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There's Australian merino - but some people don't like their mulesing policy.  Unfortunately it's still the best method for protecting the sheep there from the Australian blow fly that can kill the sheep very nastily.  New Zealand doesn't have the same problem. 

Then there's Chinese merino, but then you're buying in to China's pollution problems not to mention their record on human rights abuses.  These things aside, the Aus$ is also very strong and the Chinese currency is also rising, plus they're the ones that are behind much of the currency problems.

High quality Merino is rare - rarer in fact than cashmere anyway, so for people to think they can buy "cheap" merino and get  quality and performance  is not realistic.  It's not just the quality of the fleece, it's the quality of the fabric as well, and the best comes from New Zealand. 

I've tried most of the current brands available (being something of a merino addict), and been very disappointed with all but a couple of them.  And since Icebreaker moved production to China, there's really only one company left bringing in the best quality stuff. I would have said that ultimately we get what we pay for, but Icebreaker's prices are high without the quality.

Dont' know what NZ is like for Angora, but like Mohair it's a goat hair (unless you mean Angora rabbits!)  and in my experience it doesn't match merino for it's combination of warmth, softness, performance and durability, and I certainly want to wear it next to my body cos of the itch factor.

Magic Ferret wrote (see)

...and the best comes from New Zealand. 

I've tried most of the current brands available (being something of a merino addict), and been very disappointed with all but a couple of them.  And since Icebreaker moved production to China, there's really only one company left bringing in the best quality stuff. I would have said that ultimately we get what we pay for, but Icebreaker's prices are high without the quality.

...but don't Icebreaker manufacture in China using NZ merino?

I heard from a reliable source that only two companies have first pick on NZ's top quality merino, the rest have whats left.

Those two companies being Icebreaker and Smartwool.

(the source was a disgruntled competitor of the above)

Pretty sure they do. Its just a question of whether the chinese have learnt how to spin the wool right yet etc. Apparently no real historical tradition of woven wool clothing over there. (Silk/hemp and stuff instead or something?).

Still as with most manufacturing techniques you'd guess its something they'll work out in time. Finisterre seem to be knitting their's in Portugal for instance. Slightly amusing historically that as it seems to have been a big Spanish thing for ages....

Merino always going to be a rather finite resource. You need to give the sheep a large chunk of land over a long period of time etc. Picky about climate too it seems.

Small scale operations like Chocolate Fish etc don't seem to have a problem getting good sources of the stuff but you could imagine some larger scale ones potentially struggling. Icebreaker do seem to be producing a lot of stuff at the moment.

"whether the chinese have learnt how to spin the wool right yet" unmarried ladies cramped in a corner of the room with their spinning wheel or a soddin great machine, made in china and not really fussed about what country it operates in, that does it? or is it that the older machines seem to spin it better?

as china seems to be the reason for most things happening would they be able to pop round and fix my door. i promise to send the person away if they don't fit my view of what i think they should look and behave like.

as various companies seem to be able to get hold of premium merino to work with it kind of squashes the rarity and all that in my mind into marketing hype. there is undoubtedly a premium grade of virtually all natural goods but wouldn't the processing and klnowledge of what to do with it actually be more important and thus be able to make lesser grades behave more like premium grades aka maximising your profits whilst encouraging the marketing and fashion.

Neither Smartwool nor Icebreaker have "first pick" - it doesn't work like that.  Those companies will each contract with a number of sheep stations to buy their clip.  They get it all - unsorted, good and bad.  It's then up to them to decide what standard of wool yarn they want to make their fabric.  When you hear of complaints of pilling and itching - as with Chinese-made Icebreaker - it's because the standard set is low to include the shorter fibres which cause the itching and pilling.   But of course it's cheaper.

I canot see how either of these companies source wool exclusively from New Zealand (don't beleive the hype).  My spies in NZ say they must get merino from China, Australia and in the case of Smartwool, from the USA as well. 

There's info here on the  Zque yarn that used to be used for Howies stuff and is still used by Choc Fish.  Unfortunately since Howies got bought out by Timberland (Smartwool)  their stuff is no longer made in New Zealand.

I suspect your 'spies' are ill-informed.

Are you in any way connected to Chocolate Fish by the way? you make quite an issue of the brand in your profile?

