Choose Wool... Naturally... the Environmental Fibre for the Home

The wool industry is not always the type to blow a fanfare of trumpets to herald the many benefits of wool. It has been appreciated for centuries for its beauty and essential aesthetic values — its superb handle and uncrushable drape define it and of course it is known for its cosy warmth too.

- Bridgette Kelly

However, the generation of environmental resourcefulness is upon us. The messages are constant — we need to be more energy efficient; the more heat we use, the more carbon we produce leading to more greenhouse gases. We need to be less throwaway; our landfill sites are filling up fast. We need to stop draining the precious fossil fuels as the resources are dwindling and finite and by extruding oil to feed a population’s hunger for possessions, we leave less for essentials like transport and heat. These are not five minute fly-away concerns — they are serious and earth changing legacies for generations ahead.

So many challenges... but the answer is simple as His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales realised when he initiated his Campaign for Wool in 2010 to promote the fibre’s natural, renewable and biodegradable story. The Prince urged us to look at what nature has already provided — wool is time served and regarded by the global textile industry as being the superior choice fibre for flooring and interiors.

It has taken the textile industry many years to be as probing on the assets of their ingredients as the food or even for example, the automobile industry but as the natural and environmental market has grown significantly, so has the interest from diligent consumers and the manufacturers are now looking at fibre content in greater detail.