Whether it’s that special cardigan hand-knit by your great-grandmother or the trusty flannel button-down that has kept you warm on mountain tops and doubled as a head-wrap during that mosquito swarm, every piece of clothing has a story. It holds the places you’ve taken it, the moments it’s lived through, and the meaning it’s gathered along the way.
There’s another layer to that story, too. It begins long before a garment reaches your hands. For natural fiber clothing, those chapters live in the land where the fiber was grown, in the care taken by the people who produced it, and in the systems that shaped its journey from raw material to finished piece.
At BRANWYN, we obsess about the story, specifically the prequel to the amazing places you’ll take your Merino wool Performance Innerwear. Every decision we make traces back to how a piece is made, how it performs, and what it supports in the world. We chose Merino wool from the beginning because it aligned with that thinking. It’s a natural fiber that performs beautifully in motion, is healthy for women’s bodies, and is naturally renewable, as the sheep it comes from will grow it again and again.
Over time, our actions evolve. When we discover opportunities to deepen our commitment to our core values, we step forward. Our transition from ZQ ethical wool to ZQ+ (an even higher standard) marks exactly that—a greater focus on traceability and exceptional quality. Here’s what our investment in ZQ+ wool means and why it matters right now.
What Is ZQ+ Wool?
ZQ wool from Zentera has long been considered the leading standard in responsible wool production. It marked the world’s first ethical wool standard, bringing together strict guidelines around animal welfare, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility. Along the way, ZQ paved the way for banning the cruel practice of mulesing sheep in New Zealand, while creating a baseline that ensures the fiber is produced with care at every stage. BRANWYN has been ZQ certified for years, only using ethical Merino wool to create our garments.
This year, we made the move to double down by transitioning our Merino wool sourcing to ZQ+. This standard is even more rigorous and allows us to trace every fiber of Merino wool that we source directly back to the farm. Our pieces are now crafted from only a handful of growers, certified to meet the highest standards of farming (think regenerative practices with no pesticides), animal welfare, and worker rights. Each of these elements is measured, tracked, and continuously improved.
“ZQ+ is all about supporting regenerative farming,” explains Natalie Norman, Head of Sales at Zentera, the organization that manages ZQ+. When farmers use regenerative practices, they make sure that the land will be fertile and healthy for generations to come, while improving the output: wool produced gently and healthily with no pesticides or contamination.
For BRANWYN, working with ZQ+ certified growers means sourcing their 17.5 Micron Merino wool from farms that meet these elevated standards. It creates a clear throughline between the fiber and the practices behind it, and empowers us to craft our garments from the best quality wool in the world.
Creating New Traditions for Wool
ZQ+ also brings visibility to where materials come from, connecting each garment back to the land and people behind it. Built on a 15-point index that considers people, planet, and animals together, the program reflects how interconnected these systems are. Animal welfare is nonnegotiable, with sheep living outdoors, moving freely, and experiencing minimal handling.
“We keep stock handling to an absolute minimum and just let the animals live as free and naturally as possible,” says Norman. After all, happy sheep produce the best wool. On the surface, it might sound silly, but there’s real science behind it. When sheep experience stress, it can actually weaken their wool, creating tiny breaks in the fiber that make it less strong over time. By prioritizing animal welfare, responsible care, and calm, consistent farm environments, ZQ+ helps minimize that stress. resulting in stronger, more resilient wool that performs better and lasts longer.
ZQ+ also provides space for growers to share knowledge. For example, “one of our growers has a hundred-year planting plan,” says Norman. “If one grower is doing something really significant, we share it. Then everybody’s doing it. It has a really significant impact at scale.”
What This Means for You
Selecting garments made with ZQ+ wool supports a system that values long-term land health, responsible animal care, and measurable environmental progress. It also means fibers that are softer, longer, and stronger—which translates directly into the quality of your clothes.
Just like how fruits and vegetables from your local farmers' market taste remarkably different and have a higher nutrient density from those produced using pesticides, wool that comes from growers committed to the highest ethical standards looks, feels, and performs better, too. That means you can count on BRANWYN to consistently deliver exceptional Performance Merino Innerwear that keeps getting better and better. Here are some of the differences in ZQ+ wool:
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Longer fibers: Longer fibers create smoother, softer yarns that resist pilling and feel better against the skin. The happier and calmer the sheep, the longer and stronger the fibers.
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Stronger wool: Stronger wool improves durability and shape retention, so pieces hold up through repeated wear and movement.
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Nontoxic wool: BRANWYN consistently tests our Innerwear to ensure it’s fully BPS and PFAs-free. By starting from farms that use natural practices (rather than toxic pesticides), we can further protect our clothing and our consumers from dangerous chemicals.
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100% traceability: Full traceability ensures consistent sourcing and processing standards, resulting in more reliable performance and integrity in every single garment.
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Consistent excellence: Straight from the farm, every bale of wool is tested to make sure it adheres to exceptional quality standards for fiber diameter, length, and strength before it’s even spun into yarn.
At BRANWYN, we aim to consistently provide the very best for our community. Our sustainable underwear and bras sit close to the skin, which makes material choice especially meaningful. Comfort, performance, and well-being are deeply connected, and the fibers we choose play a direct role in that experience. We want women to feel confident choosing our Innerwear that supports both their bodies and the planet. We also understand that Merino is an investment—one we choose to make alongside our customers. That’s why we don’t pass the cost of certifications like ZQ+ on to you. We believe it’s worth it.
Each piece is designed to move with you through daily life while carrying a story that extends beyond the garment itself. It reflects a chain of decisions rooted in care for the body, respect for the land, and a belief in doing things thoughtfully and providing our community of amazing women with the very best story worth wearing.
We want to know, what do you consider when making a clothing purchase? Please let us know your thoughts anytime! We love to hear from you. Email us at info@branwyn.com or DM us on Instagram @branwynofficial.
