Wool receives royal nod
Farmers are being urged to put their weight behind promoting wool, after the visit of Prince Charles to champion the fibre for the international Campaign for Wool.
A woollen-suited Prince of Wales, patron of the campaign, was the royal guest at Shear Brilliance, an Auckland event to showcase wool furnishing, art and fashion. Any sign of strong wool’s fusty image was dusted off at an innovative display of a carpet couch, wool-peg necklace, Tiki artwork on merino wool and a Zambesi carpet bag.
Wool might be underperforming, but its export potential was in the billions of dollars, Federated Farmers Meat and Fibre chairwoman Jeanette Maxwell said. The status quo was not working and farmers were being encouraged to get involved in the campaign and the new Wools of New Zealand (WNZ) venture.
‘‘We have the Campaign for Wool that promotes wool globally as well as for New Zealand. The WNZ prospectus has come out and we are asking farmers to go to the meetings and ask the questions to make an informed decision for their farm business. Each time we don’t get a co-operative off the ground, it’s doubly hard the next time and we will get to the stage when no-one will try.’’
Farmers were asked this month to invest a targeted $10 million into commercialising WNZ into a sales and marketing company. A prospectus sent out to about 16,000 farmers and industry people invited them to buy a minimum of 5000 shares at $1 a share.
The offer closes on December 14, with the minimum capital-raising level set at $5m. Funds will go towards paying the venture, plus $1.8m of loans incurred with the purchase of WNZ by a trust from PGG Wrightson and the rest to develop marketing and royalty earning programmes around the company’s brands, such as Laneve and WNZ.
The Shear Brilliance exhibition had shown New Zealand’s creativity and innovation with woollen textiles and products, Campaign for Wool New Zealand chairman Stephen Fookes said.
Wool was a perfect fit for environmen- tally conscious consumers and the wool industry had a long history of research and innovations for users, he said.
The architectural and interior-design industry knew about wool’s qualities, but just needed reminding, campaign ambassador and architect Stephen McDougall said.
‘‘If you designed a fibre for modern interiors, it would have all the qualities that wool has naturally. It is fireretardant, insulates, absorbs sound, strong, abrasion-resistant, a natural humidity regulator, absorbs toxins from the air and binds them, is comfortable – and grown naturally.’’
A rug bearing the Prince of Wales’ coat of arms is being handcrafted in Christchurch by wool exporter New Zealand Wool Services International and will be given to the prince to honour his role.
The industry was fortunate to have a dedicated champion of wool, managing director Michael Dwyer said.
The rug was on display at the exhibition and will return to Christchurch to be completed. The campaign is being run by the wool industries of New Zealand, Britain and Australia.