Awards: British Wool Finds New Purpose in Construction, Horticulture and Product Design

The 2026 Innovation in Wool Awards have recognised three businesses demonstrating how British wool can be adapted for applications well beyond its traditional markets, from rigid acoustic building materials and peat-free horticultural products to innovative bedding design.

Selected from five finalists, this year's winners highlight the potential of wool as a versatile, renewable raw material for industries seeking alternatives to conventional synthetic and resource-intensive materials. The awards also underline an important challenge for the British wool industry: creating new commercial markets that make better use of the fibre, particularly coarser wool that has fewer established outlets in traditional textile manufacturing.

Wull Technologies received the main award for LAMDA, an innovative rigid material manufactured entirely from British sheep wool. SilviBio took second place for PROPA, its wool-based peat-free growing medium, while Devon Duvets was awarded third place for its Folding Pillow, which rethinks the construction and functionality of a familiar household product.

Re-engineering wool for construction

Wull Technologies' Lamda
Photo by Mark Waugh

The winning innovation from Wull Technologies challenges the conventional perception of wool as a soft, flexible fibre. Its LAMDA technology transforms British sheep wool into a rigid, self-supporting material without the need for additional binding agents. Unlike conventional composites, the process uses no plastic binders, synthetic carrier fibres, resins, starches or latex. Instead, the wool itself provides both the structure and the binding mechanism.

The technology's first commercial application is LAMDA Hush, a range of acoustic panels and baffles designed for interior environments. The company has already supplied acoustic baffles to the Sister Building in Manchester, demonstrating that the material has progressed beyond the prototype stage.

Further potential applications include rigid packaging and thermal insulation systems for both internal and external use, although these will require additional testing and accreditation.

Of particular significance to the British wool sector is the opportunity to create higher-value uses for coarser grades of wool, which can be difficult to place in traditional textile markets. At an indicative density of approximately 140kg per cubic metre, LAMDA incorporates around 140kg of clean British wool into each cubic metre of finished material.

The development has attracted wider environmental recognition, with Wull Technologies also nominated for The Earthshot Prize 2027.

Wool offers an alternative for horticulture

SilviBio's Propa - lettuce block

SilviBio's second-placed PROPA growing medium explores wool's potential in horticulture, where the search for viable peat-free alternatives is gaining urgency. With restrictions on peat use in professional horticulture due to take effect from 2030, the industry faces the challenge of finding substrates that can replicate peat's physical structure and moisture-management properties.

SilviBio has developed a system incorporating wool into a growing medium designed for peat-free production. Its technology combines mechanical processing to create mouldable structures with biotechnology intended to support plant growth and reduce fertiliser requirements.

Wool's natural ability to retain moisture, combined with its mechanical strength and biodegradability, makes it a promising material for this application. PROPA is designed to offer improved water retention and transplantability, while providing the potential for a scalable supply chain.

The project illustrates how wool's inherent properties could be harnessed in a sector far removed from its established fashion and interiors markets, opening up another potential avenue for commercial demand.

Rethinking the everyday pillow

Devon Duvets - Sunlit cotton pillows on warm linen

The third award went to Devon Duvets, a family-run business based in Devon, for its Folding Pillow. Rather than developing a completely new material, the company has focused on improving the design and functionality of an everyday bedding product through considered construction.

Made using British wool and natural cotton, the pillow features separate wool-filled sections, unfilled hinge areas and an integral pocket. This allows it to fold over itself in different configurations, providing varying levels of support to suit individual preferences.

The construction also makes the pillow easier to open out and air between uses, while allowing the entire product to be washed when necessary without removing the wool filling. Combining British wool with local craftsmanship, the design demonstrates how product innovation can extend the usefulness and longevity of familiar household products.

Creating new commercial markets for wool

Established in 2018, the Innovation in Wool Awards recognise advances in wool-related products and technologies, with particular emphasis on commercially viable applications. Judging criteria include the benefits to British sheep farming, the use of British wool fibre and the contribution of British manufacturing.

The 2026 judging panel was led by Dame Mary Archer and included representatives from The Woolmen Livery Company, The Company of the Merchants of the Staple of England, The Lord Barnby Foundation and the Campaign for Wool.

Commenting on the three winning projects, Sir David Wootton of The Woolmen Livery Company highlighted their different approaches to innovation, from transforming wool's physical properties into a rigid material to developing an alternative growing substrate and rethinking the construction of a familiar household product. He noted that their common strength was the development of applications in which wool serves a specific functional purpose rather than simply being an ingredient.

The awards are funded by The Woolmen's Company Charitable Incorporated Organisation, The Company of the Merchants of the Staple of England Charitable Trust and The Lord Barnby Foundation, with support from the Campaign for Wool.

For Campaign for Wool Chairman Ian Maclean MBE, encouraging new applications and markets is essential to the future of the industry and the British farmers who produce the fibre. He welcomed the winners' ability to combine wool's natural properties with fresh thinking and a willingness to challenge conventional applications.

The three projects demonstrate that the future of wool may increasingly depend on looking beyond its established role in clothing, textiles and interiors. By translating its natural characteristics into practical, performance-led solutions for construction, horticulture and consumer products, these businesses are helping to broaden the fibre's commercial relevance.

Ultimately, the challenge will be to turn promising innovations into scalable, commercially competitive products. The 2026 awards provide encouraging evidence that British wool has considerable potential to play a wider role in the development of more sustainable materials and manufacturing.