Grown in Tasmania. Made in Italy. Science. Aquaculture. Agriculture. Fashion. A methane abatement solution. An industry game-changer. A world first. These are the threads, pardon the pun, of the M.J. Bale Mantova blazer. Five years in the making, it arrives in stores this May boasting a supply chain like no other.

The objective of this special project was to reduce the methane emissions of the sheep that grew the wool for this blazer to undetectable levels (52% of all emissions related to an M.J. Bale wool suit are from sheep belching methane). Beginning in 2020, Merino sheep at Kingston farm in Tasmania’s Northern Midlands were fed a daily supplement of methane-busting asparagopsis taxiformis seaweed grown and developed by Sea Forest. The shorn Kingston superfine wool was shipped to centuries-old Italian weaver Vitale Barberis Canonico (VBC) and woven into a luxurious Super 150s navy birds eye cloth; finally, the fabric was tailored into 120 limited edition blazers by Lubiam in Lombardy’s ancient city of Mantova. Featuring hand-sewn shoulders, armholes and cuffs, the blazer is crafted to fit like a glove and we think will become an heirloom garment.

To complete the circle, a percentage of every Mantova sale returns to Kingston for reinvestment in projects that restore and revitalise the property’s unique flora and fauna. Currently, a science agency is conducting isotype analysis on the feed and Kingston wool samples to verify the methane abatement.

If this all sounds like a lot to take in, don’t worry, it has been for us, too. But the Mantova is the first of its kind ever produced in the world. We believe the process pioneered here, in which the science, agriculture and fashion industries collaborate on solutions to climate change, will one day become the norm.

In concert with VBC we have also collaborated on a unique traceability tool for the Mantova blazer – what the mill calls a “transparency digital passport”. Accessed by scanning a QR code via your smartphone, it traces the journey of this special blazer – from seaweed to sheep to fabric to maker, and back again.