Where is all our Wool?

In 2014 I was studing a Bachelor of Agriculture at the University of New England. It was a wonderful degree that grew my excitement for Agriculture. One of my favourite units was an elective I chose in my 3rd year, Wool422 - Wool Marketing and Clip preparation.

Although I grew up on a farm which produced award winning wool, it wasnt untill I studied it that I began to understand the incredible nature of this fibre and how amazing it is! I had to write a speech about wool, and I thought I’d share it with you…. words from a much younger 20 year old Jess, enjoy…..

WOOL422 Project

Where is our Australian wool??

When I say ‘Australian Agriculture,’ you probably think Beef, Lamb, Wheat, Canola, Cotton. You think that, I think that, even people ‘outside’ of agriculture think that. And this is because that’s what Australian Agriculture is providing for us. We see beautiful beef and lamb cuts in our supermarkets and butchers. We see bread made from our wheat and oil from our Canola. And we wear clothes made out of our cotton, but wait... What about all the wool?

I was lucky (blessed) enough to be brought up living the best lifestyle any kid could ask for, living on a farm. Not far out of the small town of Yeoval, Central NSW, I would coming home from school, jump on the motorbike and ride out into the paddocks to look for Dad to see what he was up to. We are mixed farmers, so Dad is either sowing the crop, checking the cows or moving some sheep. We have sheep. I grew up caring for them, drenching, drafting and shearing them. It wasn’t unusual at lambing time for there to be at least one lamb back at the home being hand raised. But now that I’m older, studying Agriculture at University of New England, and having the opportunity to study units like wool marketing, a few questions have come to mind, Where is all our wool?

Australia produces 368,330 tonnes of wool every year. And its not just wool, its by far some of the best wool in the world. But Australia only consumes about 2% of it. So where is it going? And why are we not wearing it?

Well first of all, lets deal with some terrible misconception of what we all believe our wool to be.

It is NOT itchy. Due to some incredible breeding and management, farmers today are producing some of the softest, finest wool in the world and they are easily being compared to fibres such as cashmere and silk.

Its NOT hard to care for. Amazing technology has changed the way we can care for wool and its allowing it to be machine washable (some garments), iron-able, even folded for travelling.

It is NOT just made into jumpers. Due to the changes in its fibre diameter and softness, wool has been transformed to be used for many different types of garments. You’ve got you big warm woolly jumper and warm wool socks, as well as sports/outdoor active wear and casual t-shirts/clothing, also known as next-to-skin wear. The amazing properties of wool are extremely suited to all different climates for example during hotter weather, wool breathes better and even draws the sweat away from you body stopping you being sweaty and smelly.

Its NOT too expensive. In the end, you get what you pay for (in most cases) especially when it comes to wool. Colours don’t fade, items don’t ware, garments stay wearable.

So i’ll ask the questions again, where is all our wool going? And why are we not wearing it?

Well the answer is simple, yet confusing. The majority of our wool is exported overseas to countries such as China, Italy, France, Japan, USA... Which is mainly being used to make items such as suites and high end fashionable garments or carpets and upholstery.

Something that I’ve had to realise, is that although we produce wool and we see it in our paddocks, it is one of the most luxury fibres in the world. So although it seems accessible because we know its there, doesn’t mean its available to every Joe Blog. It’s like a Ferrari for the Italians, they make and produce a lot of them, and probably see them frequently but that doesn’t mean everyone in Italy can have one. We make and produce a lot of sheep/wool and see them around, but not everyone can own beautiful wool garments. Because it is a Luxury.

But I challenge you to start a change. Lets make the wool industry know that we want wool. We too deserve those amazing quality clothes with incredible wool characteristics that synthetic fibres can’t supply. And we want them available to us in Australia. I’m not saying that wool is not available to us, but it’s definitely not being marketed to us. For example, you can buy wool from stores like Country Road and that supports our Australian wool growers, but how many other stores do you know that directly advertise and support wool in their clothing labels?

Culture has changed, we no longer wear suites and dresses to university and Friday night outings. So the demand for wool has changed. But lets not allow that to change our desire and need for wool in today’s culture. We need to wear wool for great outdoor/sports clothing. We need to wear wool for soft, beautiful next to skin wear. We need to wear wool for warm and comfortable outer layers. We need to wear Australian wool.

Jessica Hislop WOOL422 Project, UNE 2014

Mt Victor Station, SA, Jumbuck Pastoral. 2015