MERINO WOOL FOR CONSCIOUS TRAVELLERS: LIFE+LEISURE

A growing number of family companies are using local wool to create clothes that breathe and keep you looking stylish, writes Nina Karnikowski.

Ask any seasoned traveller about their packing essentials, and they’re likely to include merino wool clothing. Breathable, temperature-regulating, moisture-wicking, fast drying, soft and antibacterial, merino stays clean and non-smelly for far longer than most other fabrics.

It’s also 100 per cent biodegradable and, according to the Woolmark Company, uses 18 per cent less energy than producing polyester, and nearly 70 per cent less water than cotton takes to create 100 sweaters.

Sold? While merino is used by virtually all the big fashion houses, a growing number of small Australian family-owned businesses (with many of the proprietors aged in their 30s) are offering a fresh take on this ancient textile, making unique merino pieces that are perfect to toss straight into your suitcase, at least when we can travel again.

Take Melbourne-based McIntyre Merino, co-founded in 2016 by Ned Scholfield, a fifth- generation descendent of merino wool producer Duncan McIntyre, who settled the family property in 1846. ‘‘We called the business McIntyre to honour this,’’ says Scholfield, who still sources a portion of the wool used in his label from the Scholfields’ 300-hectare Southern Grampians property, which is now operated by his cousin, Tom Scholfield.

‘‘We wanted to see what we could do with this superhero fibre that my family has been producing on this land for over 170 years,’’ says 34-year-old Scholfield, who founded McIntyre with his wife, Raquel Boedo.

‘‘The market in 2016 was only offering either high-end designer merino pieces or boring nana jumpers,’’ adds Boedo. ‘‘There wasn’t much around for people like us who wanted quality pieces that looked good but didn’t cost a fortune.’’

Boasting on-trend styles and colours that pop and change with the seasons, the garments are made from all-Australian merino that is dyed, spun and sewn in China and Vietnam.

Scholfield describes the brand as ‘‘on a mission to make wool fun and cool again’’.

McIntyre Merino’s tops, shorts, dresses and sweaters (priced from $29.95 to $499.95) are in high demand – particularly their travel-friendly Isa knitted pants and jumper set. The company has grown 50 per cent year-on-year for the past three years.

THIS STORY FIRST appeared in print and online here