icebreaker Raises Bar for Transparency by Celebrating ‘Plastic-Free’ Failure

New Zealand-based outdoor apparel brand
icebreaker has long been a steward of
progressive environmental and material goals — acting as a de facto leader among
VF Corporation‘s “emerging brands,” which include
performance brand Smartwool and shoe company
Altra.

icebreaker made headlines and set a new standard for brand transparency in
February when it proudly announced its
failure
to achieve a goal set in 2020 to be “100 percent plastic-free by 2023.” As it
explains in its 2024 Transparency
Report, “Today, 97.56
percent of fabrics in our 2024 collection are plastic-free — an achievement
we’re proud of, but it’s a milestone rather than the destination.”

The brand’s radically honest approach is bold and refreshing in a time when many
companies are so worried about greenwashing
accusations
or becoming a target of the US’s vehemently anti-sustainability
administration
that they are downplaying their sustainability
efforts
— aka greenhushing — or abandoning them
altogether.

icebreaker may not be VF’s largest or most culturally relevant brand (that title
goes to The North Face), but it has
excelled in industry-leading transparency initiatives, and cultivating
sustainable supply chains for wool and its other most-used materials. In 2018,
the brand released its inaugural, industry-first Transparency
Report
— which began its track record of openly highlighting progress over perfection.
In 2021, it joined forces with Smartwool, footwear brand
Allbirds,
The New Zealand Merino Company (NZM) and 167 New Zealand sheep growers
to create the world’s first regenerative wool
platform.

Alicia Chin — who leads
sustainability for VF’s emerging brand group — notes that while icebreaker
wasn’t successful in eliminating 100 percent of the plastic from its supply
chain, the 97.56 percent plastic-free milestone signals about as far that she
thinks the brand can go until alternative fiber technologies catch up enough to
replace materials including elastane and nylon in items such as socks
with more sustainable options that don’t sacrifice product performance.

“Our core value for the consumer is providing sustainability through the lens of
performance,” she told Sustainable Brands® (SB). “It’s what’s scalable
and performable, and having patience as we continue to talk to new vendors and
suppliers.”

According to icebreaker’s 2024 Transparency Report, the brand now primarily uses
plant-based TENCEL and Merino wool sourced
from NZM’s ZQ Regenerative Index (ZQRX)
program in most of its products.

That wool is a solid starting point to create base layers, shirts and other
wearables that meet the performance needs of icebreaker’s active consumer base
but remove the environmentally damaging effects of many synthetic materials. Two
mostly plastic-free products available now include the
200
and 400 RealFleece
Descender
midlayers (trim and fabric decorations, such as zippers, are not included in the
plastic-free count as those require a mix of materials to complete).

“We found that thanks to the versatility and natural attributes of merino wool —
and by finetuning the blend with Lenzing TENCEL, organically grown cotton and
linen — we can achieve materials with strong performance attributes to cater to
the most ambitious outdoor enthusiasts,” Jordi
Beneyto-Ferre, VF’s director
of materials and innovation, told SB.

Chin noted that most of these efforts around the removal of plastic and the use
of regenerative wool are largely centralized within icebreaker. While she works
closely with other sustainability leaders across the VF portfolio, it’s clear
that icebreaker is leading by example when it comes to both transparency and
finding more natural solutions for performance fibers.

As for what’s ahead, Chin said both icebreaker and VF are building out a “nature
strategy” that will focus on how the company and all its brands can support
biodiversity maintenance and restoration.

“We want to make sure we discuss this with the consumer — moving towards a more
natural way of living, and showing the value of using more natural materials,”
Chin said. “Initially this work was going to be for icebreaker, but VF will be
leading that work — and our regenerative wool work will become a broader part of
that strategy.”

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Geoff Nudelman

Geoff is a freelance journalist and copywriter focused on making the world a better place through compelling copy. He covers everything from apparel to travel while helping brands worldwide craft their messaging. In addition to Sustainable Brands, he’s currently a contributor at Penta, AskMen.com, Field Mag and many others. You can check out more of his work at geoffnudelman.com.

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Published May 9, 2025 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST

This article was originally published on this site