The British wool industry is in crisis and has been for a
long time. This beautiful sustainable by product of sheep farming is being
tossed aside in favor of plastic synthetic rubbish. Wool is one of the materials that built this country and made us rich in the 6th and 17th century.
So why now is it so worthless? With over 34 million sheep in the UK why are we not using this resource? Farmers are now after sheering the sheep, having to p lough the wool back into fields to biodegrade as it is so worthless. They pay £1 on average to shear sheep and get about 26p back if they sell the wool. This cant go on. The British wool industry used to be famous world over and we have created some of the most stunning wools and tweeds that are used in high fashion retailers. So what happened?
Demand Part of the issue is a falling demand for wool as a product. People have started to prefer low quality plastic fibers instead of warm wool. This is not just in Britain, much of our wool was exported and when demand for wool coats fell in places like China this had a knock on affect here in the UK. This trend has been seem world over and its affect was not just felt by the farmers in Britain. In the last 50 years Australia and South America have also seen rapid declines in the wool industry as farmers opt for more lucrative crops such as wheat cotton or beef.
This lack of demand is disappointing. As we have in the last 50 years become engulfed in plastics causing untold problems on human and animal health. People now instead of buying a wool jumper will choose a plastic one - with disastrous consequences down the line. Plastic when washed produces microfibers which flow out into our rivers and oceans. This is the main source of plastic pollution in the ocean is the tiny fibers that have washed out of textiles. If we want to really tackle plastic pollution, our clothing is a good place to start.
Another issue with wearing synthetic fibers is that they leach chemicals into our bodies through our skin. This has been proven to disrupt peoples natural hormones and cause toxicity in the body.
For more information on Plastic pollution click here.
For more information on Textile choices click here.
Cotton The expansion of cotton farming (which is mostly GMO) has also had a massive affect on the wool market. Cotton production is much less labor intensive than wool so was favored as the market expanded. This was one of the main causes of The Wool Crisis of 1988 as wool was so much more expensive than cheap cotton production.
Sustainability Now I know this one may get me in hot water but hear me out. Wool is one of the most sustainable fabrics that we have or that you can buy. This is because it is a buy product of the meat industry and sheep will produce their fleeces regardless. No it is not vegan, but the British wool industry has very high levels of animal welfare despite concerns over merino wool production.
Cotton requires a ridiculous amount of water and plastic fibers are extremely polluting. Unless you are vegan wool is the natural best choice along with other natural fabrics. Wool is an amazing material and is used not just for tweed jackets but outdoor clothes, rugs, carpets and insulation instead of plastic fibers. It’s high quality also means it is used in duvets and pillows as a fabric that can keep you both warm and cool.
Although it is not fashionable to say, a key part of sustainability is using what you already have available, using waste and buy products efficiently and buying locally produced textiles. I see wool as key to the development of a more sustainable society here in Britain. Although there are still issues in the industry like wool being cleaned and processed abroad (something I would like to see being brought back here) - it has an important role in our future.
Wool farming and sheep farming makes good use of many of our upland areas that are not suitable for other types of farming. I also consider sheep farming key to the sustainable development of farming in the UK as it is one of the only industries where animals are still free to roam have a high quality of life and produce natural fibers that have not been genetically modified.
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