How do I wash/care for my garment
How do I wash/care for my garment ?
All Arctic Edge clothing items are made from completely natural products. Mostly pure merino wool, possum fur and silk.
A little care is required when washing the garments, but nothing complicated.
WASH
Hand wash of course is a possibility. But machine wash also works great ! What you need to do is to turn the garment inside out, and select wool/delicate wash. Then make sure you select cold wash (so, cold water). Use a soft/delicate/wool detergent but nothing aggressive otherwise you will damage the wool. Really important that the water is as cold as possible in the machine, otherwise do hand wash and then spin it in the machine later. Some machines say “30C” but actually are not calibrated and will wash at a much higher temperature, which will boil and damage the garment.
SPIN
It is actually quite important to spin the garment to remove most of the water. Normal spin, like 1000 rpm is fine. If you have washed the garment by hand, then place in a towel and then twist it a bit to remove the excess water or chuck into a machine and select spin. If the garment is soaking wet when drying, then it will tend to stretch and sag hence why the water must be removed
DRY
Lay flat to fully dry. Alternatively, place the near-dry garment in a preheated tumble dryer at low heat for a few minutes (5 minutes, and then another 5 minutes as required). This can be helpful especially if the garment has stretched over time since this is an almost entirely natural product (some garments have a thread of elastic, otherwise the wool mix is all natural). Take it out after 5 minutes, see how it looks, and then put it back in as required. You will see it shrink back to its original shape as the wool fibres go back to their original shape.
If the garment is very wet when putting into the tumble dryer, then you will basically boil it, and eventually felt it, and fully shrink it. Avoid putting wet garments into the tumble dryer. Only lightly moist garments which have already been spun and have little moisture left inside of them. By tumble drying, the garment gets even softer!
Where are Arctic Edge garments manufactured ?
All Arctic Edge items are currently manufactured in New Zealand by a small family run business. This ensures the best quality and best manufacturing techniques. There are no "small" hands involved at all - those who carefully craft Arctic Edge items are people like you and me who are paid normal salaries.
I often been told to make my items somewhere which is cheaper - something I have resisted and continue to do so. I once investigated doing things cheaply and I was slightly horrified. Yes it would be 10-20 times cheaper if I went to China, but then I would have abslutely no control over the techniques/work ethics/chemicals/quality control etc. The day I need to go to China will be the day I close the business.
As Arctic Edge expands, then I will only seek out the best manufacturers, no shortcuts will be used.
What are Arctic Edge garments made of ?
Currently all items are composed of a blend of merino wool, possum and silk. On some garments there is a thread or two of elastic embedded within the fabric, but mostly these are natural garments.
What is a possum ? And how/why is this used in Arctic Edge garments ?
The bushtail possum is a marspial species native to Australia. Over a hundred years ago it was introduced to New Zealand to promote the fur trade. Unfortunately this has had devasting effects on New Zealand's unique ecosystem. Without any natural predators, its population went unchecked and its numbers have since exploded. Possums are opportunistic and eat the eggs of endemic birds. They are also a vector for disease.
The New Zealand government has established strict measures in order to eradicate this unwanted species. Possums are caught by designated and authorised trappers. The fur, which would otherwise be burned, can be blended with merino wool and silk to create a unique and luxurious fabric. The sale of possum fur thus goes back into the eradication project.
Possum fur fibre are hollow and provide exception warmth without the weight. It does not pile and feels extremely soft against the skin.
