Mons Royale Sustainable Merino Wear - Insight Into The Process
Originally from Lake Wanaka New Zealand, Mons Royale creates high-performance technical merino apparel that keeps you looking and feeling good, on snow or dirt, all year round. The company uses ZQ Merino to guarantee the world’s highest standard in fiber quality, animal welfare, and environmental management.
All Mons Royale's merino garments are manufactured sustainably in China where their yarn supplier and garment producers work in a great environment, with excellent conditions using state of the art equipment.
See all Mons Royale's merino sportswear
Here is an insight into the process behind making Mons Royale's merino garments.
providing many jobs for the locals of this smaller town.
Mons Royale manufacturing partners in China
By choosing the best manufacturing partners they can, Mons Royale ensures that international human rights and environmental standards are met. They have an Oeko-Tex certified Chinese based QC agent doing regular 2-year audits to make sure all suppliers adhere to international standards. Mons' owners, Nat, Sonia and Ben also visit the factories in rotation 3-4 times a year.
Ethical and sustainability standards audited regularly
Mons Royale's main manufacturing partner, Shanghai Challenge in China is at the forefront of merino garment quality, an innovative world-class manufacturer with the best technology they have found. Mons' factories are held to an extremely high ethical and sustainability standard and are audited regularly.
The state-of-the-art facility is located on the outskirts of Shanghai and employs 2500 workers who operate a vertical factory system to knit, dye and finish a variety of merino wool fabrics. The garment production utilises the most modern, automated technology to produce premium product for their brand partners.
Solar powered offices, top working conditions and workers’ rights plus a new high tech, on site water treatment and recycling system, have all resulted in an impressive list of certifications: Oeko-Tex 100 – Confidence in Textiles, ISO 9001 and 14001.
All dyes used are bluesign® resulting in superior colourfastness while guaranteeing the application of sustainable ingredients. BlueSign is one of the highest globally recognised standards in responsible and sustainable manufacturing of textile consumer products. There is also an in-house certified testing lab with a team of full-time colour and fabric testing experts.
SCT is the first manufacturer in Shanghai to be awarded the new Chinese Environmental Certification and also holds certification from Woolmark and Responsible Wool Standard.
BlueSign Responsible Dyes
All dyes at Mons Royale's main supplier, are bluesign® resulting in superior colourfastness while guaranteeing the application of sustainable ingredients. BlueSign is one of the highest globally recognised standards in responsible and sustainable manufacturing of textile consumer products.
Note, Mons Royale cannot say their garments themselves are BlueSign, due to the chlorine used in super-washing process before the wool is spun into yarn.
ZQ Wool - ZQ Merino is the world's leading ethical wool brand
It stands for a better quality of life. For the animals, for our planet, for our people and for you. ZQ farmers believe in farming sustainably and live for the ZQ values.
ANIMAL WELFARE - ZQ Merino sheep live free-range under the Five Freedoms. On top of this charter, ZQ sheep will never be live transported, kept in feed lots or exposed to GMOs. Mulesing is not practiced by any ZQ farmers.
FIVE FREEDOMS
FREE FROM DISEASE
FREE FROM THIRST
FREE FROM DISTRESS
FREE FROM DISCOMFORT
FREE TO LIVE NATURALLY
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY - ZQ Merino is sourced only from accredited farmers who meet the highest farm standards. ZQ growers pride themselves on adhering to the best social and environmental practices. All ZQ farmers are assessed and audited by trainers and qualified third party auditors, ensuring rigorous standards are met.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY - ZQ Merino farmers are bound by their passion and dedication to careful stewardship of the land, health and safety of those living and working on it.
QUALITY FIBRE - Each fleece is hand-selected by expert wool classers to ensure only the finest fibers are spun into yarn. The ZQ process ensures that wool quality is consistent in tests for whiteness, strength, low variation and contamination.
TRACEABLE - ZQ merino is traceable directly back to the farm from which it came. Farmers are connected to the brands that buy their wool and they are proud to wear and use the products.
Read why mulesing-free merino wool is more sustainable.
Tencel Lyocell supply chain
TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers have gained a commendable reputation for their environmentally responsible closed loop production process, which transforms wood pulp into cellulosic fibers with high resource efficiency and low environmental impact. This solvent-spinning process recycles process water and reuses the solvent at a recovery rate of more than 99%. Consumers can have the assurance that their apparel choices are not contributing to an adverse impact on the environment.
USDA certified biobased product
TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers are produced from wood pulp from sustainably managed sources, a renewable resource. They have earned United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) BioPreferred® designation.
Biodegradable / Compostable
Derived from nature, all TENCEL™ standard Lyocell and Modal fiber types have been certified by the Belgium certification company Vinçotte as biodegradable and compostable under industrial, home, soil and marine conditions, thus they can fully revert back to nature.
Poly Bag Change
SS20 NH and FW20 going forward
Mons Royale changed to a a 100% biodegradable quality going forward and including SS20 NH Bulk. The bags need to be made of plant based materials such as corn starch. They have a good lead on this and hope to have it signed off for the next PO’s.