Ramblers Way Organic Wool is Officially Cradle to Cradle Certified™

Stories About Sustainable Living

Earlier this month, Ramblers Way announced that our organic wool clothing line is officially Cradle to Cradle Certified™ at the Silver level, and it is the first-ever organic wool clothing to receive this certification.

This is exciting news for wool and another step forward for sustainable apparel. Receiving this independent, third-party verification reinforces our belief that high-quality clothing can be made in harmony with nature.

Getting Our Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Certification

So what exactly does this certification mean? Our organic wool items – 10 women’s styles and six men’s styles – were assessed by MBDC, the world’s foremost advisors in material health, product design and the Cradle to Cradle® Design Framework, using the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard. Those styles are made with our ultra-lightweight organic wool jersey in six low impact colors and silk thread.

And what does this product standard do? It guides designers and manufacturers through a highly in-depth evaluation of each product component and each stage of the supply chain in five environmental and social areas: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship and social fairness. Each of our organic wool products received an achievement level in each of these five categories.

All of our C2C certified items are also certified to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), a similarly rigorous and complementary system.

Why Pursuing C2C Certification Was Important For Us

C2C certification isn’t just better for the environment and our consumers. The process also directs us to rethink how we define quality and how we deliver on making quality clothing. C2C also fits in our brand philosophy of consuming less and stewarding more. At the end of its intended purpose, our C2C and GOTS certified wool is deconstructed to become a biological nutrient, biodegrading and decomposing as a soil foodstock.

- We make our C2C certified items with ultra-lightweight organic wool jersey. Our 4 oz. fabric, which is less than 135g/sq. meter, is our most lightweight fabric and the most lightweight 100% wool jersey knit on the market.

- Our organic wool comes from Merino sheep, which have superfine (less than 19 microns), long staple fibers. When fibers are spun together using a worsted spinning process, we can produce Ramblers Way's proprietary yarns for knitting fabric that feels exceptionally soft and can be worn next to your skin.

- To make our wool clothing machine washable, we use natural enzymes accepted by GOTS. We have never subjected our clothing to "Superwash" -- a chlorinated process that is common in wool finishing. Avoiding the Superwash process is an important part of C2C certification.

- We use some of the cleanest, low impact commercial dyes available which also meet GOTS dye standards.

- Because there is no blending with other fibers such as synthetics, our 100% wool fabric is rapidly biodegradable. Did you know that a wool t-shirt can decompose in nature in less than six months, while a typical synthetic t-shirt can take up to 60 years? Just another reason why we think wool is such a superior fabric.

Here are some examples of our C2C certified items.

C2C Also Means We’re Constantly Looking to Improve

We’re thrilled to have received C2C certification for our organic wool items, but at the same time, it sets a standard for continuous product improvement. At Ramblers Way, we’re always improving and innovating the materials and processes that form our clothing – such as incorporating more circularity into our production process – as part of our commitment to creating a more sustainable future. Learn more about our C2C certified items by checking out our product scorecard.

March 23, 2018