Why Wool Matters

Janine Sterland discovers the story behind The Campaign for Wool’s inspirational new film featuring the Prince of Wales

- Janine Sterland

WOOL HAS been one of the most widely used natural fibres across the world for thousands of years, thanks to its versatility, availability and unique characteristics.

Because it has environmentally friendly properties which encourage a circular cycle in returning to the earth through a natural process of biodegrading, the popularity of wool, many would assume, would be at a premium. However, as The Campaign for Wool’s new documentary film highlights, the harsh reality over time has been an overall decline in the use of many natural fibres including wool. Since the development and widescale use of manmade fibres such as petroleum-derived polyester, 69% of the world’s fibre production now comprises of synthetic oil-based materials, and only 1% is wool, according to The Campaign’s research.

Encouragingly, though, as this film explains, a movement is gaining pace to promote the use of wool as an integral component for improving the future of our planet. This is due to a growing cultural concern in the likelihood of global irreversible climate change, combined with evidence from scientific research into the damaging environmental effects of man-made fibres (such as landfill and plastic entering waterways as microfibres from the result of synthetic wash cycles),