Graubünden Wool

FROM THE FARMER NEXT DOOR

Sheep's wool is nature's renewable high-tech. It is lightweight, heat-regulating, and breathable. It absorbs a lot of moisture without feeling wet or cold, providing cozy warmth for a balanced climate even in humid conditions. Thanks to its natural antibacterial properties, Graubünden wool remains odorless despite intense athletic activity.
Graubünden wool is far superior to even the most expensive synthetic fiber. Okay, there's also goose down; and admittedly, it can do some of the things wool can, and it's a bit lighter than wool. BUT, we don't want geese to be plucked alive or even killed for our products.

How the wool gets into your jacket
For a long time, this was impossible because untreated wool felts into a compact clump when washed. This made it unusable as an insulation material for the textile industry until Baur Vliesstoffe developed a washable fleece using a sustainable process – ideal insulation for outdoor clothing.
If the jacket ever wears out, you could theoretically use the fleece as fertilizer for your plants or throw it in the compost.
For proper disposal and possible recycling, please bring your jacket back to us. We'll take care of it for you.

Use instead of burn
ROTAUF has been using Graubünden wool since 2013. Switzerland is home to approximately 350,000 to 400,000 sheep, which shed up to an impressive 700 tons of wool annually. A significant portion of this valuable resource is disposed of in incinerators every year. This process requires a significant amount of energy, as wool only becomes flammable above 580°C; a ridiculous undertaking. We are utilizing this natural and renewable resource and incorporating this exceptionally warming natural material into our ROTAUF products.

Local raw material
We source our Graubünden wool from the farmer next door. From Chur toward Oberalp, sheep farmers collect their sheep's wool twice a year in the village square in Disentis. Many of these farmers are smallholders with just a handful of animals, as well as some larger farms with more than 100 sheep.
Marcus Berther is one of them, a sheep farmer with heart and soul. His nearly 200 ewes and their lambs spend the summer together with other animals on the alp. It's like wellness for the sheep, he says. Find out whether he can recognize his own sheep in a strange flock in the ROTAUF podcast with Marcus Berther.