The New Zealand Merino Company has scored a first with an agreement with 144-year-old Italian woollen fabric manufacturer REDA to supply it with Zque quality-branded wool.
New Zealand Merino (NZM) chief executive John Brakenridge said the new supply contracts signed with REDA were at prices 20% above the current auction price of equivalent wool types.
Wool for REDA would be sourced from Zque-branded farms, a NZM-initiated integrity brand that provides traceability of the fibre back to the supplier, assurance of ethical production and guarantee of performance.
Mr Brakenridge said REDA had bought about $15 million worth of merino wool from New Zealand in the past three years, and by buying only Zque-accredited fibre, the famous Italian manufacturer was championing the sustainability of the New Zealand merino industry.
REDA owner Francesco Botto Poala said quality had always been his priority from the fleece to the final fabric, but now his customers were increasingly concerned about the sustainability and traceability of products.
"The Zque merino fibres deliver all of these."
The announcement of the contract precedes a week-long visit to New Zealand next week of three leading Italian fashion and business journalists, hosted by NZM and REDA.
While here, they will visit South Island high country farms and meet merino wool growers "to build understanding of merino as a noble fibre, produced with passion, craftsmanship and exacting quality".