Sheep Inc, a London-based sustainable knitwear company, has launched a hoodie with a naturally carbon negative footprint, which it claims to be a global fashion industry first.

At a retail price of £140, each hoodie extracts more CO2 from the environment than it produces, with a carbon footprint of 2kg.

Sheep Inc used extra-fine 19.5μ Merino wool from three regenerative sheep stations in New Zealand during the raw material stage: Middlehurst Station, Lake Hawea Station, and Omarama Station.

The three farms employ cutting-edge land management, feeding, and grazing methods to capture more CO2 from the environment than their operations emit, making their properties, as well as the wool they make, carbon neutral.

Sheep Inc's supply chain partners across Europe process this carbon-negative fiber to spin the yarn, manufacture the garment, and manage logistics using 100 percent solar electricity.

Sheep Inc collaborates with German yarn mill Südwolle to spin extra-fine merino wool and treat the yarn with Eternity X-Care, a chlorine-free treatment.

To ensure a zero-waste manufacturing process, each hoodie is made by Portuguese specialist knitter Fatextil, who uses 100% solar-powered 3D knitting machines. All the orders are handled by Airbox, the UK's first carbon-neutral logistics partner, which is operated entirely by renewable energy and operates entirely on electric vehicles.

From next week, the hoodie will be available for purchase on Sheep Inc's website.

Edzard van der Wyck, Sheep Inc’s, CEO and co-founder said, they believe in the fashion industry's collective responsibility to design goods that fit within clean, planetary boundaries. As a result, they must begin developing materials that have a natural regenerative impact on our planet.

Sheep Inc was also named as Best Supply Chain Initiative at the Drapers Sustainable Fashion Awards 2021.