British wool

the wool trade died decades ago,theres no money in it apparently.My late father worked for a wool merchant for decades and even before his death 26 years ago the man made fibres were taking over from wool .Sadly the company he worked for closed its doors just after he died after 150 years in the industry and the same family

Very sad news Namsnanny but, as paddyanne says there seems to be little point in the farmers going in to it. I seem to remember one farmer saying he was getting £4 a fleece on one of the farming programmes last year. It simply isn't worth it to them.

My biggest sadness will be if, just as we realise this is what we want, we discover no one is producing it any more. Some farms seem to go for specialist wools but they do seem to have to do a lot of direct selling of the finished product to make it work.

I’ve had several food box deliveries lately where the products have been protected by wool insulation, which seems a pretty sensible idea. I don’t suppose it will make much of an inroad into the total production but at least it’s something - and environmentally friendly.
www.woolcool.com

Apart from last year when it was online only, I have been going to woolfest in Cumbria each June.
It's a festival devoted to sheep and wool and the beautiful things that can be made from and with the real stuff!
No acrylic in sight!
I bought several fleeces to spin, very cheaply and some gorgeous wool to keep me busy for years add to my stash.
I know what paddyanne says is true of the industry on a large scale but the small producers are still producing.
www.woolfest.co.uk/

We have a wool duvet and our new bed has wool in the mattress, all British manufactured, so some places are being innovative.

I can’t wear wool next to my skin otherwise I would buy more wool products.

Links for anyone interested.

www.baavet.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home

www.harrisonspinks.co.uk/harrison

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/business/farming/2793607/british-wool-to-close-four-depots-in-1-5m-cost-saving-drive/#:~:text=British%20Wool%20is%20to%20close,the%20loss%20of%2040%20jobs.

It is, in the main, because of Civid, subsequent restrictions and lack of demand for carpets from the hospitality sector including cruise companies.
British Wool still has depots open and will still be operating.
The CEO said:
“Rest assured, things will improve and British Wool will be working hard to support the recovery of the wool trade in order to maximise the value of your wool.”

The sooner we can get back to some kind of normal, the better.

Small outlets which produce wool for niche markets, eg knitting wools for handknitters, shouldn't be affected as far as I know.

Sorry
www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/business/farming/2793607/british-wool-to-close-four-depots-in-1-5m-cost-saving-drive/#:~:text=British%20Wool%20is%20to%20close,the%20loss%20of%2040%20jobs.

Namsnanny, it's just unnecessary cruelty to animals anyway. I'm glad it's going.

We used to wear wool vests, in winter, as children. I always had an itchy rash. It wasn't a lanolin allergy, just a reaction to all the microscopic sharp hooks in the wool.

I prefer to knit with bamboo, hemp or cotton yarn - much nicer to work with.

Yes, much better to leave them wild with their fleeces growing until they can hardly walk or die of heat exhaustion.

Everyone has their preferences, Hetty58 but why is considered necessary for vegans to force their views on others at every opportunity and proclaim that whatever they do is better?

I'm glad it's going.
What an attitude when many livelihoods are at stake.

Knitting wool is a very minor aspect of the wool industry.

Shearing sheep in midsummer isn't cruelty!

Hetty reminds me of a reference I saw in the 1960s about wool (I think it was in Nova) The writer clearly had no idea what he/she was talking about, speaking of the cruelty of leaving "lambs" to freeze to death. Cue mental picture of tiny lamb having its little woolly coat ripped off and being left in the snow.
Reality -
1) Shearing of domesticated sheep is done in midsummer, when the fleece is too hot and heavy for comfort, and when wild sheep naturally moult. Domestication has bred out the moulting phase, so if they are not sheared they continue to carry their fleece around. The fibres do weaken near the roots and start to gradually break up, with the bit at the root growing longer and pushing the old wool up, but it takes a while and comes off patchily (and this spoils the fleece for spinning, as the weak spots in the middle of each fibre weaken the finishes yarn) Some ancient breeds are still near enough to the origin wild sheep for their fleece to loosen, and the loose fibres are plucked free (it is called "rooing" and takes a long time to gather)

2) Lambs are not sheared when they are small, not until they are about a year and a half old - as big as their mothers (who they have left by then) and just as strong and hardy. They live outside all year. "Lambswool" is the name for the fine fibre from this first shearing. "Astrakhan" is a product that is never produced in Britain. It is not sheared wool at all, but the skin (yukk) of unborn or newborn lambs - It was used for coats in the past, but I don't even know whether it is produced anywhere now.

