The Netherlands is a country of sheep. And yet, a sweater made from Dutch wool is not as self-evident as you might think. Due to the advent of so-called Fast Fashion and increasingly stringent environmental requirements, it was no longer possible for Dutch farmers to supply wool profitably. As a result, the wool industry has all but disappeared from the Netherlands since the late 1980s. We and Joe Merino think that's a shame. Three years ago, together with Joe Merino, we embarked on the 'Jan Merino' adventure: making sweaters from Dutch wool for a reasonable price. That proved to be quite a challenge. Take, for example, just the selection of the wool. Due to the wide variety of breeds, coat colors, and the coarser wool of Dutch sheep, this is much more difficult and labor-intensive than with sheep from Australia or New Zealand. The other side of the story is that precisely because the wool is slightly less soft, the sweaters also have a tougher look (and yet don't itch). We are proud to state that our search has now led to a complete Jan Merino collection.
Sustainability begins with a conscious choice
In collaboration with Joe Merino, we developed Jan Merino and produce it at our farm in Baambrugge. In this way, we are working together to gradually make the sustainable processing and production of wool in the Netherlands possible again.
Joe Merino, like us, is a strong advocate of Slow Fashion and does not release seasonal collections, points consumers to the importance of a conscious choice for quality and the importance of good maintenance, so that products last a long time and can be worn frequently.
The Jan Merino collection
Since the successful introduction of the first Jan Merino sweater three years ago, we have steadily expanded the collection. The collection now consists of the Jan Merino, the Jan Merino Schipperstrui (Skipper's Sweater) and our latest additions the Jan Merino Visserstrui (Fisherman's Sweater), the Jan Merino Blanket and the Jan Merino Beanie.
These can be found on: joemerino.com
