Ivanhoe Of Sweden Wool Garments - An Overview
Ivanhoe of Sweden History
Martin Göthager - Founder of Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe is a family company, and was founded in 1946 in Gällstad, Sweden by Martin Göthager when he mortgaged his house, bought knitting machines, put them into his attic, and then along with his wife Ragnhild started Gällstads Wool - which successfully produced popular wool garments in Sweden through the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s until Martin’s 3 sons took over in the 1980’s.
Lars-Erik, Ulf, and Göran Göthager realizing that there was greater interest in skiing and outdoor life in general both in Sweden and abroad, rebranded the company “Ivanhoe” in 1981 and took a new direction towards sportswear - with knitted wool at it’s foundation.
Karin, Anders and Anna Göthager
The third and current generation of Göthagers to run Ivanhoe ( Karin, Anders, and Anna) began their tenure in the 2010’s, and true to those that came before them, have kept wool at the heart of everything they do.
For Ivanhoe, the natural, functional, and timeless qualities of wool allows them to make garments based on quality, sustainability, and thoughtful material choices - garments that will be worn for a long time, appreciated over time, and that fjust eel right year after year.
A big part of Ivanhoe’s philosophy and guiding principles are summed up in their “Code of Conduct” - which shares their values and intent to actively work towards a fair, safe, and sustainable future - this includes Climate Action and Environmental Responsibility, Working Conditions and Human Rights, Animal Welfare, Ethics, Traceability and Transparency to name a few. These are areas in which COEC and Ivanhoe are aligned, and as such, provide this link so you can download a pdf version of Ivanhoe's Code of Conduct that you can read through for yourself.
Knitting
All of Ivanhoe’s knitting of their material takes place in their factory in Gällstad - including fabric by the metre, sleeves, and fronts and backs of garments - giving them control over the characteristics and quality of their fabrics and parts. After knitting, materials that require felting are washed and dried, and then these fabrics and parts are sent to partner facilities in Poland, and European Union Baltic states for cutting and sewing. Sewing in Gällstad is by and large relegated to prototypes, smaller production runs, and accessory items.
Finished garments then make their way back to Gällstad for inspection and packaging, before making their way to retailers worldwide.
Inputs and Certifications
As per their code of conduct, Ivanhoe is committed to maintaining several certifications for their yarns and material inputs to ensure strict environmental and ecological standards - these include:
Bluesign certification ensures safe chemistry and resource efficiency (i.e. water/energy) in textile manufacturing facilities, and throughout the whole textile supply chain.
GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard): GOTS is the world's top rule system body for certifying clothes made from organic natural fibres.
Öko-Tex is a global testing and certification system for textile products that checks for harmful chemicals to ensure they are safe for human health. The organization also offers independent labels verifying product safety, eco-friendly production, and fair working conditions.
The role of the Forest Stewardship Council is to protect the world's forests by setting standards for responsible forestry and certifying that wood and paper products come from sustainable sources.
Fibres and Materials
Wool is the primary material in the majority of Ivanhoe’s garments, and as Ivanhoe does all their own knitting and material creation, this allows for the creation of customized blends and materials with very tight quality controls. Wool is perhaps nature’s most functional natural material, as it’s unique fibre characteristics provide natural moisture wicking properties (key to staying warm), provides heat retention even when wet, is naturally resistant to the growth and development of bacteria and do not need to be washed particularly often, due to the self cleaning properties in the cells of the wool fibres themselves - for most wool garments, hanging them out in fresh air, and allowing humid air to circulate around them will refresh and eliminate odours.
100% mulesing free wool is used in all of Ivanhoe’s products. Mulesing is a fairly brutal animal husbandry surgical technique developed to combat blowflies and associated flystrike that involves cutting around the anus and hindquarters of lambs without any anesthesia or long-lasting painkillers. As a result, all of Ivanhoe’s wool comes from sources where this procedure is not practiced.
Ivanhoe uses both standard and merino wool in their products.
100% Sport Loden wool is used in heavier boiled wool garments like the Men’s Streten Hoodie and Women’s Murum Hoodie - providing both wind resistance and moisture wicking properties in a heavy weight outer wool layer.
