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FUTURUM chooses the best materials and believes in the properties of Merino. Are you already wearing Merino clothing? In this blog, learn what Merino is and the benefits for you and the environment. Enjoy an unmatched soft feel, and benefit from the fabric’s antibacterial properties. Plus, as a completely natural material, it reduces environmental impact significantly. Fight like a wolf, dress like a sheep!

What is Merino Wool and Where Does It Come From?

Merino wool comes from the 'Merino sheep'. These sheep are primarily found in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and South Africa. The wool has several exceptional properties that distinguish it from 'standard' wool and even the most advanced synthetic fabrics.

What Does Merino Wool Do?

As mentioned, Merino wool has several exceptional properties that make it ideal for clothing—and especially sportswear. Merino wool is, for instance, very soft, breathes exceptionally well, and offers significant thermoregulatory benefits. Additionally, the fabric is antibacterial, preventing unpleasant odors and allowing it to be worn longer without washing. Finally, Merino wool is 100% biodegradable, natural, and recyclable.

Very Soft and Itch-Free

Merino wool stands out due to its softness, thanks to its finer fibers compared to 'regular' wool. This makes them bend easily, offering an unparalleled comfortable and soft feel. This is because FUTURUM sources its Merino indirectly from farms in countries with warmer climates. Due to these pleasant conditions, the fibers are much thinner than those of wool from sheep races in relatively cooler climates. The thickness of fibers is expressed in microns. The higher this number, the thicker the fiber. The yarns that FUTURUM uses for its socks and base layers consist of Merino fibers with a thickness of 17.2 microns. For comparison: fibers from wool in cold regions have a thickness of 40 microns. A human hair is 50 microns thick. In addition to being soft, Merino wool does not itch due to its thin fibers. This is often the case with regular wool. Think of the woolen sweater your grandmother knitted for you. It was made from Dutch, thicker wool and thus itched.

Breathability

Merino wool is one of the most breathable fabrics available on the market. This allows the wool to quickly transfer water vapor from the skin to the outside air, keeping your skin dry and your body at the right temperature. This applies both in winter and summer. This makes the fabric perfect for both undershirts, and cycling shirts.

Thermoregulatory Capability

Merino wool offers exceptional thermoregulatory capabilities. This is partly due to the fact that Merino wool can absorb up to 35% of its own weight in moisture and can quickly wick it away. Thus, your skin stays dry. In cold conditions, this means your body will not cool down as sweat remains on your skin. Additionally, the wool retains its insulating properties even when wet. Unlike synthetic undershirts, where you cool down quickly when standing still. In warm conditions, this means sweat can evaporate faster, allowing your body to cool itself effectively.

Prevents Unpleasant Odors

No matter how much you sweat during an intense workout on a summer day, Merino wool won't smell. Even if you wear a Merino base layer or socks for several days in a row without washing them. Because the wool fibers contain lanolin, Merino wool has a self-cleaning capability. This natural process works as follows: once the fibers become slightly moist, the wool partially converts lanolin into a soap-like antibacterial agent. This agent combats potential odor-causing bacteria, keeping the clothing fresh. Hang the Merino clothing to dry after sports, and it will smell fresh again quickly. Additionally, negatively charged molecules in the Merino fibers give unpleasant odors little chance. Most bacteria that spread foul odors attach mainly to positively charged surfaces, such as fabrics made from synthetic fibers. On the Merino surface, bacteria thus get little to no foothold.

Less Frequent Washing: Better for the Environment

Because Merino clothing smells less quickly, you don't need to wash it as often. This means you use less water, electricity, and detergent, reducing the environmental load.

Fully Biodegradable

Cycling is already low-impact on the environment. With Merino socks and base layers, you practice your hobby in an even more sustainable way. Merino wool is fully biodegradable. Tests have shown that the Merino wool used by FUTURUM for its socks and base layers, under ideal conditions, is completely broken down within six months after being buried in the ground. In seawater, this process takes between one to five years. The exact duration depends on the fabric thickness and chosen knit construction. It's good to emphasize: some sports clothing is quickly labeled as Merino clothing, while it only contains a limited percentage of Merino. The rest of the clothing often consists of synthetic fibers, which are not biodegradable. An additional disadvantage is that you benefit much less from the high-quality properties of Merino. FUTURUM makes its products almost entirely from Merino. Sometimes a garment contains a small percentage of another fabric. This prevents, for example, a shirt from tearing too easily when putting it on or taking it off—Merino remains thin after all. An example: the FUTURUM 4 SEASONS Base Layer consists of 95 percent Merino, 3 percent polyamide, and 2 percent elastane.

No Microplastics in Water

The high percentage of Merino wool used by FUTURUM and Woolpan in their clothing ensures that when you wash the clothing, no microplastics end up in the washing machine water. Clothing made from synthetic materials such as polyester and polyamide release small particles in the washing machine, causing these particles, which are actually plastic, hence the name 'microplastics', to end up in sewage water and eventually in ocean water. You can see this from the pale color and the fabric becoming thinner over time. With a completely natural fabric like Merino, fibers may also come loose, but these are not harmful to the environment. Therefore, they do not pose a burden to nature.

Why Is Merino Wool So Suitable for Sportswear?

Merino wool is so suitable for sportswear for the following reasons already discussed:

1. It is very soft and itch-free
2. It has a very high breathability
3. It has an exceptional thermoregulatory capacity in both winter and summer
4. It works antibacterial and will therefore smell less quickly
5. It needs to be washed less frequently
6. It is fully biodegradable

Is Merino Wool Animal-Friendly?

At FUTURUM and Woolpan, we only use animal-friendly Merino wool. These brands source their wool exclusively from farms that adhere to the five freedoms of the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO). Why? Because these freedoms ensure a high, healthy quality of life. This contributes to the production of high-quality Merino fibers. Remember: wool fibers become thin and easily breakable as soon as a sheep is malnourished or living under stress. You can compare it to human hair that becomes thin or falls out due to stress. 

The Five Freedoms of the IWTO

1. Freedom to eat and drink; malnutrition is out of the question
2. Freedom from discomfort due to poor housing
3. Freedom from pain and disease
4. Freedom from fear and stress
5. Freedom to exhibit natural behavior

Is Merino Wool Sustainable?

As mentioned above, Merino wool is highly sustainable for the following reasons:

1. It needs to be washed less frequently
2. It is fully biodegradable
3. Prevents microplastics in water
4. It is fully recyclable; new clothing can be made from it