Matt Jensen, founder and CEO of Australian menswear label MJ Bale, believes there’s “too much product” in the world — a surprising stance for someone in fashion retail. Yet, that philosophy fuels his company’s mission to craft fewer items with greater purpose and quality. “I know I have too much stuff,” Jensen admits. “We all do. The object here at MJ Bale is to make less, but do it far better.”
This week, MJ Bale launches its boldest sustainability project yet: the Mantova blazer, a tailored jacket made from wool sourced from merino sheep fed on seaweed. The unique feeding method drastically reduces the animals’ carbon dioxide emissions. Retailing at $2500, the blazer is significantly more expensive than the brand’s typical tuxedo jackets, which usually cost around $750. Only 120 units will be available.
The project represents eight years of work, according to Jensen, who entered fashion after leaving a career in banking in 1995 and founding Herringbone Clothing. MJ Bale itself was launched in 2009. In 2015, the brand partnered with Simon Cameron, a Tasmanian woolgrower at Kingston farm, where much of MJ Bale’s merino wool is sourced.
In 2019, MJ Bale commissioned a carbon footprint analysis of its merino wool suits. Backed by the University of Tasmania, the study revealed that 52% of emissions in suit production came from wool creation, with 70% of those emissions caused by sheep belching methane. The breakthrough came through Sam Elsom of Sea Forest, who developed a method of reducing methane emissions by 80–90% by feeding sheep seaweed.
Jensen recalls that the partnership began by chance. “It all came about organically. We were actually using one of Sam’s Land Rovers for a shoot and got to chatting. He told us about his work and we were instantly intrigued.”
The first batch of wool from seaweed-fed sheep was produced in 2020, maintaining the high quality of Cameron’s traditional wool. MJ Bale initially used it for knitwear, but the Mantova blazer marks the first tailored garment crafted from this innovative fibre. The wool was woven in Pratrivero, Italy at the prestigious Vitale Barberis Canonico mill, and the final jacket was tailored in the village of Mantova at Lubiam.
“Our view is that men want clothes that make them feel good, from the fibre onwards,” Jensen says. “Customers have responded really well to what we’ve done so far with our knitwear. People want to know the provenance of what they’re wearing.”
Though the Mantova blazer is a limited-edition release, Jensen is optimistic about scaling the initiative. The initial seaweed-fed trial included 48 sheep, but by 2021, that number expanded to 500, vastly increasing wool output. However, large-scale production is essential for sustainability, both ecologically and financially. “You need volume to do this,” says Jensen. “It’s a long process – about two years from the first feeding of the sheep to getting products on shelves. And it’s costly. Without large-scale production it’s very hard. You have to be pretty committed to make it happen.”
That commitment is clear in MJ Bale’s previous innovations, such as its “net-zero knits”, a line of carbon-minimized knitwear made entirely in Australia. Transport was kept low-impact: wool moved by bicycle across Tasmania and by sailboat to the mainland. The brand also features collections made exclusively from wool grown on the Ashby family farm in Tasmania.
“Bale is in the name,” Jensen notes, pointing to the label’s deep respect for raw material and sustainability. “We have a passion for material and a high degree of provenance for products.”
Looking ahead, MJ Bale is planning to expand internationally, with potential store openings in the United Kingdom. Jensen believes the future of fashion lies in specialization rather than mass production. “I believe the coming years will be about specialists. People and brands that create great things, but not so many of them, for customers who really care.”
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