Naturally4Baby

Why New Zealand Merino Wool?

Naturally New Zealand:
NZ Merino is a natural, renewable product. It is hardwearing and biodegradable. It is produced in NZ’s rugged and beautiful high country where sheep roam freely.
New Zealand Merino is whiter, stronger and longer than Merino from anywhere else on the planet - resulting in superior natural attributes for use in luxury garments.
No man-made fibre has come close to replicating Merino’s naturally occurring combination of attributes. Synthetic fibres can’t touch Merino for all-round performance.

Comfort Factor:
In essence, when sleeping in a Dimples Merino garment, Baby is sleeping in their own micro-climate. While synthetics are passive, Merino is active; Dimples Merino garments ‘breathe’. Merino has the ability to respond to changes in Baby’s body temperature, keeping Baby warm when the weather is cold and cool and comfortable when weather is hot. 

Temperature Control
Merino buffers the body’s microclimate in changing conditions to maintain comfort through natural air-conditioning. Merino is constantly seeking to achieve equilibrium between the external environment and the internal environment next to Baby’s skin by absorbing and releasing moisture.

Moisture Control
The hydrophilic core of the Merino fibre has an amazing capacity to absorb liquid - up to 30% of its own weight in water without feeling damp - so it's better than synthetics at removing perspiration from the skin, moving moisture away, and releasing it as vapour, avoiding the uncomfortable clammy feeling that can be so disruptive to sleep.

Exceptional Insulation
The natural crimp of a Merino fiber creates millions of tiny air pockets which help make Merino fabrics much better insulators, enabling it to retain heat, making garments warm and comfortable to wear.

Ultimate in Comfort
The natural elasticity of the Merino fibre means Dimples Merino garments stretch with the wearer, but then return to their natural shape. This results in a snug fit while also giving baby freedom of movement and the ultimate in comfort.
Merino is much finer than other types of wool and feels luxuriously gentle against Baby’s skin. Prickly wool clothing is a thing of the past. New Zealand Merino fibres are ultra fine and simply bend when pressed into the skin.
Winter or summer, Dimples New Zealand Merino enables baby to slumber in comfort.

Health Benefits:

Improved Sleep Patterns
The main health benefit of Merino for babies is improved sleep. This can be attributed to the incomparable ability of Merino to maintain a comfortable micro-climate between Baby’s body and garment.

Improved Levels of Contentment
At the Cambridge Maternity Hospital in 1979, Scott and Richards found that low-birth weight babies gained an extra 10g a day compared to babies that weren’t on Merino. Merino also results in generally improved levels of contentment; Scott also found that babies sleeping on Merino settled more quickly, cried less and fed for longer periods. Parents of infants who were sleeping on Merino also reported a stronger sense of parent-baby bonding.

Reduced Risk of SIDS
A number of studies have shown that swaddling infants tends to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Since overheating has been identified as a key factor in many cases of SIDS, there is a strong case for using Merino as the swaddling cloth because of its previously noted ability to regulate heat and humidity.

Reduced Allergies
Merino Wool is static-resistant; it therefore picks up less dust and lint from the air making it the perfect fiber for allergy sufferers. What’s more, dust mites prefer hot humid environments and as mentioned, Merino is much better at lowering both temperature and humidity than synthetics. Bedcover choice can also influence the prevalence of childhood respiratory allergies. To prevent the proliferation of mites it is also necessary to clean regularly and this is much easier with a wool blanket than a synthetic duvet in a cotton cover.

Safety Attributes:

Fire Resistance
Merino contains natural fire retardants; it insulates against high temperatures and doesn't readily catch fire. It self-extinguishes when the source of flame is removed. More importantly, when merino burns it doesn't melt and stick to the skin. That's why it is an excellent fabric for babies bedding and clothing.

UV Protection
Testing of various textiles shows that merino has a natural UV protection factor of 30+ in more than 70% of cases, much higher than most synthetics and cotton.

Easy care:

Long Lasting
New Zealand Merino fiber is long and strong, which increases a garments durability and ability to remain soft, smooth and less likely to pill. Merino fibres can be bent 30,000 times without breaking which explains why merino garments are so long-lasting.

Machine Washable
New Zealand Merino is machine washable and shrink resistant, meaning you can launder Merino garments along with your other washing – a definite plus for busy mothers!

Stain Resistant
Merino garments are resistant to stains and odours so can be washed less frequently than cotton or synthetic equivalents. And as already mentioned, it's static-resistant, therefore it picks up less dust and lint from the air.

Wrinkle Resistant
Innate elasticity gives Merino uncommon durability, and means it won’t require the ironing that other fabrics need. Each fibre is effectively a coil spring that returns to its natural shape after being bent, giving Merino garments a natural resistance to wrinkles.

Natural Elasticity
The natural elasticity of the Merino fibre means Dimples Merino garments stretch with the wearer, but then return to their natural shape so there is less chance of garments sagging or losing their shape.