Change language:
A:From August 2008, Icebreaker garments will be tagged with a unique Baacode that will match each Icebreaker garment to the batch of merino fibre from which it was produced (the name "Baacode" comes from the "baa" bleating sound made by sheep). A swingtag invites customers to enter their Baacode on www.icebreaker.com/baacode, where they can trace the fibre back to the New Zealand sheep stations that produced the fibre. Customers can meet the farmers and the living conditions of the sheep, then follow the fibre to the factories that knit, dye, finish, cut, manufacture and ship the garments.
A:The concept of traceability refers to customer's ability to track a product all the way from its point of origin to the retail shelves. Traceability is becoming more popular in the sourcing and manufacture of food. With Baacode, Icebreaker is introducing traceability into its supply chain.
A:Icebreaker is proud of its supply chain. We believe that introducing transparency and traceability into the production of our garments will give consumers further assurance that their Icebreaker was made with deep integrity.
A:They will be able to enter their unique Baacode into the site and begin to trace the fibre in their garment from the sheep stations in New Zealand's South Island through to the factories that knitted, dyed and sewed the garment.
A:Yes. We have always had a paper trail that allowed us to trace garments back to the sheep stations where the fibre originated, but to make this information available for customers online required a great deal of data entry. We use purpose-built software to collect data from every part of our supply chain, and update it every day. It's lots of work, but we think Baacode is worth it.
A:No, not yet, but we will continue adding stations to the site in the future.
A:Making a good quality Icebreaker is a bit like making a good bottle of wine. We need a good mix of merino fibre, which means sourcing fibre from different stations to create the perfect blend. On average, merino sheep from about five stations will have grown the fibre for each garment you trace through Baacode.
A:Most Icebreaker garments have a Baacode. We are continually adding products to the programme.
A:We look forward to seeing how customers respond to Baacode and how they think it can be improved. We are committed to continually evolving this programme.
A:Yes. Feel free to email us at baacode@icebreaker.com and we will respond as soon as we can.
A:Icebreaker works with a number of factory partners in China: a French wool cleaning plant (which recycles and cleans its water, and extracts the lanolin for sale to the cosmetics industry), a German spinning plant (which reuses the heat from processing into its air conditioning system), and a garment and textile manufacturing plant (which conserves energy through large-volume dyeing and also has an on-site water recycling plant to reuse water for the dye process).This plant has strong social and environmental ethics.
A:Yes. We have drawn up ethical manufacturing standards which are shared with all our manufacturing partners, and are available for customers to review at Icebreaker.com/sustainability. Icebreaker employs very strict selection criteria, which we call 'narrow and deep.' This means we choose to work with a small number of key partners and grow a deep relationship with these companies.
Generally, to become an Icebreaker manufacturing partner, manufacturers and their suppliers must:
No factory is ever 100 percent perfect, but we think the ones we are working with are among the best.
A:Mulesing involves removing strips of skin around the tail to prevent flystrike. None of the sheep from growers contracted to supply Icebreaker with fibre have been subjected to this practice. Maintaining high animal welfare standards is an essential part of the Icebreaker ethos, which is based on respect for nature, ethics and sustainability.
Icebreaker has developed deep relationships with the farmers that produce its merino, who are required to meet five basic animal welfare requirements:
The farmers who supply Icebreaker merino are also required to meet minimum standards of care of sheep dogs.
Do you have an additional question? Please send us your question, and we'll post the best questions and our responses to them.