Ivanhoe has developed a special line of 100% wool garments known as NLS (New Level of Sustainability) that uses blends of dark and light coloured wool to make garments of various shades without the use of dyes, chemicals or water. Additionally, no plastics are used - meaning that these garments are 100% renewable and biodegradable in addition to being beautifully warm and cozy.
Merino wool is used for Ivanhoe’s base layer garments, as merino sheep produce a much finer wool fibre than that of other sheep. At 19.5 microns in diameter, merino wool fibres bend when in contact with skin, as opposed to being rigid enough to poke and create the scratchy, itchy feeling that can sometimes be had with standard wool. The Ivanhoe underwool layers for men and women are designed to be worn directly against the skin, and provide moisture wicking and warmth retention under additional clothing layers in colder temperatures.
In addition to 100% wool fabrics, Ivanhoe creates blends with other materials, including TENCEL®. Ivanhoe knits the TENCEL® component closest to body with the wool facing out - which makes the fabric softer to wear directly against the skin, adds additional moisture wicking capability , and provides a softer feel against the skin in their garments like the Men’s and Women’s Morel Hoodies.
Ivanhoe’s windbreaker garments and Stormy toques use a Swedish supplied Blue Sign certified synthetic liner to stop wind from penetrating through the garment, and are now starting to use a highly functional lining made of recycled PET-bottles that is both Blue Sign and Öko-Tex 100 standard certified.
The “leather” tags used on all Ivahoe products are not actually leather, but Jacron: a sustainable leather alternative made from wood cellulose and often used in the global textile and apparel industry.
Layering for Warmth
Clothes don't provide heat — they insulate your body from the outside air, trap the air your body has warmed, and help retain heat as a result. Clothes for cold weather need to do two things: insulate the body to help maintain its core temperature, and transport excess moisture away from the skin to reduce the amount of body heat lost through perspiration. Heat transpires 20 to 25 times faster through water than air, so removing moisture from the skin is a key component to keeping warm.
Dressing in three main layers is the best way to deal with the cold conditions. No single layer can achieve what a properly designed layering system can, as each layer plays a different role in contributing to the system’s overall efficacy and interacts with the other layers to keep the wearer comfortable.
This approach starts with a base layer, that is worn directly against the skin. Ivanhoe’s 100% merino wool underwool tops, bottoms and bras are designed exactly for this purpose. Good base layers wick moisture off of the skin and towards the outside of the garment, and helps retain body heat. Wool base layers have the added bonus of not fostering bacterial growth and therefore odours from sweat and perspiration.
After base layers, mid layers provide the heavy lifting with insulation, and also assist with moisture wicking. Ivanhoe’s NLS Pentland Hoodies, and NLS mid-layer jackets like the Twig and Sap, women’s wool ponchos and Men’s and Women’s Morel mid-layer jackets all perform this function, and also allow for scaling insulation up or down depending on conditions, by adding or removing these layers, or in the case of jackets, ventilating with the zipper.
After mid-layers, a shell layer or additional top thermal layer rounds out the layering approach. Ivanhoe’s Streten and Murum wool jackets are heavy weight wool jackets that provide wind resistance and moisture protection (wool can absorb 30% of it’s weight in water before feeling damp or wet), and are excellent in fall and winter conditions, but in very windy, or downpour conditions, a waterproof shell, or wind blocking layer may be additionally required.
Ivanhoe also makes excellent wool pieces for extremities: Insulative NLS wool wrist gaiters, toques, windblockiong toques, and moisture-wicking socks are vital for retaining heat where people feel it most - on their head, hands and feet. Be mindful that properly fitted boots that have enough room to allow for sock layering without compressing your foot can make all the difference to keeping feet warm in any conditions.
Proud Ivanhoe Retailers
We here at COEC are proud Ivanhoe retailers, and are pleased to bring our customers their products and dedication to making quality, functional, ecological and ethical clothing to keep you warm and comfortable while in the backcountry, camping, hiking, or working or playing outdoors, and dealing with whatever mother nature throws your way.
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Tim Foley
Tim grew up spending summers and much of his spare time in the backwoods of Northern Ontario and has been canoeing, camping and hiking ever since. When not running the Canadian Outdoor Equipment Co., you can find him riding his bike, hiking the Bruce Trail, canoeing, or clearing trails, cutting firewood and testing gear out in the bush.