3) The alternatives, manmade fabrics, involve a lot of energy to produce, and a lot of petroleum-based chemicals, both of which contribute to environmental concerns and send gases into the atmosphereto add to global warming. They will never rot down, however long they lie around in landfill when they are no longer of use. Wool rots down and returns nutrients to the earth.

4) Being allergic to a substance does not entitle anyone to consign it and a whole industry to oblivion.

Another use for fleece is as an insulator - instead of fibreglass.
I used to make a lot of my own clothes and am still wearing skirts made from scotch tweed which I made over 10 years ago.
It was expensive to buy but seems to last for ever. I can't remember the name of the company. But also bought some tweed from the Otterburn wool mills.
Sadly they've stopped selling tweed by the metre now.

I saw a farming programme on tv where the farmer said it cost more to shear the sheep than he got for the fleece.

Blame moths for the unpopularity of wool now because larvae love to chew up the carpet or wool clothes. Costly..

Wool is much warmer than synthetics and if it’s itchy for you, try merino wool garments. I have merino wool base layers, kept me lovely and warm in the Arctic Circle at three in the morning!

Good point Shrub. My wool skirts are all lined, and I have silk tee-shirt vests from John Lewis which I wear under wool jumpers.

Grammaretto

Apart from last year when it was online only, I have been going to woolfest in Cumbria each June.
It's a festival devoted to sheep and wool and the beautiful things that can be made from and with the real stuff!
No acrylic in sight!
I bought several fleeces to spin, very cheaply and some gorgeous wool to keep me busy for years add to my stash.
I know what paddyanne says is true of the industry on a large scale but the small producers are still producing.
www.woolfest.co.uk/

That sounds really interesting Grammaretto. Something for my bucket list, if/when Covid retreats.

I think specialist wools seem to be in demand, but I suppose only to a small market.

Icelandic wool is very popular, and I saw a hand knitted jumper for sale at £450 reduced from £600 on line the other day.

Elegran ... I agree with all your points, especially no.3.

Herry58 ... Dont forget any product has to undergo processing, and Bamboo is no different.

To manufacture Bamboo, fibres have to be subjected to the use of bleach and many chemicals.
Plus lots and lots of water, and of course, as it primarily comes from China, petrol/diesel (air miles) have to be considered.

Thank you Elegran

The wool industry will revive, Namsnanny.

Wool yarn for knitting is just a very minor aspect of it. I do agree re the moth problem, Laughterlines but it can be overcome.

One reason for the decline of the wool industry is the cheapness of acrylic fibres which, when washed, shed fibres which then find their way into the oceans.

I think several of us on here buy wool tops from Woolovers.

Fennel
I did and was shocked to read on the label 'Made in China'.
And our wool industry is struggling!

Oh dear!
But hopefully the wool comes from here and it's just processed etc in China?

As my daughter has taken up knitting to stay sane I can be sure future woollens will "made in England".

it's just unnecessary cruelty to animals anyway. I'm glad it's going.

Such a silly, uninformed post! Even if you have zero knowledge of farming practices, a quick Google will tell you why it's far more cruel not to shear sheep than it is to do it. Whilst their are some breeds of sheep that shed their own fleece in summer, the majority do not and so they just keep adding one year's growth on top of another, leading to hear stroke and death. In addition, sheep who have a very heavy fleece on them are more likely to become water logged and top heavy. They then fall over, cannot right themselves and they suffocate and die.

Here's Chris, the runaway sheep