Marketing & Communications

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

The brand’s radically honest approach sets a new standard for sustainability communication in a time when both greenwashing and greenhushing are on the rise.

By Geoff Nudelman | Published 2 months ago | About a 4 minute read

Image: icebreaker/Kelsey Bardach

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.”

Geoff Nudelman

Sustainable Brands

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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