A close-up of possum fibre

Possum fibre is nature's thermal fibre. Its hollow-cored structure is shared only with polar bear fur and arctic fox, making it the third warmest fur known. The hollow shaft traps air, and air is the most effective insulator nature has. Independent testing — including by the University of Otago — has shown possum fibre to be approximately 50% warmer than merino wool and 35% warmer than cashmere at the same weight and knit structure. Of the three warmest natural fibres in the world, it is the only one harvested as part of conservation work.

But possum cannot do this work alone. Its fibres are short, fine, and lack the structural integrity to spin, knit, or felt without help. Merino is its indispensable partner — its longer, crimped fibres give the blend body, drape, durability, and spinnability, while contributing its own remarkable thermal and moisture-regulating properties. Possum and merino do not merely co-exist in a blend. They complete each other.

A close-up of saxon merino wool from Harkaway Farm, Waipapa Bay, Kaikoura

The Possum-Merino Felt Project exists to develop the untapped potential of this partnership — particularly as felt, pre-felt, and sliver for spinners — alongside pure possum, Saxon merino, and rare heritage wools for fibre artists in New Zealand and overseas. We work in small, considered quantities. We supply makers running their own businesses under their own names. And we trade in the old way — by approval, by trust, and by relationship.

Behind all of it, quietly, is a deeper purpose: that markets which value this fibre can support a different way of caring for the New Zealand bush.

In other words: if fibre mills around the world could blend possum with their own locally grown fine fibres — producing their own 'natural thermal fibre' — possum would come to be seen for what it is: a resource with real potential to reduce the world's reliance on synthetic fibres.

Could it be that part of the answer to the world's microplastic problem is sitting in our native bush, eating the native bush? Here's a video made by Julian Bracegirdle, showing an example of the damage done by possums to the bush.

A shift in how we view possums and possum fibre could open a real export future for New Zealand — one that helps other countries reduce their reliance on synthetic fibre, while letting us care for our own bush without aerial 1080.

It could also increase farmers' net worth, by clearing possums from their land without the risks of aerial poisoning. And it could support families in both rural and urban areas — for possums are found in cities too — offering meaningful work to those who would like to spend their working lives outside in nature.

This is why we've chosen felt as a vehicle for demonstrating its potential. Others are already making possum-merino yarn well, and we don't want to compete with them. But as far as we know, no-one has yet developed possum-merino as a felt — and we see enormous, untapped potential there.

The batting machine at Wild Earth Yarns.

Rolls of batting, ready for us to turn into felt.

Our current work is to develop a portfolio of samples demonstrating what possum-merino felt can do: how it drapes, how it holds, how it can be dyed, sculpted, layered, and used. Real examples, made here in New Zealand, that show fibre mills and makers what is possible when this fibre is allowed to be more than yarn.
Our portfolio of possum-merino felt samples will be made available both online and in physical form, for the consideration of makers, fibre mills, and investors who can see what we see.
If you would like to see the portfolio when it's ready, or to talk with us about what possum-merino felt could become, please get in touch.