The organic Merino wool is certfied by IVN as "best" which meets and excedes GOTS organic standards
The use of pesticides both on the meadows and the animal is inadmissible. The animals procreate in a natural way and any kind of change on the animal such as trimming the tail or mulesing are forbidden. In short – the sheep should live a happy life!
The merino virgin wool used in Pickapooh's garments is from organic husbandry. The certified organic origin of the wool ensures that it has been produced without noxious substances like pesticides and herbicides. Therefore, these clothes are awarded the highest certificate, the quality hallmark NATURTEXTIL–IVN ZERTIFIZIERT BEST.
Merino wool is a kind of wool fibre that is very fine, soft and springy and is not itchy at all to most skins. The Merino sheep usually thrives in mountainous areas at high altitudes and its wool is naturally brilliant at keeping the body comfortable at a wide range of temperatures.
Please note that under EU labelling regulations, stating the type of wool is not allowed, only a statement of "100% wool" or "new wool" is allowed. However, this garment is certified organic Merino wool.
Wool (and thus Merino wool) has many benefits when worn next to the skin and about the body.
Merino wool is the wool of choice for baby and children's clothes, as well as for sportswear, because it's finer than most other wools. It's naturally springy (which makes it softer) and has a tight crimp, allowing it to trap more air, making clothing lighter as well as softer for the same excellent insulation.
Merino wool has also been proven to absorb UV across the whole range of the spectrum, giving excellent lightweight sun protection in the summer too.
Organic Merino wool combined with the gentle, skin-friendly properties of silk makes the ultimate fabric for the well-being of the skin and body.
Pickapooh's wool/silk fabric is a soft, natural fabric so care must be taken when washing. Pickapooh recommends hand washing as follows.
Use a detergent designed for wool and silks which is gentle, and which protects and repenishes wool's natural oils. We recommend one of our liquid wool shampoos in our fabric care section here.
To hand-wash your wool silk fabric, dilute your wool detergent in cool water, max 30C (luke-warm only, should feel coolish), in a bowl. For heavily-soiled areas, use a little gall soap beforehand, testing on an inconspicuous area first.
Add your wool/silk clothing to the bowl, gently stirring and squeezing the detergent through. Rinse using water at the same temperature, otherwise the wool will be subjected to "shock" and might felt up. So luke-warm/coolish at 30C again.
Things not to do! Don't wring, soak, brush or rub vigourously as the wool and silk fibres may be damaged and your garment felt up a little and shrink. Just squeeze the water through.
To dry, gently squeeze water out and wrap your wool clothes in a towel to remove the excess water. Air-dry naturally avoiding direct heat. So, hanging on a drying rack over the bath is good, or on a clothes horse. Mine often end up over the back of chairs or on the washing line in the shade (I haven't had a problem with the the heat of the English being too hot, yet, but direct sunlight is not good for wool or silk).
Re-shape while still damp.
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