreaker Pure Merino GmbH with one special principle: How can you offer a sustainable manufactured product to clients as a healthy alternative to synthetic sports clothing? With setting its focus on the Merino sheep wool, Jeremy found the right answer to this question.

Technological Breakthroughs

Further milestones in Icebreaker’s history wouldn’t take long to wait for. In 1997 Moon closed the first long-term contracts with sheep farmers in New Zealand. Because of a consistent growth, the brand was able to open a modern production factory in Shanghai only six years later. The brand ensures that the whole manufacturing progress matches to the ethic standards of responsibility and environmental sustainability. The main part of Icebreaker’s Merino wool comes from New Zealand, where the sheep farmers are settled on land more than 1.6 million hectares wide in the New Zealand Alps.

Since 2005 you can dress up in Icebreaker’s Merino clothing from head to toe. Because of the increasing customer’s demand the brand expanded its range of products. Since then Icebreaker not only manufactured baselayer clothing but also caps, gloves or socks made of merino wool. Today Icebreaker has developed to a worldwide operating and influencing company within the Outdoor Sector, with branch offices in Europe, Canada, USA, New Zealand and Asia.

Icebreaker: Sustainable Functional Clothing made of Merino Wool

Products made of merino wool combine the advantages of synthetic sportswear and the positive characteristics of wool. Therefore, merino clothing by Icebreaker is fast drying, lightweight, odor resistant and depending on the kind of treatment, it is high insulating. But the brand is not only well-known for its Baselayer collections, but also for Midlayer made of Merino wool or insulating outer layers like pants and jackets.

Insofar as design is concerned Icebreaker has four priorities which are: convenience, purpose, versatility and sustainability. Its products are represented in a clear and straight look, are reduced to functionality and stem from a transparent and economically friendly manufacturing process. Those are the most important characteristics which mark the quality of Icebreaker’s products. In 2011 the sports brand developed the Corespun technology, where a nylon core is coated by merino fibers. This kind of manufacturing makes the fabric sturdier and more abrasion-proof. Icebreaker’s COOL-LITE innovation makes the clothing even more breathable and offers a high moisture management thanks to its smart fabric mixture of merino and the natural fiber TENCEL.

The insulating clothing by Icebreaker is lined with the warming MerinoLOFT fabric, which on the one hand is a natural insulating fabric and on the other hand it is easier to care for than down. Wool fibers inside those MerinoLOFT jackets guarantee good heat insulation. Furthermore, the outer fabric is treated with a water-repellent DWR-impregnation. No matter if functional Baselayer clothing, socks, hats, neckwarmer or cozy outer layers – here at Sport Conrad you find a wide range of Icebreaker products. Look around and get convinced of the best alternative to synthetic functional sports clothing.