Nativa

Nativa wool / Source: Nativa

AfricaAsiaBreathableElasticEuropeHypoallergenicNativaNorth AmericaOceaniaOdour ResistantRecyclableSouth AmericaTextilesUV-ResistantWater RepellentWool

WHAT WE SAY:

Every fashion brand on the planet is claiming to produce ‘sustainable’ and ‘conscious’ (what does that even mean)? collections. That means it is becoming both harder and more urgent for those brands, who are using authentically renewable, circular and plastic-free materials to prove it to their customers.

Now Nativa enables brands to do just that – it is a branded premium Merino wool, sourced from certified responsible farms, that offers blockchain-based traceability throughout its entire supply chain, from farm to finished garment.

Nativa

WHAT IS NATIVA?

Nativa is a branded Wool product from French company Chargeurs Luxury Materials that guarantees quality and traceability of the wool fibres, from the farm to finished garment.
The Nativa Protocol is based on four pillars: respect for animal welfare and proper ecological land management; social and environmental responsibility across the value chain; traceability and transparency; and compliance – with the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact.
Nativa Precious Fiber is being used by brands, such as Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Madewell, Napapijri, Reformation and more.

KEY PROPERTIES:

Breathable
Elastic
Hypoallergenic
Odour Resistant
Recyclable
UV-Resistant
Water Repellent

INDUSTRY:

Textiles

AVAILABILITY:

Commercially Available

DIVE DEEPER:

Wool is a popular, versatile and naturally plastic-free fibre but conventional farming methods can be detrimental to animal welfare and the environment.
Nativa offers ethically-sourced Merino and other wool from certified farms in Argentina, Uruguay, New Zealand, Australia, United States and South Africa, with the wool tops processed nearby at sites in the United States, Uruguay, Argentina, and China.
The Nativa Protocol certification has stringent animal welfare standards, including a management plan for feeding, breeding, behaviour, animal handling, health and infrastructure, including stress-free shearing and a ban on mulesing.
The Protocol also certifies sustainable farm and broader facility management to protect the environment, covering soil strategy and reducing the use of fertilisers and pesticides.
The Protocol’s corporate social responsibility pillar is focused on working conditions, labour rights and anti-corruption practices.
Nativa uses a private blockchain to enable full traceability of its wool. Each stakeholder - from the farms producing greasy wool through the manufacture of wool tops at the combing mill, wool yarn at the spinning mill and wool fabric at the weaving and knitting stage - records their transactions on the Nativa blockchain.
Customers can access the system via a QR code, which is generated at the product level.
Like all untreated and uncoated wool, Nativa Precious Fiber will break down in the natural environment and will not shed microparticles when it is washed.
Nativa was nominated in the Disruptor category in the Drapers Awards 2021.

Woolrich knitwear capsule collection / Source: Nativa

After shearing, the wool is cleaned and combed / Source: Nativa

KEY FACTS:

100%

With a 100% traceable journey, customers can trace back the origins and check the full supply chain involved in the making of their garment.

1.043 million m2

The region of Patagonia, where Nativa sources their wool, spreads across 1.043 million m2 in the Southern tip of South America.

Key Questions to Ask:

Is Nativa’s blockchain data accurate?

Full traceability is great, but as with all databases (blockchain or not), the output is only as good as the input – in other words, can you trust that all the parties throughout the supply chain are recording things accurately? The good news is that Chargeurs, the company behind Nativa, has a long track record as a premium wool supplier, but fundamentally this is less of a technology question and more of an audit question.

Will you be blending your wool with another fibre or coating it?

To ensure the wool will still break down harmlessly in the environment at end-of-life, you will need to make sure any fabrics it is blended with or substances it is coated with are plastic-free and also break down if discarded. Additionally, if the wool is blended with other materials, the guaranteed traceability will of course only relate to the Nativa-certified fibres in the product.

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