Pull the wool from your eyes

DROWNED in an ocean of plastic fibres and misinformation, wool is at risk of being mistaken for a cause, rather than a solution, of the environmental crisis. A new film, Why Wool Matters, sets out to debunk some of the misconceptions and re-assert wool’s eco-friendly credentials.

The problem, says Peter Ackroyd of the Campaign for Wool (CW), is that ‘sheep and wool are highlighted as being bad for the planet in terms of methane’. Instead, proper management techniques can reduce sheep’s emissions, allowing animals to continue helping preserve carbon-locking grasslands— a major benefit in the textiles industry, which is heavily reliant on oil by-products and produces about 1.2 billion tons of carbon (more than international aviation and maritime shipping combined).

Unlike synthetic materials, ‘wool does not contribute to the ever-growing landfill sites,’ notes Mr Ackroyd. ‘Let us not forget petrochemical fibres create more pollution than plastic bottles.’ By contrast, wool can be repaired, recycled or upcycled until, as The Prince of Wales, CW’S patron, explains, it makes ‘its natural return to the soil’. With consumers increasingly mindful of their ecological footprint,

Mr Ackroyd would like to see the fashion world adopt labelling that highlights what is involved in a garment’s life. ‘If labelling identified a garment as sitting in landfill for hundreds, if not thousands of years, then [a] purchase may be more carefully considered.’

Wool can also replace chemicals and synthetic materials in everything from insulation to packaging, laundry aids (Tumble Dryer Balls)—and even plasters (Woolaid, launching in the UK next year).

All this will be welcome news for The Prince of Wales, for whom ‘only wool provides the ultimate reassurance of sustainability’.