WOOL
If Merino is your last name, it is clear that you are serious about wool. As you know, wool comes from sheep and – again, we tell it like it is – sheep are not necessarily good for the environment because of their methane and CO2 emissions. But the other side of the coin is that wool is one of the more sustainable materials used for clothing. It is natural, fully biodegradable, free from plastic, recyclable. And best of all – the sheep regrow the wool! What’s more, wool gives you warmth and comfort, which makes you want to wear it more.
Added bonus in these times: if you wear wool, you can turn down the heat! Because almost all Joe’s are made of 100% Merino wool, our products are actually 100% biodegradable. They shed no microplastics through the laundry waste water, unlike popular mixes like acrylic wool blends. Weighing the pros and cons of wool, Joe seeks to make the most sustainable pullover of the highest quality at an affordable price. We buy our wool through a reputable German supplier called Südwolle. Südwolle is an authoritative institute that not only guards the quality of the wool, but also the wellbeing of the sheep and the shearers. Südwolle buys only from producers that comply with the four core values: Animal welfare, environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and the best wool quality. This is a two-way street: The sheep’s life quality is reflected in the quality of the wool. In other words: Healthy sheep, healthy coat. All the wool used by Joe meets the four core values.
MULESING
Mulesing is a controversial practice. Mulesing is the removal of strips of skin around the buttocks of young sheep. This is done to prevent blow flies from laying eggs under the skin, which can cause parasitic infections (myiasis). There are many misunderstandings about mulesing. People often think that all sheep farmers mules their sheep. But only farmers in Australia use this practice as this specific blow fly occurs only in that country. We buy our wool from farms in New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and South Africa, but since 2019 from non-mulesed sheep only.
