POLO South Africa has collaborated with Gerber & Co to produce their first ever 100% locally produced and manufactured mens’ knitwear collection made of South African merino wool. The fashion brand’s creative director Alia Peer says that the collaboration with Gerber & Co is important because the integrated value chain means that the merino wool was produced in South Africa and spun and knitted in South Africa through a unique farm-to-closet supply chain.
Alia Peer of POLO South Africa and Stefan Gerber Gerber & Co collaborated on the AW23 POLO Sustainable South African Merino wool collection
Alia says that both POLO South Africa and Gerber & Co believe this cradle-to-cradle approach is where true sustainability lies. Through their collaboration, she says, “We were able to unlock so many opportunities, ideas, goals and dreams which was not possible previously”.
Stefen Gerber of Gerber & Co says South Africa has a broken production cycle. “We don’t support local. We’d rather import, in order to get a cheaper price. This is putting people out of work.”
In the fractured globalised fashion system, it’s easy to lose track of where and how garments are made, and who makes them. With wool or cotton produced in one country, spun in another and woven in yet another part of the world, the integrity of the process is often lost. The new Following The Thread report finds that outsourcing leads to poor supply chain visibility and limited direct control of most of the negative environmental impacts of the industry.
South Africa is a producer of very fine quality natural fibres including merino wool, most of which leaves the country to be processed elsewhere often to be imported back into the country either as metres of fabric or yarn, and even finished garments to be sold here. South Africa is one of the top five exporters of merino wool globally. According to Cape Wools, South Africa produces forty-two million kilograms of wool annually, and around 70% of our production is merino wool, of which most is exported into the global apparel sector.
Deon Saayman of Cape Wools says, “Globally South Africa is the highest certified, sustainable wool supplier to the whole world. Although South African wool is known globally for the best quality and sustainability, very little of this is making it into the local market. Only if we have support from local retailers do we have the ability to make a difference in local industry.”
Increasingly local retailers and brands are making plans to reshore (bringing processing and manufacturing back to South Africa) instead of offshoring their manufacturing. Not only is the government encouraging this with the clothing and textile sector masterplan and its plan for 65% of items sold by retailers to be made in South Africa by 2030, but local manufacturing means retailers can also keep tabs on their environmental impact, labour conditions and, especially important in South Africa, create jobs.
In a press release Alia says, “We have long supported wool and natural fibres. But using merino wool in our most traceable project to date from raw material to finished garment, celebrates this incredible natural resource grown in our home country. There are not many raw materials that are entirely cradle-to-cradle where you can say, if this ever ends up on a landfill it is going to biodegrade and not only will it break down, but it will also actually add nutrients back into the soil.“
The 100% pure South African merino wool are classic pieces inspired by the brand’s archives and designed and made by women in factories committed to training and supporting local economies. “We are committed to supporting not only job creation, but also growing the wool industry, and awareness around sustainability… This range gives the consumer the choice to make a conscious choice when buying a quality product; investing in all the above,” says Stefan in a press release.
The result of this collaboration is a capsule collection of quality, timeless menswear essentials garments made from merino wool known for its natural warmth and softness. Each garment is labelled with a year that corresponds to the wool vintage, this is linked back to the date of shearing and adds to the traceability of the collection. Additionally, the wool is certified by the Responsible Wool Standard, the international certified body, and the Sustainable Cape Wool Standard of South Africa, which is the highest local standard.
The AW23 POLO Sustainable South African Merino wool collection includes two styles of jumpers in a quarter zip, and full zip-through knit, are available in a neutral colour palette, including un-dyed wool, charcoal and olive.
- This collaboration is part of POLO South Africa’s POLO Purpose initiative which is focused on People, Planet and Product. This initiative is explores projects that support more job creation locally in South Africa
- Gerber & Co will be at the Karoo Winter Wool Festival,taking place 22 – 15 June in Middelburg, Eastern Cape
