(And why it’s not always what you think)

This comes up all the time in the shop.

Someone will walk in and say,
“I only want New Zealand wool.”

And the first thing I say back is:

What do you mean by New Zealand?

Do you mean something that’s grown here?
Do you want it made here?
Do you want it to never have left the country at all?

Because those are not all the same thing.

 

Quite often, people will pick something up because it says “Made in New Zealand” or it’s from a New Zealand company, and assume that means the whole process happened here.

Sometimes it has.
Sometimes it hasn’t.

And sometimes it still counts as New Zealand yarn, even if parts of it have been done offshore.

 

So I’ll usually ask a few questions.

Do you want something that has never left New Zealand?
Do you want something that’s stayed within the South Island, or even Canterbury?
Do you mind if it’s gone overseas for part of the processing and then come back?

Because depending on your answer, that changes what I recommend completely.

 

And this is the part I really want you to understand:

Don’t assume that just because something says:

• New Zealand wool
• Made in New Zealand
• or comes from a New Zealand brand

that it hasn’t left the country.

That might still be exactly what you want.
But if it matters to you, it’s worth knowing the difference.

🧶 What actually counts as New Zealand wool?

This is where it gets a bit more complicated.

The 51% rule

Generally, if something is manufactured more than 51% in a country, it can legally be called made in that country.

And that works in a lot of industries.

But with yarn, we tend to feel a bit more strongly about it.

Because when someone says “New Zealand wool”, most people picture something that has been grown, processed, spun and dyed here.

And that’s not always what that label means.

How we think about it in the shop

We tend to think of New Zealand yarn in tiers.

Not to judge it.
Just to be clear about what it actually is.

🟢 Tier 1: Never left New Zealand (or even the South Island)

This is the top tier.

These are yarns where everything has happened here.

Grown here.
Processed here.
Spun here.
Dyed here.

Sometimes they haven’t even left the South Island.

These are rare, and they are special.

Examples we love:

• Yarn Phase
• Starcrest
• Outlaw Yarn

These are the ones where we can often tell you exactly where the wool came from.

🟢 Tier 2: Fully New Zealand made

These are still fully New Zealand yarns, but at a national level rather than hyper-local.

They are grown, processed and made here, just not always tied to one region.

Examples include:

• Super Woolly
• Woolly Yarn Co
• ranges from Touch Yarns

Still very much New Zealand yarn.
Just a different level of traceability.

🟡 Tier 3: New Zealand fibre, processed offshore

This is where people often get caught out.

A yarn can still be New Zealand wool, but part of the process has happened overseas.

The most common example is anything machine washable.

If it’s superwash, it has almost certainly left New Zealand for that treatment.

So you might have:

• New Zealand wool
• New Zealand brand
• finished here

But part of the process has happened offshore.

🟠 Tier 4: New Zealand wool, made overseas

This one surprises people.

You can have yarn made from New Zealand wool that is fully manufactured overseas.

For example, yarns like Red Heart.

They use New Zealand fibre, but everything else happens offshore.

So yes, it contains New Zealand wool.

But it’s very different to something that’s been made entirely here.

⚪ And one more thing

Some yarns don’t even say they contain New Zealand wool…

…but they do.

New Zealand is a major supplier of fibre globally.

So just because it’s not labelled, doesn’t mean it’s not there.

So what does “New Zealand wool” actually mean?

It depends.

And that’s why I always ask:

👉 How New Zealand do you want your New Zealand yarn to be?

🧶 Why this matters (and why we care)

You might be thinking, does this really matter?

And for some people, it doesn’t.

But for a lot of people, it really does.

 

For us, it starts with supporting the New Zealand wool industry.

It’s small.
And it matters.

From fully local yarns through to blended or partially processed ones, it all plays a role.

 

Then there’s the environmental side.

We try to be mindful of the footprint of what we stock.

That doesn’t mean everything has to be 100% New Zealand.

But it does mean we think about where things have travelled and how they’ve been made.

 

And honestly, I also think we don’t always realise how good our yarn is.

We have tourists come in specifically looking for New Zealand yarn.

They’re excited about it.

And sometimes we’re the ones overlooking it.

So part of this is about helping people see what we actually have here.

Transparency is the big one though.

If you’re spending money on yarn, you deserve to know where it comes from.

If we’re not sure, we ask.
If we don’t know, we’ll say that.

And then you can decide what matters to you.

Because sometimes it does make sense to buy yarn that’s been processed overseas.

It can:

• keep costs down
• give you more options
• allow for different finishes

We are not against that at all.

But you should know what you’re buying.

🧶 How to choose the right New Zealand yarn for you

So once you understand all of that, how do you choose?

Start with budget.

You might love something instantly. That happens.

But if you’re working within a budget, you’ve got options.

You can:

• use a smaller amount of something special
• mix it with something else
• or choose something more accessible

You might choose something like:

• Yarn Phase
• Outlaw Yarn
• Starcrest

and pair it with another yarn.

Or you might go for:

• Super Woolly
• Woolly Yarn DK
• Touch Yarns Mohair

which still give you that New Zealand story at a different price point.

Then think about feel.

If it’s scratchy, you won’t wear it.

If it doesn’t suit your skin, it doesn’t matter how local it is.

Think about what you’re making.

Does it need to be practical?
Machine washable?
A special piece?

And then the simplest one:

Do you love it?

Because if you don’t love it, you’re probably not going to finish it or wear it.

So we always come back to:

• What’s your budget?
• What does it need to do?
• What does it need to feel like?
• And how important is it to you that it’s fully New Zealand?

And then we help you find the right option from there.

🧶 Final thought

New Zealand yarn is incredible.

But it’s not one thing.

It’s a spectrum.

And the most important thing isn’t choosing the “best” yarn.

It’s choosing the right one for you.