The Merino Possum Story

Possum Wool: New Zealand’s Homegrown Fibre

Possum wool is often called New Zealand’s national fibre — and for good reason. It's incredibly warm, featherlight, unbelievably soft, and an absolute dream to work with. Best of all, knitting or crocheting with possum yarn helps tackle a major environmental problem: New Zealand’s invasive possum population.

What is Possum Wool?

Possum wool is a yarn made by blending the fur of New Zealand’s brushtail possum with another fibre — like merino wool, silk, cotton, or cashmere. Possum must be blended with another fibre as the fibres are too short to spin on their own.

Blended possum yarn is lighter, softer, and warmer than regular fibres. The benefit is that with every project you make from possum yarn, you’re helping New Zealand’s ongoing battle to protect its native wildlife.

New Zealand’s Possum Problem

In the 1850s, someone — whose name history has wisely forgotten — decided it would be a brilliant idea to introduce Australia’s brushtail possum to New Zealand to start a fur trade. It wasn’t brilliant. Without their natural predators, possums thrived... and kept thriving. Even human hunters couldn’t slow down the population boom. Today, possums are one of New Zealand’s worst environmental pests, devastating forests and native birdlife.

Thankfully, New Zealanders found a way to turn the tide — by putting this soft, luxurious fur to good use in yarn and we all get to enjoy the luxury and benefits of this fabulous fibre.

It’s safe to say New Zealand’s native forests and wildlife didn’t fare very well from the possum invasion. To a possum, the lush NZ landscape looked like an endless all-you-can-eat buffet — and they’ve been feasting ever since.
Today, 30 million possums devour around 21,000 tonnes of New Zealand’s plant life every single night. By morning, they’re ready to do it all over again. And it’s not just plants on the menu — possums are ruthless nest raiders, preying on the eggs and chicks of iconic birds like the kiwi, fantail, weka, tūī, kōkako, and kererū.
Give them just 15 years in a forest, and they can destroy the entire canopy.

Possums also pose a serious threat to New Zealand’s farms. They are carriers of bovine tuberculosis, a disease that they can pass on to cattle. In fact, around 75% of TB-infected cattle are linked to areas where possums are carrying the disease.

When it comes to possums, there’s no middle ground. Containment isn't enough — full eradication is the only way to protect New Zealand’s ecosystems.