Just Another Wooly Post!
I love wool, it's probably the best next to skin undergarment you can wear, but over the last several years it been outperformed, in economic terms, by various synthetics!
Lately, though, something’s shifted. Prices have jumped 26% since September, which is a big deal in an industry where margins are extremely tight.
And the good news for wool producers is that there seems to be a genuine shift in people's tastes feeding into this change....
From plastic overload to natural fibres
It's easy to forget that so many of our clothes are basically plastic, I mean I've been tempted to order cheep fleeces online, they're horrible, and we all know about the grim impact on our oceans in the longer term,
wool by contrast feels much nicer, is renewable, breaks down naturally, keeps you warm, and lasts.
All in all wool is a much better fit with those who support low impact living and circular economies, it fits right in with ethical consumption!
Weather, farming, and happier sheep
Weather and the environment matter a lot to sheep. Back in 2018, drought wrecked the wool crop. The fibres were weaker, and prices fell. Better weather lately means better fleeces.
However this fact also makes us realise there is a challenge ahead for British sheep farmers..... with unpredictable weather they can't guarantee a year on year decent wool crop, and it's not clear either which breeds they should invest in long term.
Final Thoughts....
I do like a natural fibre, so while the increasing prices are good news for wool manufacturers, not so good for me the potential end consumer!
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Wollen jocks? very scratchy I think...
There's lots of different breeds and, as with grains, interest in rearing more ancient ones with better resilience to adverse climates. Wool is extraordinary in how it regulates body temperature and is much warmer than synthetics (although did your recent cold environment post say different?) - their advantage is being lightweight. Modern manufacturing though using "blown" yarns means that you can have the warmth of wool and the lightness of synthetics.
I guess there is the argument of synthetics winning on the sustainability side as they last forever and can be re-cycled, but they have a hidden cost that is transferred elsewhere in the economy - maybe to health and environmental management like increased flooding - rather than the direct cost of wool. Sheep do need land, though, which would probably otherwise be forested, so I guess lots of weighing up of pros and cons environmentally.