This is the scariest chart I've seen about fibers we humans choose (or are chosen for us) to use in fashion, in home goods, & even in many industrial/construction products. It is one of the motivating factors inspiring my commitment to participate in Fibershed concepts & in reversing the petroleum-based fabric & textile expansion trend in the SoCal Fibershed where I live.
Because of the Year-long Alpaca Adventures & more recent Fibershed Adventures (Cuyama Sheep Shearing & Tanning my Hide) I've had, I started exploring the state of wool use & availability. According to Peggy Orenstein in her book “Unraveling”, "California only has the mill capacity to process 10,000 lbs [of wool] annually, yet the state produces 3million lbs - about a quarter of the country's total production. . . . In 1952 . . . Texas [had] 28 mills, . . . Today there are two. . . There are . . . About 90% fewer sheep in the US than there were in the 1940s, much of that decline happening over the last 30 years. . . "most of our wool is processed in the developing world or China . . . Sheep in this country are raised for meat or lanolin; wool has become a useless byproduct. . . [After Shearing most] People throw their wool into the garbage or incinerate it because they don't know what else to do with it."
I stumbled onto the International Wool Trade Organization's (IWTO) website, which in combination with info I've learned from some of the Fibershed.org Waste Wool Working Group meetings, helped me realize what a wonder wool is. By wool, I'm including sheep, camelid animals (alpacas, vicuña, llamas, camels), & goats, which share the fiber properties listed below. I was just wowed when I looked at wool’s fiber benefits over petroleum-based fabrics (e.g., acrylic, nylon, polyester, spandex, etc.). In fact, one of IWTO's recent slogans was Wear Wool, not Petroleum.
The below information is from Wool Performance. Wool’s natural properties offer much that petroleum-based textiles & fibers don’t. I hope you’re as wowed by the wonders of wool as much as I am!
Thermo and Moisture Management − Wool fibres create a microclimate for the body that can quickly adapt to changing situations − Wool clothing can retain or release heat and moisture allowing the body to remain comfortable whether conditions are hot, cold, dry or wet 1,6
Research results show that wearing superfine Merino wool base layers eases the redness, dryness, and cracking that comes from eczema.
Professional risk takers (e.g. firefighters, soldiers, etc.) and extreme sport athletes choose wool clothes to help them withstand extreme environmental conditions and protect them from exposure to severe situations.
IWTO_Wool-Sleep.pdf Wool can help you get to sleep faster and sleep for longer. Recent scientific studies show that wool bedding and sleepwear promote a better night’s sleep. By regulating body temperature far better than any other fibre, wool helps keep a sleeper in ‘the thermal comfort zone’. Superfine Merino wool can help improve symptoms of eczema/atopic dermatitis.
IWTO_Wool-Babies.pdf Babies use large amounts of energy to stay warm if they are in a cold environment or dressed inadequately. Wool helps babies keep up the energy reserves they need: researchers found that weight gain in underweight newborn babies was 61% higher when they slept on a wool underlay rather than cotton. In a study of Australian preschoolers and bedding, researchers found that children who slept on synthetic bedding were more likely to have a problem sleeping, than those who slept on cotton or wool.
Odor Management − By absorbing moisture, wool reduces the amount of sweat on the body − Less sweat on skin means less body odor − Wool locks in odor compounds resulting in less smell coming from the garment.
There is no doing laundry in space. Odor resistance makes wool fabric a natural choice for personnel of the International Space Station. The high oxygen levels on a space station make flame resistance important too – as does a lack of lint, which can clog up sensitive machinery.
Resilience − Wool fibres can bend 20,000 times without breaking − A wool fibre can stretch to more than 30% if its length and then return to its original shape.
Flame Resistance − Wool is high in nitrogen and water making it naturally flame resistant so there's no need for additional chemicals. Even exposed to heat above 570°C, wool won’t melt onto the skin − Wool emits less smoke and toxic gas than other fibres − When exposed to fire wool can self-extinguish, preventing the spread of flame 4,7
Soldiers, police and firemen have been relying on wool for many centuries due to the fiber’s natural protective properties. Today, those who work in high risk environments – such as astronauts, search and rescue teams, even Formula 1 drivers – benefit from wearing wool next to skin, reducing the risks associated with the danger of being exposed to flames.
Choosing carpets, bedding, curtains and soft furnishings out of wool increases the safety of your home.
UV Protection − Wool offers natural UV protection by absorbing radiation throughout the UV spectrum − Wool fabrics have a UV protection factor of 30+
Anti-Static − Wool retains moisture, making it less prone to building up a static electric charge − This is an important factor in the operation of electrical equipment − It is also one of the reasons that makes wool fabric a top choice for space travel.
The wool use phase is where wool is expected to have a low environmental impact compared to other fibres. Research has shown that wool garments are washed less often, washed at cooler temperatures, are mostly air-dried rather than tumble-dried, and last longer than other garments made of other fibres.
The end of life phase looks at impacts related to what happens to a product after it is no longer needed. This includes: − Number of times a product is recycled − End of life such as land fill, incineration or biodegradation As wool garments are quite durable, they are often donated or re-sold for a second and third use phase. Wool garments also lend themselves well for recycling. Recyclability is an important factor for sustainable products, because the environmental impacts created throughout the supply chain become relative the longer a product is used. Being a natural fibre, wool readily biodegrades in land and in water. In fact, preliminary data is showing that, if ingested, the proportion of natural microfibers in the digestive tract of birds declined from throat indicating that they are likely being digested & eliminated via poop & then biodegrading in the environment. In comparison, microplastics accumulate in the digestive tracks of animals that swallow petroleum-based fibers & do not degrade in the environment - they just turn into smaller & smaller microplastics, affecting the entire environment.
Visit Fibershed.org's Upstream Solutions for Microplastics Pollution for a succinct recap on why petroleum-based fibers need to be phased out. Take this "What's in Your Closet?" survey to explore what you wear.
Stay tuned for future Fibershed Adventures about how we’re re-building the plant & wool fiber processing & manufacturing infrastructure (on-shoring) in our Fibersheds!