In The Details
Wool
We are obsessed with wool.
At SteMargScot, we use 100% heirloom wool, custom-woven in small batches by a historic family-owned mill in the UK. Naturally wind, water, odour, and microbe-resistant, wool requires far less cleaning than synthetics—lucky for us.
So why are we championing wool’s comeback in outerwear? Wool has been optimized by nature and humans since 10,000 BCE, outperforming synthetics in temperature regulation, moisture management, and sustainability. Meanwhile, today’s winter coats are overwhelmingly made from polyester—a plastic derived from fossil fuels, a non-renewable resource. Despite this, synthetic materials like polyester and pleather are being produced by the millions of tons every year. It’s time for change, and we’re here to disrupt the sea of plastic coats.
Our custom-woven wool is anything but ordinary. We’re breaking free from the sameness of outerwear and returning to the warmth of natural wool in colours never seen before. It’s renewable, long-lasting, breathable, anti-wrinkle, odour-resistant, and easy to maintain. The only catch? Wool shouldn’t be machine washed or dried. But trust us, it’s worth it. Stay warm in wool, not plastic.
DYES
Full disclosure…dyes are the ‘achilles heel’ of perfecting sustainability. The natural world is full of wildly delicious colours used as dyes, and we are on a continuous journey to find ways to create dyes with as little byproducts as possible. Our wool dyes — although not perfect — are low-impact OEKO-TEX, REACH and EU flower standards certified.
We work with a 200 year-old dye house (that uses minimal amounts of dye) to reduce waste, and each fabric is piece-dyed to minimize water use. The dye house is located in the United Kingdom and exceeds local environmental and safety regulations. In addition, they removed sodium dichromate (a carcinogen and teratogen) from use, even before that was legally required.
Dying is an age-old, beloved natural resource which when scaled, causes waste. We have chosen sources who proactively reduce as much waste and by product as possible, and this is a moving target to perfect
toggles & rope
Our maple wood toggles are bespoke and hand-crafted in Toronto by a female wood-turner using remnant hard maple. Wood-turning is artisnal craft that uses a wood lathe and hand-held tools to cut a shape symmetrically around a particular axis (like a potter’s wheel). It is estimated that wood-turning has been practised since 6 B.C.
These one-of-kind toggles have been seasoned with pure hemp oil harvested from a local farm. Hemp oil protects the wood from moisture and ultraviolet rays. The toggles are individually hand-branded using a tool made by an onshore company operating since the 1950’s. What’s more Canadian than maple wood toggles?
Our 12 string-twisted rope is 100 percent wool. Ours is made in the famous Muskoka region with local sheep’s wool, minimal processing, and twisted in a small female-owned wool mill. The mill works with local farmers and purchases raw fleece from regenerative farms. Look closely and you may see evidence of nature in the fibers. We love our rope.
tencel ™
What’s on the outside keeps you warm, but what’s on the inside keeps you comfortable.
That's why we opt for TENCEL™ Lyocell and Modal because it’s not only luxuriously soft and breathable but also sustainably produced. TENCEL™ is manufactured using an environmentally conscious process that takes responsibly sourced wood, transforms it into pulp, then fibres then fabric and ultimately back into soil after the garment has been disposed of.
In addition, TENCEL™ Lyocell is produced using a closed-loop system, which means that up to 99% of water and solvents used in the process are captured, recycled, and reused rather than being released into the environment. This significantly reduces waste, water consumption, and chemical impact compared to traditional fabric production.
By using this low-impact fiber to line our coats, we ensure you get all the warmth of wool with a smooth, weightless feel against your skin—because sustainability should feel as good as it looks.
BUTTONS
Corozo nut seed buttons, also known as vegetable ivory, is sustainably made from the nut fallen from tagua palms in South America. Corozo sourcing is sustainable as they naturally fall from palms and grow in areas unsuitable for farming.
The tagua fruit grows in the equatorial rainforests of central America. The fallen seeds are harvested, dried in the sun, and finished into buttons, jewelry, chess pieces and more!
Local economies are involved in the gathering, preparation, drying, peeling, shaping, and transportation of the seeds. Our buttons are OEKO-TEX certified.