Women's Possum Merino Koru Jacket

Soft, warm and comfortable jacket with spiral design and made from luxurious New Zealand Possum Merino

One of our most popular Possum Merino styles embellished with traditional Koru (fern frond) design at cuffs, hem and zip edge. Made from a soft, warm blend of 30% possum fur, 65% superfine New Zealand Merino wool and 5% Nylon.

One pair of FREE Possum Merino Gloves will be enclosed with each Jacket until 31st July 2012. Colours vary randomly.Gloves are added at despatch and therefore won't show up in your online shopping cart.

Features:

• Concealed zip.
• Can zip right up into a low turtleneck for added warmth.
• Fitted style, without pockets, gives a smooth silhouette and provides superior warmth without bulk.
• Contrast Koru design at neck, zip edge, cuffs and non-bunching hem.

About Possum Merino

Once you’ve tried it nothing else will feel as warm and soft. Possum Merino is a wonderful blend of possum fur and superfine New Zealand Merino wool with a texture similar to cashmere - luxuriously soft, incredibly lightweight, exceptionally warm and easy to wear. It won’t pill, it won’t wrinkle, it’s anti-static and is an innovative and practical market solution to an environmental challenge facing New Zealand.

Due to its hollow nature, the possum fur fibre is incredibly insulating and provides exceptional thermal warmth without weight. Research has shown that it is 55% warmer than Merino and 35% warmer than cashmere.

Superfine New Zealand Merino wool is renowned for its skin-friendly softness, all-seasons breathability and easy care durability. It combines beautifully with possum fur to create garments of exceptional warmth and quality that are incredibly good value.

Care Directions

Please follow those on care label attached to the garment. Warm hand wash with a gentle detergent. Warm rinse well. Lay flat to dry in the shade. Do not bleach. Do not tumble dry. Drycleanable.

About the Brushtail Possum

The Australian Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is a medium sized marsupial and was introduced into New Zealand in 1837. It is from a completely different family to that of the American Opossum, and has a fur quality similar to Mink. With no natural predators, numbers exploded to approximately 70 million in the 1980s, with possums chewing their way through 21 000 tons of native vegetation each night. As well as competing directly with native birds for food, possums eat birds’ eggs, chicks and insects. Their voracious appetite threatens the survival of many of our native plants, insects and birds, including the iconic flightless kiwi.

Animal health and conservation authorities spend many millions of dollars each year on trapping and controversial poisoning campaigns in attempts to control the pest. In addition, the possum fur industry helps to keep the possum numbers down. Recent figures have shown that due to two decades of control, possum numbers have dropped to approximately 45 million. However, we must remain vigilant as with no natural predators, New Zealand conditions are so favourable for possums, they are often able to breed twice a year and could easily and rapidly increase in numbers once again.

New Zealand Nature believes in a market solution to the possum problem. Efforts to reduce the millions of possums in New Zealand’s forests have been boosted by companies that blend possum fur with merino wool to make luxurious garments.

So, by choosing to wear our luxurious Possum Merino knitwear from ‘NativeWorld’, you are helping to preserve the fragile and beautiful New Zealand environment – including New Zealand’s unique icon – the Kiwi, (‘NativeWorld’ supports the Kiwi Recovery Programme based in Rotorua). Become part of the solution and wrap up warm in Possum Merino.

Testimonials:
"Just to let you know that the [Koru] jacket arrived safe and sound and I am very pleased with it, so much so that I have threatened my husband that when the cold weather arrives he might have to buy me another one!! Thanks for the prompt service." - J.S., Cornwall, UK
(True to her word, this cusomer (or her husband) subsequently bought the Possum Merino V-Neck Sweater.)