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Beautiful. Practical. Sleek finish. I want it. These are some of the first impressions and thoughts when browsing through the Woolpan webshop on FuturumShop. Pants, T-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, and warm hoodies—the brand offers a wide range for leisure wear. Dig a little deeper, and the price tag catches your eye, causing a moment of surprise for many: 279 euros for a hoodie. Is this seemingly high price justifiable, or are you simply overpaying? It's time to investigate.

Text: Rik Booltink

Woolpan—the name likely says it all—is made from wool. Specifically, merino wool. This brings a number of undeniable advantages. Firstly, there's the comfort. The fine, thin wool fibers feel wonderfully soft on the skin, avoiding any itchiness or irritation. Additionally, no material is better at regulating body temperature. Such a hoodie is thus comfortable after a cycling tour or at the concluding campfire of a gravel event at dusk. And then there's the self-cleaning property: simply air out the clothing on the clothesline, and by the next morning, it's odor-free. This is due to the lanolin in the wool fibers. Therefore, there's no need to run the washing machine just to freshen up the hoodie. Add to this that merino wool is 100% biodegradable in nature, and you know you have something truly sustainable on your body. The contrast with synthetic clothing is stark. Imagine the environmental impact of small synthetic fibers that come loose in the washing machine and wash away with the wastewater. Doesn't this cross an ethical boundary?

Merino Sheep (New Zealand)

We hear and read a lot about the use of merino wool in clothing these days. But beware: not all merino wool is the same. So don't go for just any clothing with merino wool; delve into its origin. That's what's been done with Woolpan. And what do we find? The brand chooses the Rolls Royce among merino wool types, sourced from New Zealand, where the warm climate is optimal for merino sheep. The wool fibers are therefore about four times thinner than the wool from most (merino) sheep breeds in other countries. You notice this in the wearing comfort. And yes, also in the price. But Woolpan simply does not make compromises.

The high quality of New Zealand wool is also due to the excellent conditions under which the merino sheep thrive. The animals are treated humanely, and the globally criticized practice of mulesing is avoided. The sheep graze freely on the vast plains around the farms, are well-fed, and undergo regular medical checks to monitor their health. We hear you thinking: shouldn’t this be a given? Absolutely agree, but unfortunately, reality is different.

If poorer living conditions are more the rule than the exception, how can Woolpan guarantee that their wool-producing sheep do not suffer? What turns out is that the brand has visibility and control over the entire chain. There is even direct contact with the farms. For example, with Hurstlea Station in the Hakataramea Valley in South Canterbury. The Haugh family has been running the farm since 1947. Also, Stonehenge Farm in Ranfurly is a valued supplier of merino. The more than a century-old farm is today in the hands of Andrew and Francine Hore. Andrew, formerly a star in New Zealand rugby, knows better than anyone how important it is for an athlete to wear quality clothing. These are just two examples. All other supplying farms also work according to the highest standards. They all have the ZQ certificate, which guarantees good animal welfare.

What if you didn't have control over the supply chain? Even then, as a clothing manufacturer, you could get merino wool, which wouldn't be a problem. However, in almost all cases, it would be impossible to trace where it comes from and under what conditions the sheep live there. The 'dubious' wool is often traded at general auctions in Asia before being transported to Europe. While the price of this wool may be significantly lower, as a clothing brand and consumer, wouldn't you want to rule out that sheep may have suffered? Firstly for the animals themselves, and secondly because deplorable living conditions ruin wool quality. Poor health and stress in sheep, for example, lead to uneven fiber diameters and weak spots. You’re sure to notice this in the clothing’s performance. The ZQ certification and occasional personal contact eliminate all uncertainty, doubts, and ambiguity.

Woolpan’s New Zealand merino sheep are sheared by hand. Usually once a year, in early spring, as the sheep still have their woolly coat from the winter months. Shearing ensures that the sheep comfortably welcome summer, without having to carry a heavy coat. Shearing is a specialty, a craft that New Zealanders are particularly proud of. Another specialty is the quality control of the wool. Each tuft of wool is hand-picked and meticulously inspected to ensure that the fiber quality meets the high standard that Woolpan demands. Only then is the wool shipped. Here too, no compromises are made, but of course, handwork is not the cheapest solution. 

From Raw Wool to Fabric (Italy)

In Italy, another round of control takes place on the raw wool. Only the most refined wool remains to make shirts, pants, and hoodies. The wool is combed and sorted. Afterward, the wool visits the dyeing department, where it receives its first color. The wool is laid out to dry and then moves on to the spinning department. Here, the wool tops are spun into a long, fine yarn. The yarns come together in the twisting department for further processing. This is necessary because a single thread is not yet strong enough for use. In the twisting process, specialists twist the threads together. Only in the subsequent weaving phase does a piece of fabric emerge. It is neatly finished so that a beautiful-looking, stable, and above all, soft fabric is created. And the great thing is: even with the piece of fabric, it is still precisely traceable where the used wool was obtained. Italian finesse.
It will not surprise you: in this part of the production process, there is also a strong focus on sustainability. Renewable energy is used in all steps, and water consumption is kept as low as possible. The machinery is the most modern of its kind, ensuring that quality remains guaranteed. Woolpan clothing thus stays beautiful longer and lasts longer. That is, of course, also sustainable. Imagine having to buy new clothes frequently. Cheap can become expensive, right? 

Clothing Takes Shape (Portugal)

A roll of fabric is, of course, not yet clothing. In Portugal, clothing specialists cut the panels to size and make them into shirts, pants, and hoodies. Here too, a sustainable course is followed. When cutting, hardly any residue is left behind. And what does remain is given a purpose. Water usage is minimized, and the required energy largely comes from solar panels. During a quality check, dedicated employees manually check the clothing one last time. If thumbs go up, it is packaged. Certainly not in plastic, as unfortunately still seen in so many places, but in unprinted paper envelopes. The mandatory information is written on included paper labels. They are glued with eco-friendly adhesive. And the print? That's water-based ink. Could all this have been cheaper? Absolutely, but Woolpan absolutely did not see the production of clothing in low-wage countries and the use of non-sustainable materials. Woolpan shows how it can—and perhaps should—be done differently. But yes, all that comes at a price.

Endless

The sustainability philosophy behind Woolpan has yet another dimension: if after three, four, or five years you’ve grown tired of the clothing, you can send it back to FuturumShop free of charge. The returned clothing then enters the Endless program. Via Apeldoorn, the clothing goes back to the manufacturer, where the merino wool is recovered. This is then used for new products, for example, for the insulating filling of a body warmer or the liner of a jacket. Technically, this is perfectly feasible since the clothing is made entirely of merino wool, and no difficult-to-separate synthetic fibers are used. All this saves raw materials, which is good for the planet and the environment. For the Endless concept to succeed, the cooperation of Woolpan owners is crucial; they must return the clothing. As an incentive, Woolpan offers a 10 percent discount code on the next Woolpan purchase after returning. The high quality of the hoodie that initially seemed so expensive becomes much more accessible this way.