New Aussie wool label sees red

ADELAIDE: Australian Wool Innovation and Purely Merino have joined forces to launch a new line of clothing targeted at local and international travellers.
Dubbed 'Red Island', the range will be sold exclusively through Purely Merino stores in domestic and international airport terminals and at the company's online store redislandmerino.com. Purely Merino's concept manager Nick Poole said the label looks to change traditional attitudes towards wool.
"We wanted to promote Australian merino and change people's perceptions that merino is not just a winter only product," he explained. "The flexibility of the range allows you to put is on in Australia, transit through humid and hot Asia and arrive in Europe feeling as fresh as when you left."
Made from super fine Australian merino wool, the 10-piece line includes men's
and women's t-shirts, polo shirts and zip front heavy-weight tops in a palette of green, pink, blue, brown, black, and cream colours.
The zip tops also feature a pocket for handheld electronic devices
(with an eyelet to feed headphones through) and a selection of ladies
fitted styles with lycra to "give it extra stretch and create figure
hugging garments"."
Priced from $76.95 to $139.95, the clothing is also lightweight, quick
dry, colour fast and flame resistant to ensure suitability for all
climates and conditions.
While the label is still in its early stages of growth, Poole said the company hopes to compete alongside New Zealand activewear label, Icebreaker, but to attract a broader consumer base through having a more concentrated focus on the leisurewear market. He also said Red Island looks to expand internationally and to wholesale the range into the Australian domestic market within two years.
"We are looking at expanding into overseas airports such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Heathrow. Our long term plan is also to expand the Purely Merino concept stores into Perth, Canberra, Gold Coast and domestic airports across Australia."
The company also hoped to extend the collection to include underwear and other outerwear products within the next two years, Poole said.