DIVE DEEPER:

• The first woven wool garments date back as far as 300-400BC, showing that the fibre has stood the test of time as a useful, yet renewable material.

• The major steps necessary to process wool are: shearing, scouring and cleaning, grading, carding, spinning, weaving and finishing.

• Finished wool comes in many different grades, based on the measurement of its diameter in microns. Wool finer than 25 microns can be used for clothing; over this it is used for interiors and insulation.

• Approximately one million tonnes of wool is produced each year, which equates to around 1% of the global fibre market, with the market stabilising after a period of sustained decline from its 1990 peak of two million tonnes.

• According to the IWTO, China has the highest number of sheep, followed by Australia, India, the UK and Turkey, South Africa, New Zealand and Mongolia, Argentina, Uruguay, and the USA.

• The percentage of preferred (organic, certified or recycled) wool is small, at less than 2% of production. Certifications include: the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), Certified Wildlife Friendly (CWF), Land to Market and ZQ certified wool.

• Most certifications include the 'Five Freedoms' that form the basis of animal welfare: freedom from hunger, malnutrition and thirst; freedom from fear and distress; freedom from physical and thermal discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and disease; and freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour.

• As with any industrialised production system, there are many valid concerns around animal welfare issues, especially with cheaper producers. However, unlike most animal-based textiles like silk and leather, sheep are not killed for their wool, making wool an inherently sustainable fibre.

• However, mulesing is key issue in wool production to be aware of. This is where farmers cut trouble-causing skin folds without pain relief, in order to avoid the parasitic infection fly strike. This practice has been banned everywhere except for Australia (which produces over 20% of the world’s wool).

• The footprint of wool production is a contentious issue. Supporters point towards sheep’s role in the natural carbon cycle, the potential for regenerative farming practices, and wool’s low maintenance and durability. On the other hand, critics point towards sheep’s methane emissions, and that demand for wool leads to the cutting of trees to make space for grazing space and soil erosion.

• As with most natural fibre production, both camps can be right – good producers, such as Lake Hawea Station in New Zealand are already carbon positive and have clear biodiversity goals, while less sustainable producers will leave big negative footprints.

• Wool requires extensive cleaning before it is able to be processed into textiles and depending on the producer, this can involve numerous chemicals, from sulphuric acid to chlorine. It is often also given additional treatments to make it shrink-resistant or machine-washable.

• While recycled wool is not a huge industry (with an estimated total volume of only 70,000 tonnes a year), it has a long history. For example, the Italian district of Prato has been a major producer of recycled wool since the mid-19th century.

• It can be recycled in two different ways: in closed-loop systems wool is pulled back into its raw fibre state, creating yarn that can be reused for further items, while open-loop systems shred garments into material used for thermal and acoustic insulation or mattress padding.

• Furthermore, due to its durability, wool is one of the most highly reused textiles. The Center for Colour and Textile Science at Leeds University reports that wool accounts for 5% by weight of donated clothing, far in excess of its 1% share of the fibre market.

• Companies committed to sourcing certified, organic or recycled wool include: Allbirds, Bestseller, H&M, Ikea and Ralph Lauren, among others.