WoolAid wins Outdoor Retailer Product of the Year
WoolAid, a New Zealand based start-up, brings sustainable innovation to the first-aid market with the world’s first merino wool adhesive bandage.
The brand, which debuted at Outdoor Retailer 2022, won the coveted Product of the Year Award for 2023. WoolAid’s highly breathable merino wool bandages were quickly picked up by Outdoor Retailers across the United States, including well-known retailer REI.
New Zealand wool apparel has been a mainstay in the outdoor industry for years. In that market, performance and breathability are lead selling points. WoolAid’s founder, Lucas Smith, a mountain guide and outdoorsman, sought a better solution to heal wounds in the backcountry after seeing too many plastic bandages on the trails. How did he turn to wool?
“The aha moment came in discovering that when woven exceptionally fine, wool naturally creates the ideal, medical grade, healing environment,” says Smith.
How WoolAid works – for you and for the planet
Wool regulates the moisture and temperature levels around a wound and surrounding skin. Standard bandage material today does exactly the opposite. Typical plastic bandages trap moisture, waterlogging the skin.
Then there’s biodegradability.
WoolAid’s proprietary ultra-fine merino wool fabric is not only sustainably sourced. Merino wool is proven to biodegrade in just four months when buried in soil. By comparison, research shows that standard plastic bandages take 300+ days to begin breaking down.
“We can do better”
“Wearing a ‘skin colored’ plastic bandage on your finger is really a badge – no one wants to be seen making a choice that is so blatantly bad for the planet and humanity,” Smith says.
“We can do better.”
WoolAid’s bold colors and patterns, inspired by nature, art, pop-culture and fashion replace ‘‘skin coloured” bandages. Next steps for WoolAid include engaging key partnership with like-minded brands to drive creative collaboration in prints and patterns for 2024 – and beyond.
Where to get WoolAid
WoolAid adhesive bandages are available exclusively at retail in New Zealand and the US. For more information visit: www.woolaid.com
Now Read: All About Wool – the Essentials