The Magic of Merino Wool

At We Norwegians, Merino Wool has always been more than simply our yarn of choice, it is core to the identity of all our products. Safe to say we’re passionate about it. It blends Norwegian tradition with modern design, creating pieces you can cherish for years. However, it is so much more than that. Why are we so in love with Merino? Well, a few reasons:

Merino wool is a naturally biodegradable material, when a 100% merino wool garment eventually wears out, it can return to the earth without releasing any microplastics or toxic chemicals back into the environment.

Merino wool is also a renewable resource. Merino sheep can be sheared every year and graze on grass pastures. This allows Merino wool to maintain an extremely sustainable footprint compared to cotton and polyester. Here at We Norwegians we take this one step further by minimizing the use of chemicals and dyes in our production to create clothing that you can feel good about wearing.

Wool can sometimes get a bad reputation for being itchy. The heavy knit sweaters that we had to wear as kids are often to blame. The truth is that Merino Wool is incredibly soft, even for the most sensitive skin . In fact, science has shown that ultrafine Merino wool can help soothe the skin in those with eczema. 

The way our skin reacts to yarns and fabrics is based off a few factors: 

• Temperature
• Chemicals 
• Physical scratchiness of the material itself. 

Merino Wool is great at regulating temperature so that strikes one culprit off the list. As for chemical, wool is made of Keratin, the same protein as human hair. We Norwegians source our Merino from producers who minimize chemical treatments and dyes to keep the natural softness of the yarn. The last cause of itching, the physical scratchiness of the material is mainly determined by the diameter of the fiber itself. 

This is where it all wraps back around to those heavy knit sweaters of the past. Those sweaters, knitted from a coarser type of wool can be rough on the skin, however ultrafine Merino wool fiber is half the diameter of the fiber in the yarn used to knit most heavy sweaters and much softer to the touch . This is why we use fine and ultrafine merino wool in our base layers. 

Wool naturally contains a wax called Lanolin which makes it naturally odor resistant. Lanolin repels the compounds that cause the bad odors to develop over time. Unlike cotton and synthetic fibers that require frequent trips through the laundry, 100% merino wool products do not require washing after each use . Unless soiled in some way, it is often sufficient to take Merino wool clothing into fresh air for a few hours to freshen it up!  Even wool blends down to as little as 20% merino wool can maintain a similar level of odor resistance . This incredible property of merino wool makes it an ideal choice for travelers, outdoor enthusiasts, and anyone looking to reduce their laundry load and environmental impact.

That's why, at We Norwegians, our blends are 20% merino wool at minimum, and in most cases quite a bit higher , ensuring that our garments stay fresh and odor-free for longer periods of time, even with frequent use.

A question we get asked a lot is “so if you have a merino wool collection, what do you do in the summer?” A common misconception about wool is that it’s only for the winter, people imagine heavy sweaters to keep out the cold. While heavier wool is fantastic at keeping heat contained, l ighter merino knits are incredibly breathable and temperature regulating. The natural crimp of the wool fibers creates tiny air pockets in the fabric.In heavier knits these pockets hold warm air against the skin keeping you cozy, however in lighter knits these pockets will wick away sweat from your skin and utilize your body heat to evaporate the moisture which in turn will help you feel cool and dry.

Have you ever come in from a hot day into an air conditioned space and felt clammy and gross? That’s the feeling of moisture clinging to your skin and not evaporating quickly enough. With Merino, the moisture evaporates very fast, saving you from that sticky feeling.

Wool is woven into the very fabric of Norwegian culture and history. For centuries, Norwegians have relied on wool from the hardy sheep that dot the country's rugged landscapes to protect them from the harsh Nordic climate.

In the early days, Norwegian farmers would gather wool from their flocks and spin it into yarn for knitting the traditional gensers, or sweaters, that to this day remain a symbol of Norwegian craftsmanship and heritage. These intricate garments, passed down through generations and featuring iconic patterns like the selburose, the lusekofte and the setesdalgenser, showcased the natural beauty and versatility of wool.

As Norway's textile industry modernized in the mid-20th century, wool remained at the forefront. Norwegian innovators began to harness the fiber's incredible properties - its softness, breathability, and temperature regulation - to create performance outerwear for the country's burgeoning ski industry. Merino wool became the gold standard for base layers and ski sweaters from the slopes of Holmenkollen to the peaks of Jotunheimen.

Merino Wool brings a lot to the table. It is a marvel of nature, and a high performance technical material in and of itself, without human interference or processing. It keeps you cool in the summer, warm in the winter and keep odors at bay. It is eco-friendly, renewable and can perform toe to toe with purpose built synthetic materials with a much larger carbon footprint. This is why we’ve made it more than simply a material of choice, we’ve made it our the core of our design ethos. We love merino and if you ever see our team out in the wild, more likely than not, we'll be wearing it!