...interesting that you say you avoid stuff made in China but 'if you won the lottery' you'd wear Merrell boots, Osprey pack & Rab waterproof!

From Icebreaker Website:

"We're fussy about our fibre. We procure the best pure merino available, direct from the mountains of New Zealand. And then make our own fabrics using Icebreaker technology.

Originally we had to make the fabrics ourselves, as no-one could supply what we wanted. Then it turned into a passion and a source of innovation. We learnt early on that it's imperative to start right at the beginning of the chain, with the best raw material. Otherwise, it's like buying grapes from any old place to make a particular style of wine.

We make contracts directly with the farmers who grow the wool. We currently work with just 30 of the best growers in the world, most of whom are scattered around the Southern Alps of the South Island".

maybe you (and your spies) could sue them?

the best merino available is still prey to seasonal variation as to it's ultimate quality. if you generate huge demand for the premium product then there won't be enough to go round and so the so-called premium product gets mixed with inferior product to slowly morph into not so superior quality whilst not admitting this and still charging and hyping the now not so true statement "best available" with true political bull.

"And then make our own fabrics using Icebreaker technology." can't swallow that one at all. they've designed a revolutionary knitting machine that knits wool differently to any other machine? erm..spin wool into thread. knit with the thread.

then contradicted by "Originally we had to make the fabrics ourselves". So they don't now then?

personally i don't give a damn but all i see is marketing bull with knobs on. all our loaves were lovingly hand crafted. now flour and water get thrown one end of a big bastard of a machine and loaves come out the other end.

it's all a giant crock of shite.

(searches cupboard for a pill that will help get rid of excessive cynicism)

From what I've been told IB never "made" anything.  They bought their fabric from existing NZ companies and got their gear made by several independent NZ manufacturers.  Then  they pulled out to China where they could get it made to standards, shall we say "other" than those in NZ.  All I know is that my NZ-made IB never pilled or itched and I wore it for years.   Now - all changed and their hype has increased as their quality has got poorer.

As a semi-Kiwi and whose family was in the wool business for years I naturally prefer to buy NZ-made where and when I can.  The choice here in the UK is therefore rather limited.  As for not buying Chinese-made, I try to avoid it wherever possible which is why I now wear UK-made Altberg boots and a rather nice Scotland-made Ventile jacket.  I also have some Italian-made gear and some US.

It's a shame that brands like Arthur Ellis and Survival have gone, and you can't get Swazi or Revel over here.  I stock up on my rare visits to NZ but I won't buy from there from the UK as there's always the problem of returning something if its not right - not to mention that you can't reclaim the UK tax and duty you probably had to pay.

Not everything made in NZ is good though - they can't make chocolate there - fish-shaped or otherwise. It tastes disgusting

but why has the quality got poorer? they only say most of their suppliers are in nz. finite top quality unable to meet demand. water product down. hype hype and more hype. the top quality supply must also be affecting all manufacturers in that case. so is that drop in quality for a particlular manufacturer reflected in other manufacturers products. is this simply supply. or is it that a machine china is shite (perhaps a small machine, perhaps a big bugger) and won't operate properly unless it's situated in another part of the world.

 switch back to synthetics. you know where you are with them.

i do find it amusing about not buying chinese. who do you think makes the machines and the materials that makes the things. it's self-deluding total tosh. many years ago alan sugar assembled video recorders in the uk, importing all the bits from the far east. there was a rule about products having a uk input. to make the bits in the uk he would have had to buy large, very, very expensive machinery from japan. and all the components from japan. then pour the components into hoppers and watch the machine build the circuit boards. he didn't bother and shut down the assembly operation.

Thanks for the warning might be a supply issue with Merino, so I extended my limited ownership of Smartwool. UK prices in sales seem roughly comparable to USA pricing, e.g. a short-sleeve I pay $36 / 24ukp, and a long-sleeve $47 / 31ukp

At RRP prices e.g. $55/37ukp and $75/50ukp respectively, I do think the material is over-hyped, I found it after a few months of wear to be sufficiently good at the discounted prices but not the RRP, the anti-pong is more of the fabric itself rather than neutralising the wearer so still requires a frequent cleaning of the wearer. Contrast to say X-static where it helps neutralise the wearer for lazy-bones camper to not have a shower for days.