Norsewear’s ‘cheeky’ open letter to New Zealand Rugby Union pushes for wool beanies over synthetic materials

A famous Tararua wool clothing brand has written a “cheeky” open letter to the New Zealand Rugby Union, questioning All Blacks beanies made with synthetic materials.

The All Blacks online shop was on Friday selling two $45 beanies - both from Adidas. One is made from 100% polyacrylics and the other 100% polyester, with at least 50% recycled materials.

New Zealand-made clothing and knitwear store Norsewear, which has a factory based in Norsewood, says it is time for NZR to choose traditional woollen products instead to protect “cauliflower ears from the cold”.

Tim Deane owner of the Norsewear textile company and factory based in Norsewood, 20km northeast of Dannevirke.

Norsewear said they had been contacted by some “die-hard All Blacks fans”, upset their beanies weren’t made from NZ wool.

“They told us some synthetic beanies are being used as fire starters instead of head warmers.

“The All Blacks like us are iconic in NZ - doesn’t it follow that our sporting legends might wear the very fabric our Kiwi identity is wrapped in?

“We want those cauliflower ears protected from the cold,” the letter said.

“We want those heads full of brains, living and breathing strategy and tactics to be cosy at all times.”

NZ Rugby Union general manager of commercial Yarnie Guthrie said they had reached out to the Norsewear team to share more details of the retail and licensing programme for All Blacks, Black Ferns and other branded items.

“We’re always up for a conversation, so ‘thank ewe’ to Norsewear for reaching out,” Guthrie said with a pun.

Norsewear owner Tim Deane said the original letter was a bit of “tongue and cheek” from the team, who were all All Blacks fans.

“We just had a bit of fun with it and wrote a cheeky letter with an important message.”

He said the letter “took off” and he received a call from the NZ Rugby Union on Friday.

“They said the post had put a smile on the faces of the people in the NZR offices, so I thought that’s pretty good natured and what we are like as Kiwis.”

Deane said the letter fed into a wider conversation of the use of NZ wool, given their recent success with winning a contract to make all of the NZ Defence Force’s socks.

“The purchasing decisions that we make as New Zealanders or the purchasing decisions that corporate NZ makes - does make a big difference.”

Deane said further discussions would be had to see what Norsewear could do with NZR.

“We will get together in the next couple of weeks to see if there is any way we could work together.”

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.