Campaign for Wool launches Wool Month this October

As the world battles with climate change and issues around over-consumption, emissions and non-biodegradable waste, The Campaign for Wool designates October as Wool Month 2022 in the UK, celebrating all things wool, from clothing to home interiors and lifestyle products, and a wide range of 21st century commercial and industrial uses. 

Wool Month celebrates wool's natural attributes and benefits and its unassailable environmental credentials.  For this year’s flagship event, The Campaign for Wool reminds consumers "Why Wool Matters," and encourages us all to ask more questions about the products we buy and, most importantly, where they come from, putting the focus firmly on wool’s natural attributes.

Under the patronage of King Charles III, Wool Month flagship event was launched at London's Saville Row on October 5th, hosted by Sir Nicholas Coleridge, Chairman of the Campaign for Wool.
Photo courtesy Campaign for Wool.

Some of the UK’s most important brands and retailers are participating in Wool Month. From a launch event in Yorkshire for the key wool manufacturing industry, and a flagship event in London on 5 October for leading retailers and brands, to a series of additional events and collaborations across the UK, a host of new cutting-edge wool designs and products will be released and brought together, highlighting wool’s natural and sustainable qualities.

Sir Nicholas Coleridge, Chairman, Campaign For Wool, said “Supported by its Patron, His Majesty King Charles III, Wool Month has become an increasingly important annual event. As the planet issues become more prevalent and natural fibre awareness increasingly important, industry relationships deepen and resources, insights and technology are increasingly shared, the Campaign for Wool’ ripple effect’ can be felt more widely now than ever before.” 

Woolroom

Brora

 

 

According to The Campaign for Wool, pure wool is 100% natural, 100% renewable, 100% sustainable and 100% biodegradable.  

Among the brands taking part is Marks & Spencer which is launching the new 

Originals Menswear Collection. 

Marks & Spencer Photo: Originals Menswear Collection

 Other participating brands include womenswear label Hobbs presenting from its new AW22 Collection wool tweeds from Abraham Moon and Sons, while luxury fashion brand Brora is showcasing a new jumper design, the result of a graduate design project, manufactured using Knoll wool yarns. 

British knitwear brand John Smedley is showcasing a special Limited-Edition jumper called the ‘Cornwall’, in a unique partnership with The Campaign for Wool and sourced using wool exclusively from farms on the Duchy of Cornwall estate.  

Unisex tailoring and knitwear brand Walker Slater has created a new collection featuring British Wool and Harris Tweed Hebrides cloth, while luxury wool bedding specialist Woolroom has launched a new sustainable Merino sleepwear collection in collaboration with Smalls Merino.  Tailors along London’s Savile Row and across the city are also supporting the Wool Month campaign with a series of special pop-up window displays.

When made into clothing, wool is warm but also cool thus it adapts to the wearer.  

A special guest who had flown over from South Africa to co-host the London event was Stefan Gerber, owner of Gerber & Co.  He said “We are thrilled to be in the UK to celebrate Wool Month and  showcase our traceable Merino pieces that use the communities in South Africa to bring you the wool we nurture and craft. We are a family business, and our plan is simple – where there is a wool there is a way. Gerber & Co have been building, rebuilding and reviving old crafts and upskilling new ones, mentoring and investing to use the finest wools to create heritage wool pieces.” 

For interiors, wool is flame retardant and will often self-extinguish, making it a safe choice for a variety of applications in homes and commercial premises.

Participating brands in the lifestyle and craft sector include Johnstons of Elgin which has launched a Limited Edition 'Farmers Blanket’ woven in 100% Scottish Blue faced Leicester wool, and in conjunction with a local artist and farmer Carolyn Milne is being released as an anniversary blanket to celebrate their 225 years in business.

 A group of UK flooring brands will also launch new wool designs including Abbingdon, Alternative Flooring, Axminster Carpets, Brintons, Brockway, Cavalier Carpets, Cormar, Crucial Trading, Hugh McKay, Kingsmead, Manx Tompkinson, Penthouse Carpets, The Real Shetland Company, Ulster Carpets, Victoria and Wessex, along with FLOOR_STORY, and their luxury rug designs.

While wool carpets and rugs can take lots of heavy wear and are known to look better for longer, wool is ideal for beds, pillow, duvet and blankets.

Wool toys hand-made in London by cdbdi.co.uk

Wool has hypoallergenic and anti-bacterial properties, thus makes the air that we breathe cleaner and better, and it is ideal choice for childrenswear and children's blankets and even for stuffed toys.

Wool Pots, along with Ocean Sheep wool rope, were
Winners of the 2022 Wool Innovation Awards.

Among the latest applications of  wool is using it for creating plant pots. According to founders of Wool-Pots.co.uk, Wool Pots offer a biodegradable, environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to plastic plant pots, and will help reduce the amount of single use plastic in horticulture.  Manufactured in the UK and Egypt, the end use of Wool Pots mean wastage is minimal.  

The product was created to help farmers reduce the vast amount of unwanted wool and help save the planet.

According to the founders, Wool Pots have been created after they discovered that some 500 million plastic plant pots were reportedly being sent to landfill in the UK every year.  Meanwhile British farmers, in despair, are burning their wool because they have no viable market for their fleeces.  With these two challenges in mind Wool Pots have been created as a viable alternative to plastic pots and a huge benefit to the planet.

"We have friends who farm sheep and it gives us huge pride to continue the British tradition of product innovation and creativity to help them create a new market for their wool, said founder Graham.  "Our Egyptian factory plants two trees for every order under their 'buy one get one tree' re-greening the desert initiative and our Scottish factory reduces transport miles for UK orders and promotes British manufacturing.

For more information about the Wool Month and Campaign for Wool, click HERE.

Photos at Wool Month flagship event © Lucia Carpio 2022