Bringing Regenerative Farming Standards to Wool Base Layers with ZQRX

ZQ is a wool sourcing programme for ethical wool that meets strict standards of animal welfare, environmental sustainability, fibre quality, traceability and social responsibility. In 2021, NZM broadened its scope to include an even more ambitious environmental objective: regenerative farming, through the introduction of ZQRX.

Regenerative agriculture has the potential to be part of a solution to the world's most pressing environmental and societal challenges, focusing on improving soil health, creating more resilient farming systems and increasing biodiversity to work with, not against, nature.

Learn about ZQ, ZQRX and some of the farmers making regenerative wool a possibility for Helly Hansen below.

Currently, all of Helly Hansen’s Merino wool in our base layer collection is ZQ certified and over 75% is sourced through the ZQRX programme. It is Helly Hansen’s ambition is to go on this regenerative journey alongside NZM towards a future where we give more than we take.

Launched in 2007, ZQ was the world’s first responsible and ethical wool standard. Grown ‘fit-for-purpose’, all ZQ wool is hand-selected for its quality and performance. Unlike other wool, ZQ is exclusively supplied through forward contracts with growers. The long-term partnerships forged between brands and growers foster heightened consistency and superior quality in the fleeces produced.

ZQRX seeks to shift wool production beyond sustainability, measuring the impact of positive change through regenerative agricultural practices.

The ZQRX Index is a comprehensive change management tool designed to educate and track the progress of growers on their regenerative journey.

Growers are assessed against 15 key indicators across environment, animals and people, it holistically examines the properties, highlighting and measuring practices that go above and beyond the ZQ system.

Regenerative agriculture has the potential to be part of a solution to the world's most pressing environmental and societal challenges, focusing on improving soil health, creating more resilient farming systems and increasing biodiversity to work with, not against, nature. Regenerative . For NZM, Regenerative agriculture is more than just a set of farming techniques—it represents a shift in mindset that questions the status quo and pursues continuous improvement.

ZQRX challenges brands and growers to take action to give back more than they take. As we collaborate with ZQRX Growers, it helps incentivize and drive the change we aspire to see on the ground. Together, we can work towards the shared goal of leaving this planet better than we found it.

Mt Nicholas Station is an 88,000 acre ), high-country merino station on the shores of Lake Wakatipu near Queenstown. The property is owned and run by Kate and Jack Cocks, who believe in working with nature and farming with a light touch.

On Mt Nicholas, they don’t measure sheep per acre, they measure acres per sheep. Stock spend summers in the high alpine. In autumn, a 10-day musterby horseback and foot brings the sheep down from the snowline to pastures which have had months to recover. Mt Nicholas runs on hydroelectricity produced from the overflow of their own protected wetlands. The Cocks monitor water quality with regular testing and aim to have all their streams and rivers at “drinkable” standards.

Grant calls himself a farmer as well as an environmentalist. He has been using regenerative techniques like direct drilling pasture for more than a decade. “Nature provides us with everything we’ve got here. My vision is having a farm that is completely in sync with nature.”

When a major Faultline ruptured through the property in 2016, an insurance shortfall left the Barbara’s looking for ways to reduce costs. They removed commercial fertiliser and ramped up their efforts in soil health. Grant now claims to be primarily farming the soil - with every-thing else a by-product of what’s happening under the ground. He’s seen year-on-year improvements in topsoil quality and depth and this has, in turn, brought improvements to pasture and animal health.