Wool

Wool, long regarded as a symbol of New Zealand’s pastoral heritage and a sustainable alternative in an increasingly eco-conscious world, is set to take centre stage again, as it gets knitted into a government directive mandating the use of Kiwi-grown and manufactured wool carpets in public sector buildings.

The future of fashion isn’t synthetic. It’s natural. It’s regenerative. And The Sheep Inc brand embodies and symbolises ideas from a carbon-negative supply chain, premium merino wool garments and regenerative farms to that word which is at the core of many debates in the fashion world: transparency.

The Woolmark+ roadmap by Woolmark marks the launch of a major 13-point future-facing programme that aims to accelerate low-impact production, promote circularity and enhance animal wellbeing and woolgrower livelihoods.

To uphold the highest quality standards and integrity for Australian wool, the kangaroo country has launched a new accreditation scheme that seeks to capture the wide range of sustainability practices to demonstrate the responsible stewardship of natural resources.

A new initiative to help wool and cotton producers in the US is targeted at greenhouse gas reduction, emissions and sequestration, along with equity, social justice, including benefits for historically underserved groups.

LVMH is one of the biggest and richest luxury conglomerates in the world, and the vicuña wool for its Loro Piana brand is exquisite and expensive. But the indigenous farmers in Peru remain impoverished and exploited, an investigation by Bloomberg has revealed.

A seven-year Wool and Mohair Value-chain Competitiveness Project (WaMCoP) in Lesotho will promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth and help create private sector jobs.

A research project in the UK is conducting a feasibility study to evaluate the potential of reducing micron count of finer wool quality UK sheep breeds to increase productivity, sustainability and resilience for sheep farmers and the wool industry.

Netherlands could soon stop discarding the millions of tonnes of wool thanks to a Dutch designer’s innovative robot.

Estonian startup Woola that creates protective wool packaging by replacing plastic has received another round of funding of 2.5 million euros.