From a rainy neighborhood in Paris, hollers of encouragement rang out as fans cheered for teams from around the world during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games on July 26.
In a first in Olympic history, the summer opening ceremony took place outside of a stadium, instead utilizing the landmarks of Paris as a backdrop to the games. Olympic athletes and their delegations from around the world paraded down the Seine River on boats through the heart of the city to kick off the games.
Ralph Lauren, the official outfitter of Team USA, ensured the athletes arrived in style clad in navy blue wool polo blazers tipped with red and white trim. The threads in these polo blazers have a unique tie to the American West – the wool used for the jackets is ethically grown in the region, weaving together style, heritage and sustainability.
Ralph Lauren partnered with Oregon-based ranch and wool distributor Shaniko Wool Company to source the sustainably grown wool.
Jeanne Carver, the founder of Shaniko Wool, said this relationship began when she got a call from Ralph Lauren in 2012 inquiring about an order to her then family ranch, which has been in business for multiple generations and over 150 years.
“It was the largest yarn order of my life up till then, and I didn't know what it was for,” Carver said. “ ‘It’s for a special project,’ that’s what they told me. But it turned out to be the opening ceremony sweater for Team USA for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, 2014.”
Word was out that American-grown wool was in, and as demand grew, Carver founded Shaniko Wool Company in 2018, expanding the company into what it is today. She brought on additional ranches from California, Colorado, Idaho and Nevada to source sustainable wool.
Carver explained that each ranch is certified through the Responsible Wool Standard, which ensures animal welfare, sustainable land practices, traceability of the fibers, and worker welfare quality standards are all upheld.
“So every step along the journey from the ranches to the product that’s packaged and the jacket that’s handed to an Olympic athlete, that fiber has been traced by a certification body all the way along,” Carver said.
Ralph Lauren partnered with Shaniko for three Olympic Winter Games before, but this year made history as the first Summer Olympic Games to feature the wool.
“This is the first time that our wool has been in the Summer Olympics, and I’m really excited to see that because it does show the year-round suitability of wool,” Carver said. “It’s a year-round fiber. It’s a forever fiber.”
The choice to use wool in the summer ceremony uniform seemed to have been a wise one – helping keep Team USA warm and dry during their rainy Olympic debut in Paris – but to many people back home in the American West, this choice meant so much more.
“I mean it – this truly connects us to our Olympic team in a way we would never be otherwise and it touches so many people. It touches us ranchers. I mean, these are our Olympic Legends!” Carver said. ”It’s huge and we’re really grateful and proud.”
Kat Fulwider is a student at the Reynolds School of Journalism. The story was produced in partnership with the school’s 2024 Paris Olympics Program.
