Podcast Summary: The Entrepreneurs

Episode Title: Winter Warmth with Sheep Inc & Klättermusen
Date: December 3, 2025
Host: Tom Edwards, Monocle Radio

Overview

This episode of The Entrepreneurs explores two standout brands redefining winter essentials: Sheep Inc., a sustainable knitwear company rooted in regenerative farming and transparency, and Klättermusen, a Swedish outdoor gear maker celebrating its 50th anniversary. The discussions center on ethical production, innovation, storytelling, and community, offering insights into how these brands create value that extends far beyond performance and style.

Segment 1: Sheep Inc.—Sustainability Meets Innovation

Guest: Edzard van Dwyk (Co-founder, Sheep Inc.)
Co-host: Laura Kramer

The Slow Fashion Shift

• Changing Habits: Edzard highlights the shift from durable, long-lasting pieces to transient, fast fashion.
  • Key insight: The “value per wear” concept—buying higher-quality clothing may seem expensive, but lasts generations, thus proving more economical and sustainable in the long run.
  • Quote:

    “After my father died, I took all his cashmere sweaters... he had a few, and he’d been wearing them for 30, 40 years and you could still wear them. Now if you would break that down to value per wear, it would exceed anything from fast fashion...” —Edzard van Dwyk (02:18)

Environmental Impact & Material Choices

• Critique of Fast Fashion: Issues like textile waste and synthetic microplastics are emphasized as global problems.
  • Quote:

    “The amount of textile waste and the kind of synthetic impact of microplastics to our environment is humongous.” —Edzard van Dwyk (02:18)

• Life Cycle Analysis: The importance of evaluating the full life cycle of products is stressed.
  • Quote:

    “It’s really important to have this conversation... people have got to factor in that whole life cycle of products, 100%.” —Laura Kramer (04:13)

In-Depth Product Journey

• Starting with the Farm: Sheep Inc. innovated by building direct relationships with New Zealand farms before manufacturing, ensuring animal welfare and biodiversity.
  • Quote:

    “We started talking with farms before we started talking with manufacturers... animal welfare and biodiversity being the two main pieces, with biodiversity leading to the extent that they sequester more CO₂ than they produce.” —Edzard van Dwyk (06:04)

• Design Evolution: Launched with a classic merino crewneck; now blends best-in-class essentials with more expressive, yet timeless, designs.
  • Notable Product: The playful “sheep’s tooth” take on houndstooth.

  “That’s worked incredibly well... it is a piece that still can be relatively perennial in how it lives.” —Edzard van Dwyk (08:35)

Innovation Layer

• Pushing Natural Fibers: Example of merino wool swim shorts and wool fleece as alternatives to synthetic performance wear.
  • Quote:

    “We released swim shorts made out of merino wool—100% merino wool with a biodegradable lining... a product that people would think would have to be synthetic and show that you can actually also create it using merino wool.” —Edzard van Dwyk (08:35)

Technology & Transparency

• Connected Dot: NFC tags in garments grant customers total transparency (tracing supply chain, carbon impact, even “adopting a sheep”).
  • Quote:

    “What we developed is something called the connected dock, which is a little NFC tag that goes into all our garments that you can then scan with your phone and you can see the whole supply chain journey behind it.” —Edzard van Dwyk (11:58)

  • Data is third-party audited for credibility.
• Storytelling: Encouraging customers to be brand storytellers; technology serves to deepen engagement and provenance.
  • Quote:

    “Internally, we call it made for the interesting... people want to tell those stories... we give them the tools to do that.” —Edzard van Dwyk (11:58)

Community and Physical Retail

• Omnichannel Pivot: Originally digital-only due to Covid, Sheep Inc. now invests in physical retail to celebrate tactility and direct community connection.
  • Quote:

    “We’re very tactile products. So we kind of knew existing in a physical space was going to be important for us... a big part of [our recent] fundraise was also being able to build a first retail experience.” —Edzard van Dwyk (15:33)

Segment 2: Klättermusen—50 Years of Outdoor Innovation

Guest: Gonz Ferrero (CEO & Owner, Klättermusen)

