Material study #1 of five.
What is merino
Merino is a breed of sheep, originally from Spain, now raised mostly in Australia, New Zealand, and patches of Europe. The wool fibre from a merino sheep is finer than from most other breeds — under 22 microns, often under 18. This is why a merino blanket feels closer to cashmere than to a traditional wool blanket. It is also why it does not itch.
What "mulesing-free" means
Mulesing is a controversial procedure in some Australian sheep farms. The shorthand: it is the surgical removal of strips of skin from the lamb's hindquarters to prevent flystrike. It is painful, it is done without anaesthetic in most operations, and it has been banned in New Zealand and parts of Europe. When a brand says "mulesing-free" it is committing to source from farms that do not practice it.
Every merino piece we carry is mulesing-free — Wool In Love sources from Italian and Austrian spinneries that, in turn, source from mulesing-free farms. The European supply chain for merino is shorter and more traceable than the global one.
The machine-washable question
Most modern merino is treated to be machine-washable on a wool cycle. The treatment — chlorination plus a thin polymer coating, sometimes called the "Hercosett process" — keeps the scales of the wool fibre from interlocking and felting when agitated.
There is a small environmental cost to the treatment. There is a much larger one to throwing away a wool blanket that shrank to half its size the first time it met a washing machine. We accept the trade-off, and recommend our customers do as well.
How to care for a merino piece
- Machine wool cycle, cold or 30°C
- Liquid wool detergent (Ecover Delicate or Persil Wool are both fine)
- Lay flat to dry — do not tumble
- Fold, do not hang
- Cedar blocks in the drawer for moths — never moth balls
Why we recommend it
A merino blanket given to a newborn in May is often the same blanket on the back of the buggy at fifteen months, then the blanket on the toddler bed at three years, then folded in the wardrobe waiting for the second child. It is one of the few objects in the early years that earns its keep that long.
See the merino pieces at Oreneta →
— Tiago