Prince’s dig at synthetics shows his thinking’s not woolly

is known for his passion for plants, but this may be the strangest crop Prince Charles has yet tried to raise.

In a curious experiment to establish the comparative qualities of wool and synthetic fibre, he buried two jumpers in a flowerbed at Clarence House.

His aim was to illustrate wool’s virtues as a material that is not only versatile but recyclable and totally biodegradable. Prince Charles recalled how, “six months later, a ceremonious exhumation revealed an intact synthetic jersey, fit indeed to be washed and worn, while the woollen jersey had quietly and usefully biodegraded itself away to nothing”.

Not content with that, he set fire to a pile of jumpers, one synthetic, the other woollen, to test their fire-retardant qualities. “Synthetic jerseys produced a dramatic and disconcerting blaze,” he concluded, “while their woollen counterparts merely smouldered in relative safety.”

There is something of the mad scientist in the prince’s tests, recalling his famous habit of talking to his plants, but they are in line with his thinking on the environment.

He has long been credited with popularising organic produce. He has now turned his attention to the wonders of wool. This week he will host the Dumfries House Conference in Scotland, bringing together what he calls “a great gathering of wool people”, including spinners, weavers, designers, carpetmakers, sheep farmers, retailers and mill owners.

As he pointed out, the wool price has fallen sharply in recent years, with some farmers receiving less than the cost of shearing their sheep, as a result of manufacturers turning to synthetic materials. “I want to encourage a much greater understanding of wool, not only as a global environmental resource — versatile, sustainable, renewable and natural — but also as a global fashion resource of the highest quality,” he said. — ©