lavalan® offers functional insulation. It is solely made from natural and renewable raw materials: virgin European wool that is 100% traceable, stabilized with corn-based PLA. Wool is a renewable and biodegradable material that has outstanding performance and functionality. Its European origin guarantees reduced emissions through short transportation routes distances and the highest animal welfare standards.
#EuropeanWool #traceable #transparent #preferredfibre
Meet Peter Krommer from lavalan® personally at OutDoor by ISPO Munich 2023
What: GRV Guided Transparency Tour
When: Monday, June 5th, 2023 – 11am
Where: SUSTAINABILITY HUB/ Munich Order Center- Atrium 3- 124
When considering using wool in any product, there are a few facts to consider.
Wool can have a positive impact in many ways, from biodiversity to land stabilization, technical performance and bio-degradability.
But it can also be just as harmful when badly managed. This is why traceability in wool is key to ensuring that this outstanding natural resource is used to make the very best of its advantages or its high functionality or in the right way.
(image description: Peter from lavalan® visiting our local sheep farmer Rainer Belzner at the nearby Hesselberg.)
Natural and highly technical, wool is the perfect insulation material, as demonstrated by lavalan®’s washable wool wadding.
The Bavarian family business uses exclusively traceable, European virgin wool, delivering a contemporary and sustainable alternative to down or synthetics.
With its unrivalled breathability, wool creates a pleasant warmth, keeping the body dry and at a constant temperature – and it can adjust to the intensity of the user’s activity level within a wide range of weather conditions.
The physiological and thermoregulating properties of wool come from its ability to absorb as much as 36% of its own weight in moisture without actually feeling wet to the wearer and its natural stretch, which allows the material to retain warming properties.
In addition to these thermoregulating properties, wool is also able to neutralize unpleasant odours, meaning it can be worn for longer without needing to be washed. Plus, it is hypoallergenic, long-lasting and biodegradable: in soil, it decomposes within around six months, and even in water, it only takes seven or eight months to break down to the point where it can no longer be detected.
After all, sheep generally only need to be shorn once or twice a year in order to lead a healthy life and not overheat, a true renewable material.
lavalan® wool insulation supports traditional sheep-herding methods on mountain pastures, nomadic herding and the associated maintenance of the countryside. During the warmer months, the animals usually graze upon whatever nature has to offer. Sheep keep the grass short, and prepare the alpine meadows for the cows. This also reduces the risk of avalanches in winter in alpine environments, because long grass can act as a slide for the snow.
In comparison to sheep breeding countries like Australia, Argentina and New Zealand, Europe’s sheep breeding stations are relatively small and less industrial in scale.
The wool for lavalan® is solely sourced from European countries according to the highest quality and animal welfare standards. European wool is mulesing-free. For lavalan® it is crucial that no sheep are harmed neither during breeding nor the shearing process. lavalan® ensures the traceability of the wool through Egotrace, an independent Swiss certifier and traceability enabler so that interested third parties can get full transparency via a QR-code.
The transport routes for further processing are also short: Sheep farmers supply their freshly shorn wool to collection points where it is sorted for color and quality and pressed into bales.
The wool is then carefully cleaned in traditional wool-scouring plants in Belgium and Great Britain, before being delivered to Baur Vliesstoffe (Owner of lavalan® Brand) in Germany. Sixty employees, particularly skilled in working with wool, then set about producing lavalan® wool insulation at the company’s headquarters in Dinkelsbühl.
lavalan® wool wadding comes in a wide range of strengths and thicknesses, allowing lavalan® to cater precisely to the requirements of their almost 40 brand customers from the outdoor and fashion clothing sectors. These include renowned companies such as Alpina, Artilect, Black Diamond, Edelrid, Fjällräven, Grüezi bag, Klättermusen, Maier Sports, ON Running, Tatonka, Triple 2, Vaude and Ziener, which all use lavalan® to insulate all kinds of products.
In the classic version of lavalan®, a corn-based PLA fibre is used to provide stability and robustness.
The portfolio has recently been expanded to include lavalan® pure. This fleece is 100% European virgin wool and is particularly suitable for use in outerwear, thanks to its especially fine structure.
lavalan® plus, meanwhile, makes an excellent choice for gloves, and lavalan® pro is perfect for ski pants and work clothing.
lavalan® is a natural and sustainable alternative for virtually all products insulated with synthetic fibre fillings or down. The wool guarantees the best possible level of comfort with a wonderful feel-good factor, and is the perfect choice for outdoor adventure challenges in both summer and winter.
In conclusion, wool offers a high level of functionality, that we need outdoors, and which discerning, nature-conscious consumers expect today.
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Share your experience and meet pioneers.
You can connect with these exhibitors personally:
Sun, June 4th, 11 am: Exped, Icebug, Iteratif, Rab & Lowe Aplin, Re:Down, Südwolle Group, Sympatex
Mon, June 5th, 11 am: Globetrotter Ausrüstung, Grüner Knopf (GIZ), Hohenstein, lavalan®, Mountain Equipment, Picture Organic Clothing
Tue, June 6th, 11 am: myclimate, SUSTON, VAUDE