icebreaker

Our Sustainability Framework

• Emissions & Key Environmental Issues

  What is your company doing to reduce your emissions or combat key environmental issues (e.g. waste (packaging, end of life product strategy or recycling), biodiversity, land use, water, chemical use, energy use, and natural resource use etc.)?

  We’re focused on regenerative farming principles and renewable resources to help lighten our environmental footprint. Regenerative agriculture encompasses several environmentally and socially conscious principles which aim to promote biodiversity, enhance water cycles, improve soil health and reduce carbon emissions. We believe partnerships are a critical component to the solution. Increasing the volume and scale of sustainable raw materials through collaboration with industry experts and supply chain partners is a fundamental component of our environmental sustainability strategy. Our work with The New Zealand Merino Company and their ZQRX programme will help us to incorporate regenerative practices across the merino farms we work with. The ZQRX programme will enable merino growers to capture the complexity of their livestock, soil, climate, ecology and community. In 2022 we will use 95% merino and plant-based fibres across our range. Our goal is to reach 100%. We’re want to use fibres solely sourced from nature. We’re even going as far as removing products that we are yet to find a natural alternative for. When we need to keep synthetics (for performance purposes), we’re searching for bio-based alternatives.

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• Materials

  How are the products your company offers made from environmentally friendly materials (e.g. recycled, organic materials)?

  All icebreaker wool is ZQ certified or RWS (Responsible Wool Standard) certified. ZQ is a wool certification standard developed by The New Zealand Merino Company. Every ZQ certified grower adheres to the requirements laid out in the ZQ Grower Standard. This considers fibre quality, animal welfare and health, care for the environment and programme management. Lyocell if FSC certified. TENCEL™ Lyocell is made from a natural raw material – wood. The wood pulp is turned into cellulosic fibres using a closed-loop production process. TENCEL™ Lyocell is incredibly soft on the skin and we’re thrilled to use it in our innovation, Cool-Lite™. We only use ethically grown, sustainable cotton, working with industry-wide certifications such as the Organic Cotton Standard (OCS) and Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). With a goal to be 100% plastic fibre free, we are constantly innovating, trying to find ways to remove unnecessary plastic and micro-plastics from our clothing. 95% of our range in 2022 uses merino and plant-based fibres.

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• Service Offering

  How are the service/s you offer environmentally friendly?

  Our aim is for all our clothing to be made from merino wool or plant-based fibres. For the very small amount of petrochemical synthetics that cannot be removed, we’re working on alternatives, including using bio-based fibres for now. Our goal is to lead the natural apparel movement and help reduce our industry’s impact on the planet where it is free of pollution from petrochemical-synthetic microfibres. Natural fibres such as merino are annually renewable and made in nature, not in a petrochemical lab. And we think that’s a naturally better solution for people and the planet. Through icebreaker’s partnership with The New Zealand Merino Company and its ZQRX programme, the brand aim to incorporate regenerative practices across all the merino stations that supply its signature merino wool. ZQRX is a regenerative agriculture programme that helps growers work with nature to continuously improve based on regenerative principles. Already, 100% of icebreaker’s long term contracted growers have signed up to the ZQRX programme. Our parent company, VF, has Supply Chain Sustainability teams that trains factory representatives on how to implement leading energy efficiency and resource management strategies.

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• Supply Chain

  Do you partner with ethical factories that meet international labor standards? What processes have you implemented to make your supply chain more sustainable?

  We nurture our relationships with our partners and continuously work to build strong partnerships with suppliers at all tiers of our global supply chain. So that we know every step of the way, from sheep to finished shirt, how things are done and that they meet our standards. Our parent company, VF, has Factory Compliance teams that conduct regular factory audits in a 2-year cycle to verify that practices throughout our supply chain align with our Global Compliance Principles. VF engages with supply chain partners through the Higg FEM (Facility Environmental Module) adoption, verification and training programme to share and promote environmental management best practices.

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• Community Initiatives

  How does your company give back to the community (e.g. financial donations, volunteering, partnerships etc.)?

  As a foundational partner of ZQRX, our parent company, VF, is providing significant investment towards ZQRX's Land Indicator - supporting the tremendous impact that this partnership will drive as we further our grower relationships. Across the globe, we also partner with local communities to help them to move to natural. In New Zealand, Australia, we give back to Koha Apparel, 2nd Life Project, Wellesley School Auckland, Sir Edmund Hillary Trust and the icebreaker Growers Fund.

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• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

  How has your company made a commitment to achieve and maintain inclusion & diversity (e.g. Gender / Race / Ethnicity / National Origin / Sexual Orientation / Religion / Disability / Age)?

  icebreaker is a global business with a global perspective, so naturally the people we hire come from all over the world and have diverse backgrounds. This year (2022), VF has prioritised its focus on inclusive people leadership, global mentorship, a relaunch of our global Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and systemic interventions across the employee lifecycle to mitigate bias; promote the acquisition, advancement, and retention of underrepresented groups; and support the continued growth of belonging, allyship and advocacy within our VF culture and ways of working.

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• Circular Models

  How does your circular model or circular initiative work?

  We have a firm commitment to pilot circular models and in the near future we will release these initiatives, with a goal to recycle, repair and re-home our products.

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