Icebreaker Review. Athletic clothing, not gum
You may ask yourself why I am reviewing Icebreaker clothing which is made of merino wool, something that is not considered to be very green. True, wool comes from sheep and I normally do not wear wool, but I read about Icebreaker and their policies, and I decided to contact them.
While looking at the site, I wanted to know if the company used ethical practices and I was pleasantly surprised that they do. The animals are not tortured when they are groomed. Actually, it seems that many Australian companies use a torturous method of sheering called Mulesing but not Icebreaker.
Jeremy Moon, the founder and CEO of Icebreaker states on their website, our hand-picked pure merino goes in search of the best technology, ethical manufacturing, and environmentally sound practices before it completes its transformation into a hand-made Icebreaker.
Reading this made me really excited to try out the new shirts I recently received. I tried two different shirts and I was pleasantly surprised with both. The SuperfineGT 190 Sprint Zip S/S is a great design for outdoor activities with its half zipper and semi mock neck. There?s a convenient pocket on one side which sits on the rear of the shirt ideal for keys, wallet or whatever you else you desire to carry. I rode my bike to work the other day wearing this shirt. It?s very soft, light, ultra breathable. It even has vents under the arms. The bottom of the shirt is tapered to resist wind and other elements. I made it to work after a four mile ride in the 75 degree weather, but I still felt cool in the SuperfineGT 190 Sprint Zip. There are two color choices, Ash/Graphite and Devil/Ash. The Ash/Graphite is dark bluish grey and lighter graphite for the vents and the Devil/Graphite is a vibrant red. My favorite feature of the shirt is the plastic clear hang tag. It does NOT itch and it?s really cool since it?s clear, soft and flexible.
The Superfine140 Tech T Lite is a typical t-shirt style, but made with the same merino wool. The wool count is 140, so it?s a little heavier than the Sprint Zip, but still light and soft. The design is simple. The medium is slightly larger than normal European mediums, and the colors are rich and nice. I wore this shirt to work a few times and I must say that I stayed cool despite not always having air conditioning. Again, the plastic hang tags are my favorite part.
The tags also say, dry inside out and air or line dry. Both are drying right now and I will be using the Sprint Zip on another bike ride this week.
Check out Icebreaker.com and tell them Leafygreen sent you.
Technorati Tags: leafygreen, merino, wool
1 Comment
Patrick Dupree
February 11, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Mulesing is the painful and inhumane practice of skinning parts of a live animal usually with no painkiller, but it is not a method of shearing wool. It is a way to keep flies from laying eggs inside the folds of skin of the animal. The fly larvae then eat and tunnel into the flesh of the animal causing pain, disease, and sometimes death. "Flystrike" is more prevalent in warmer climates like that of Austrailia. There are other methods of dealing with this problem that cause no pain to the animal, but they are not "cost effective". Thats probably why icebreaker sells one shirt for 69.95!