Product-First Philosophy

• Functional Purity: Klättermusen remains steadfast in its focus on function and purposeful product development.
  • Quote:

    “We are an outdoor brand. We make outdoor gear and we do that on a functional level first and foremost." —Gonz Ferrero (17:43)

• Distinct Scandinavian Ethos: Encourages comfort with, not conquest of, nature—a key difference in brand positioning.
  • Quote:

    “We don’t look at nature as something that needs to be conquered. It’s more about living nature, being comfortable with nature. That’s a more Scandinavian approach.” —Gonz Ferrero (00:58, 17:43)

Differentiation in a Crowded Field

• Counter-Cultural Identity: Embraces an “anti-establishment” spirit—experimentation, questioning conventions, and a willingness to fail.
  • Quote:

    “People... look at us as being a little bit of a counter brand, you know, sort of the anti-establishment in a way, which we take as an important responsibility to keep trying and keep doing things.” —Gonz Ferrero (19:29)

Celebrating 50 Years: The Book and Beyond

• Anniversary Book: “Klättermusen ABC”—a non-linear history celebrating collaborators, failures, and prototypes as much as successes.
  • Quote:

    “It takes 50 years to be an overnight success... every product that we have now that is successful is... maybe on its hundredth iteration from our perspective.” —Gonz Ferrero (21:47)

  • Inspiration from a Japanese mountaineering book underscores the non-linear, multi-faceted evolution of the brand.

Community-Centric Retail Space

• New Stockholm Space: A hybrid of workshop, retail, and community hub—echoing Klättermusen’s origins.
  • Workshops, gear swaps, and events foster deeper connections among outdoor enthusiasts.
  • Quote:

    “It originated from a workshop... where people would come together and... create patterns of products and... empirically test them... craft nights or evenings where these things could happen feels... very modern in a way.” —Gonz Ferrero (24:20)

Experiences & Brand Culture

• Immersive Experiences: Now organizing outdoor activities with guides—not just sponsorship, but authentic partnerships.
  • Emphasizes unique Scandinavian outdoor culture and its therapeutic, unplugged experience.
  • Quote:

    “Our vision is to inspire people to go out in nature... we have this amazing backyard... so we also work with guides... how can we make your work easier within the Klättermusen platform?” —Gonz Ferrero (26:46)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

| Time | Speaker | Quote | |------------|----------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:18 | Edzard van Dwyk | “If you would break that down to value per wear, it would exceed anything from fast fashion.” | | 04:13 | Laura Kramer | “It’s really important to have this conversation... factor in that whole life cycle of products, 100%.” | | 06:04 | Edzard van Dwyk | “We started talking with farms before we started talking with manufacturers...” | | 08:35 | Edzard van Dwyk | “Swim shorts made out of merino wool... perform just like regular swim shorts.” | | 11:58 | Edzard van Dwyk | “What we developed is... a little NFC tag... you can see the whole supply chain journey behind it.” | | 17:43 | Gonz Ferrero | “We are an outdoor brand. We make outdoor gear and we do that on a functional level first and foremost.” | | 19:29 | Gonz Ferrero | “People... look at us as being a little bit of a counter brand... anti-establishment in a way.” | | 21:47 | Gonz Ferrero | “It takes 50 years to be an overnight success. That's sort of how we felt.” | | 24:20 | Gonz Ferrero | “It originated from a workshop... people would come together and create patterns of products.” | | 26:46 | Gonz Ferrero | “Our vision is to inspire people to go out in nature... we have this amazing backyard..." |

Key Takeaways

• Sheep Inc. reimagines the supply chain relationship and leverages transparency and tech for a more engaged, value-driven form of consumption.
• Klättermusen stands out by remaining fiercely purpose-driven, turning its anti-mainstream culture, product iterations, and community ethos into core strengths.
• Both brands highlight the power of storytelling, innovation rooted in tradition, and building authentic communities—proving that winter warmth, in business as in apparel, is about far more than just materials.

For more information, check out Sheep Inc. and Klättermusen.