“Meet the Merino sheep that grew this”

The Icebreaker t-shirt was quite pricey (around $80) but what I had read made me buy it. The image shows a quote on a dark background. The text reads:

"THIS IS WHAT INSPIRED US TO LAUNCH ICEBREAKER GLOBALLY. THANK YOU, PETER.

'Icebreaker was superior in every way to anything I had ever worn before. I wore it for 40 days and 40 nights and it didn’t itch or get whiffy.'

SIR PETER BLAKE | Skipper ENZA, World Circumnavigation Record, 1994"

 A “40 days and 40 nights” vow: I wasn’t going to wear it for that long, but for a very long flight it would come in handy.

Also, the label said to type in the unique code to see the Merino sheep that grew the wool (actually the label said “meet”, but I suppose they meant “see”).

The image shows a clothing tag with the following text:

"YOUR UNIQUE BAACODE
2E7A3DB6E

MEET THE MERINO SHEEP THAT GREW THIS

TYPE IN YOUR BAACODE AT
WWW.ICEBREAKER.COM/BAACODE

LET THE TRACE BEGIN"

However, it isn’t true about being able to wear the shirt for so many days in a row. “Stink” would probably be too strong a word after wearing it for a 13-hour flight with a 3-hour layover, but it isn’t the wonder shirt I’d expected. I’m sure it’s true that the guy wore it for 40 days, but being in a salty and watery environment it was different in his case.

Also, I was highly disappointed after entering the t-shirt’s code. I thought I would see a photo of the actual sheep, but it was a list of farms instead, presumably from one of which my t-shirt’s sheep came.

Alt text: A webpage from Icebreaker, a New Zealand-based clothing company, is displayed. The page features a section titled "The source of your Icebreaker" with a list of locations: Castle Ridge Station, Quailburn Downs, Huxley Gorge and Glen Lyon, and The Point. There is a map of New Zealand on the right side of the page. The top menu includes options like Product, Philosophy, and Performance. There is also a section to enter a "baa code" to trace the origin of the garment.
I am still thinking of filing a complaint about the misleading label. The site clearly states, “Trace your Icebreaker’s origin”. The label should have said the same thing, too, not, “Meet the Merino sheep that grew this”. I was looking forward to it, only to feel that I was badly let down.

The image shows a blue short-sleeved T-shirt laid flat on a patterned surface. The T-shirt appears to be plain with no visible designs or logos.
The Icebreaker t-shirt

One Comment

  1. Would you have felt better having been shown a generic shot of a particular animal? Listing the farms seems a lot more honest.

    I think you may have been expecting too much from an ad.

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