Shop ZQ Merino

ZQRX merino is the world's leading ethical merino wool. Softer, finer and more premium than ever before, this year's ZQRX merino range is fully fashioned, meaning each piece is knitted to make them more elevated than ever! It's hard to believe these could get better - we love being able to support a material that is improving the wellbeing of growers, generating biodiversity and actively protecting the land for future generations.

ZQ Merino at Max

At Max we knit with ZQRX merino — the New Zealand Merino Company's regenerative wool programme, which builds on its ZQ certification. Most of our merino knitwear is 100% merino rather than a blend, and composition is listed on each product page. Merino is the fibre that solves the problem wool usually creates: fine enough not to itch, it regulates temperature rather than just trapping heat, and it resists odour, so a merino top stays fresh through days a cotton one wouldn't. You'll find tops, V neck and crew neck sweaters, and cardigans here, with more merino across our wider merino range and merino silk layering.

What ZQ and ZQRX Mean

ZQ is a wool certification run by The New Zealand Merino Company and audited by an independent third party. It covers animal welfare — including a non-mulesed requirement — along with social and environmental criteria, and it traces fibre back to the growers who produced it. ZQRX builds on that foundation with a Regenerative Index, which measures growers on practices including soil health, water quality, biodiversity, emissions and waste. The traceability is the part most wool can't offer: with ZQ, the supply chain can be followed to source rather than taken on trust.

ZQ Merino Tops, Sweaters and Cardigans

The merino tops are the quiet workhorses — long-sleeve crew and V necks that layer under everything and come in enough colours to build a wardrobe around. The reversible sweater wears two ways, V neck or round. Cardigans come cropped and in a relaxed boyfriend shape. If you're buying one piece, a long-sleeve merino top is the most useful thing in the collection: it works alone in spring, under a knit in winter, and on a plane in any season.

Why Merino Works Year-Round

Merino isn't only a winter fibre, which surprises people. The same properties that keep you warm in cold weather — moisture management and breathability — keep you comfortable in warm weather too, which is why merino is the standard for travel and hiking clothing. A fine-gauge merino top is genuinely wearable in spring and on cool summer evenings, and it's the single best thing to pack for a trip where the weather might do anything.

Looking After Merino

Merino needs washing less often than cotton, because it resists odour rather than holding it — airing a top between wears is often enough. When you do wash it, hand wash (literally by hand) in cold water with a gentle wool detergent. Turn inside out, swish softly, and rinse until the water runs clear. Always dry flat rather than hanging and avoid tumble drying, which is what causes wool to shrink and felt. Treated well, merino holds its shape for years. Check the care label on your piece.

Merino FQAs

Generally no, and that's the main difference between merino and ordinary wool. Merino fibres are much finer, so they bend against the skin instead of pressing into it, which is what causes the prickle people associate with wool. Most people who find wool itchy are comfortable in merino. If you're very sensitive, start with a fine-gauge top rather than a chunky knit.

Yes. Merino moves moisture away from your skin and breathes well, so it doesn't get clammy the way synthetics do — which is why it's the standard fibre for travel and outdoor clothing. A fine-gauge merino top works through spring and on cool summer evenings. Heavier knits are the ones to keep for winter.

ZQ is the certification covering animal welfare, including non-mulesed wool, plus social and environmental criteria and traceability back to the grower. ZQRX adds a Regenerative Index on top, measuring growers on practices like soil health, water quality, biodiversity and emissions. Both are run by The New Zealand Merino Company. Our ZQ Merino collection is 100% ZQRX merino wool.