Species Preservation InitativeUpdated a year ago

Did you know that there are around 1 billion sheep in the world, and more than 200 unique breeds? Even with all that diversity, Merino sheep make up over 50% of the wool producing sheep world wide. The popularity of Merino wool has led to consolidation amongst farmers, leaving many farmers of locally significant and rare heritage breeds at a financial disadvantage. In the case of many of the rarer sheep's wools there is simply such little demand that the breeds themselves have become endangered, their numbers dropping into the thousands. One such breed is Austria’s native Stonesheep (Tiroler Steinschaf), with its estimated Austrian population to be around 4,000 sheep, and 14,000 world wide. Learn more about our wool supply chain. 

Our Species Preservation initiative is a joint effort between Stegmann Austria and Stegmann USA designed to support sheep breeders in Tirol and other parts of Europe who breed endangered sheep species. We use the wool of these rare species to create a unique shoe that uses only the uncolored fleece from these sheep, without dying or altering its natural beauty. By utilizing these uncommon wools for our production, we can help continue to safeguard and support the sustained breeding of these special sheep. The EcoClog line was created to enable us to support these small farmers and rare sheep breeds.