In era of ‘fake news,’ this company keeps it real
Icebreaker’s ‘Transparency Report’ tells everything about its business, and more
Merino sheep and their fine wool may seem odd as a platform for a discussion of issues in these strange times.
We parse “like” buttons and fake news. Screens and life merge, and you slowly forget where the lines form. Your eyes can cross in the maelstrom, but maybe a vision of sheepherders can help you breathe?
As people seek clarity and truth, corporations are rising to meet that need more than ever. New Zealand merino company Icebreaker embraces the mood this year.
At the very least, the brand thinks, you should know which factory your T-shirt is coming from, and Icebreaker’s inaugural “Transparency Report” gives a look behind the curtain.
The company offers it online as a PDF or in booklet form, a 118-page tome of proclamations, charts, tables, text and pretty pictures of sheep. The company calls it a report “on people, nature and what it means to be a true sustainable business.”
The report gives a glimpse into possibly new industrial ethos.
The catalyst of this project was transparency. This means openness with customers, Icebreaker employees and the company’s significant supply chain — from sheepherders to Chinese fabric makers — and retail employees selling the brand’s wares around the world.
In all, Icebreaker works with 40 suppliers in 59 factories. More than 50,000 workers in 15 countries are a part of the process — a glimpse at the complexity of a modern apparel brand.
Icebreaker really spills its proverbial beans in the report.
For example, the report shows the seven stages of its supply chain. This includes procurement of wool fibers in New Zealand; processing and yarn spinning in China, Italy and Bulgaria; fabric production; garment assembly; distribution; and, finally, e-commerce structures and product in retail stores.
It goes deeper with a complicated “supplier matrix” chart and a global map revealing the location of its partners across the continents.
The report is filled with this kind of insider detail and minutiae that, while of interest to the industry, is not likely engaging to the masses. However, there are tidbits you want to see. What about a plastic garment bag that is biodegradable? Icebreaker is working on rolling it out this year (see Page 50).
The company also soon hopes to launch a water-soluble bag made of “carbohydrates.” An animal can consume the bag, Icebreaker notes, with no negative impact.
There is a section on human rights, and details on the sheep ranchers are heartwarming. Icebreaker has extensive programs and has pledged to support New Zealand herders.
If nothing else, scan the report for a gauge on the brand and the industry as a whole. While consumers have come to expect ethical and responsible actions from the brands they love, this report may be a bellwether of a very transparent future.
Icebreaker is a unique company, both global and local, high fashion and high function. I have worn the company’s products for years and now admire Icebreaker for striving to stay transparent in a time when much else seems obscured.