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Win a trip to New Zealand at Icebreakers TouchLab in New York

Icebreaker, the New Zealand based merino wool adventure apparel pioneer, has announced the grand opening of its first store called the Icebreaker TouchLab in Manhattan on December 1, 2010. The 2500 square foot SoHo store will be Icebreaker’s flagship, and located at 102 Wooster Street, between Spring and Prince Streets, across the street from Patagonia’s SoHo store. As part of the grand opening, Icebreaker will give away a trip for two to New Zeal

18th November 2010

Innovation in Textiles
 |  Wellington

Sustainable, Clothing/​Footwear, Sports/​Outdoor

Icebreaker merino ramIcebreaker, the New Zealand based merino wool adventure apparel pioneer, has announced the grand opening of its first store called the Icebreaker TouchLab in Manhattan on December 1, 2010. The 2500 square foot SoHo store will be Icebreaker’s flagship, and located at 102 Wooster Street, between Spring and Prince Streets, across the street from Patagonia’s SoHo store. As part of the grand opening, Icebreaker will give away a trip for two to New Zealand. Read on for details.

According to Icebreaker, New Zealand is 8815 miles from New York, so the Icebreaker team has brought the Southern Alps and the merino sheep into the city through fantastic imagery in the store. Similarly, many New Yorkers haven’t experienced the wonders of silky soft merino wool, Icebreaker says, so the The TouchLab will also feature an area where shoppers can dip their hands into raw merino.

“Natural, sustainably produced Icebreaker merino regulates body temperature in all climates, is highly breathable to prevent the clamminess associated with synthetics, and protects the wearer from the sun’s harmful rays. It’s also “no stink” -- also resisting odour and wearable for days – sometimes weeks – without washing,” Icebreaker claims.

The new TouchLabTouchLab retail store will showcase the complete Icebreaker line from its Outdoor, Running, Cycling, Travel, Kids, Underwear and City collections, all made from handpicked merino wool from the Southern Alps of New Zealand.

“More and more New Yorkers will soon discover Icebreaker’s miracle fibre from New Zealand,” said Jeremy Moon, Icebreaker’s founder and CEO. “We think it will be love at first touch.”

Moon added: “Our TouchLab will allow us to showcase our freshest designs with savvy SoHo residents and visitors who are known connoisseurs of top-quality apparel.” New York City was chosen for Icebreaker’s flagship store because of the rapid adoption of Icebreaker by New Yorkers through company’s online business and retailers Paragon and Eastern Mountain Sports.

The store was designed by Icebreaker in collaboration with Adrian Nancekivell Design, Auckland, New Zealand with Joseph Tarella from SawickiTarella Architecture & Design NYC. The SoHo store will be the company’s sixth TouchLab. Icebreaker has two TouchLab stores in North America, one in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the other in Portland, Oregon, also the location of Icebreaker’s U.S. headquarters.

Win a Free Trip for Two to New Zealand

As part of the grand opening, Icebreaker will give away a trip for two to New Zealand. Entrants must visit the store and try on an Icebreaker merino garment and complete the entry form. The prize includes airfare from New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles to New Zealand, one night accommodation on a merino sheep station (farm) in New Zealand, and an Icebreaker layering system for two. See the store for complete details.

Icebreaker Clothing

Launched in 1994, Icebreaker was the first company in the world to develop a merino fibre layering system for the outdoors, starting with its Bodyfit baselayer, ideal for New York winters. There are now 25 to 30 distinct pure merino fabrics in the Icebreaker system, covering underwear, mid layer, and outerwear.

This fall, Icebreaker is introducing Realfleece, a premium natural alternative to a synthetic fleece (made from oil) for men and women. Unlike synthetics, Icebreaker Realfleece is stylish and sophisticated and can be worn on the mountain as well as on the town.

Icebreaker is sold in more than 2000 stores in 37 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Australasia and North America. Based in Wellington, New Zealand, Icebreaker uses only pure merino hand-picked from 140 high country stations in the country's Southern Alps to create edgy outdoor clothing that combines nature's work with human technology and design.

Ethical Commitment

The company also says it was the first outdoor apparel company in the world to source merino directly from growers, a system it began in 1997. Icebreaker is committed to sustainability, ethical manufacturing and animal welfare. In 2008, the company launched ‘Icebreaker Baacode’,  a pioneering supply chain transparency and traceability program. Each Icebreaker includes a unique Baacode, which enables customers to trace the garment online from rearing the sheep through to each stage of the supply chain process.

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