Reda was founded in 1865 in Valle Mosso, in the Biella wool district of Piedmont, by Carlo Reda. The Botto Poala family took control in 1919 and still owns the company, four generations later, chaired today by Francesco Botto Poala. What actually separates Reda from most of the mills on this list is not the founding date. It is that Reda owns the ground its wool grows on, not just the looms that weave it. That distinguishes it from Biella neighbours like Drago, known instead for its Super 130s to 210s fineness range, and Guabello, a smaller single-site mill in nearby Mongrando. Piacenza, further up the valley, works a different fibre altogether: cashmere and vicuña rather than merino wool.
Three stations, and they are in New Zealand
Buyers often assume a mill that owns its own merino pastures must be sourcing from Australia, since Australia is the country most people associate with the fibre. I checked before writing this page, because getting that wrong to a buyer who has done the same check would undo everything else on it: Reda's three stations are in New Zealand, not Australia.
The company bought its first, Otamatapaio, in 1993. Rugged Ridges followed in 1997 and Glenrock in 2003, both in the Waitaki Valley and Mackenzie District of the South Island. Together the three run to roughly 30,000 hectares, about 74,000 acres, carrying some 30,000 sheep. The same standard applies to any mill claim: ask for the specific station and the specific country, not the flattering generalisation.
Reda formalised that supply chain further in 2009, agreeing with the Merino New Zealand Company to source raw material exclusively from ZQ-certified farms, an industry welfare and land-management standard. It was also the first vertical-cycle wool mill in Europe to hold EMAS certification, the EU's own environmental management scheme. Ownership of the stations is the headline fact; the certifications are the part a buyer can actually ask to see paperwork for, rather than take on trust.
16.5 microns, and what fine actually costs
Rugged Ridges alone runs around 5,500 wethers with wool averaging 16.5 microns, among the finest raw merino a working station produces at scale. Glenrock carries roughly 7,500 Merino and halfbred ewes on top of that.
Fine like this is not free. A 16.5 micron fibre drapes beautifully and feels soft against the collar, and it also creases and scuffs more readily than a coarser, heavier weave. I would not sell Reda's finest counts to a client who wants one suit to survive five days a week on a commuter train. Fine wool rewards a wardrobe with more than one jacket in it, so it can rest between wears; it punishes a wardrobe that only has room for one.
Two bunches, two different jobs
Reda's current suiting divides cleanly by weight. The 130's Suit collection runs 260 to 275 g/m and covers most business suiting plus a small run of ceremony cloths, built to work across seasons. The 150's Suit collection is finer, around 245 g/m, entirely virgin wool except for one article blended with 10% cashmere.
When I quote the 150's bunch, I flag the weight difference before price, because a client comparing two swatches by hand alone will not feel 25 grams for himself. The 130's is the safer order for a client's everyday suit. Save the 150's for the second order, once he already owns a workhorse suit to rotate with and is buying the finer cloth for what it is, not as his only option.
What B Corp certification does and does not tell you
Reda became the first Italian textile company to hold B Corp certification in 2020, and moved to formal "società benefit" status in Italy in 2022. That is a real audit against environmental and social standards, not a marketing badge Reda applies to itself.
It is also not a promise about how our own orders ship. None of it changes lead time, rework terms, or what happens if a delivery arrives short, and we would not present a mill's own certification as if it were a service commitment we are making on Reda's behalf. It tells a buyer how Reda runs Reda. It does not tell them how we run an order.
Special order, not shelf stock
We do not hold Reda cloth in Shanghai. If a shop needs fabric on the cutting table this month, this is not that order: wool grown in New Zealand, milled in Biella, then routed to Shanghai is never a same-week story, and we would rather say that plainly than let a shop find out after paying a deposit.
We buy Reda cloth as a customer of the mill, the same as any tailoring house. We are not an authorised dealer, a licensee, or a representative of Reda. The wool is Italian-milled from New Zealand fibre; the cutting and sewing happen in our own atelier in Shanghai. We call the finished garment made to measure, not bespoke, on every page, including this one.
Related: suppliers directory · suit fabric guide · contact us