The Wool Wire | July 24, 2024
Canadian wool coats, Vermont's sheep mania, NZ goes on the offensive, cycling with wool, controlling caterpillars, and saying goodbye
News snippets from the wool world
Hello, my friends!
Welcome back to another exploration of all the ways in which wool intersects our daily lives and the world at large. I come to you with a basket of goodies, starting with, stay with me now, a discussion of wool coats.
I know it's the height of summer. But soon enough it'll be winter again, since that's how time works. And I want you to be prepared when the cold weather comes.
Toward that end, keep an eye on SteMargScot, a Canadian brand that's looking to get rid of puffer jackets and go back to wool. Not just any wool, but Canadian wool.
Lauren Walker-Lee
When Vermont was even more wooly than it is today
While Vermont still boasts a healthy number of small fiber farms and custom spinning mills, they pale in comparison to the wool boom the region experienced between roughly 1775 and 1825.
If you fancy a touch of history, you'll enjoy this piece on Vermont's short-lived wool industry by reporter Joanna Tebbs Young for The Barre Montpelier Times Argus. It's full of fascinating tidbits such as this one:
Farmers were replacing their cows with sheep at such a frenetic rate that, between 1824 and 1840, the sheep population had quadrupled. According to records from the time, in 1837, Vermont was home to more than 1.5 million sheep — six sheep per resident. Every town in the state was grazing at least 1,000 sheep and some had more than 10,000.
Fair taxes for fibers and farts alike
Our compatriots in New Zealand continue to work on finding new uses for the strongwool their sheep so abundantly produce.
Innovators say they have only scratched the surface of the sustainability potential of wool and there is much more to the natural fibres than meets the eye. From mulch mats as a suppressant to weeds and a nutrient provider, to good old homespuns and merino garments for its acclimatising abilities, wool is a versatile product with many uses.
Not everyone agrees that the Powers That Be are doing enough, however. This editorial in Farmer's Weekly offers an impassioned and informed take on what needs to happen in New Zealand, which could very easily apply to the global wool industry.
If we’re taxing CO2 emissions as we are in the Emissions Trading Scheme, if we’re considering taxing burping and farting ruminants, then surely we can tax synthetic fibres.
Are we saying that food and fibre should pay a climate tax while producing food and biodegradable fibre while giving synthetic fabrics including carpets and clothing a free ride?
Are we also suggesting that it is better to cause billions of dollars of respiratory complaints in humans while killing our fish, plus putting microplastics in the food chain is less important than an environmentally responsible food system?
If people buy electric cars and eat mung beans to save the planet then surely wool must be the fabric of choice.
I love that idea!
byPhil Weir
Cycling with wool
Summer is prime time to explore the great outdoors. And according to the Internet, which you can always trust about everything, around 50% of all humans on this planet know how to ride a bike. That's a lot of people who might not be aware that they could benefit greatly from switching to wool clothes.
This article provides a helpful rundown of why.
Runnerstribe Admin
Meanwhile, in the realm of gear, check out this profile of Kyle Rancourt. Last year, he founded an outdoor apparel company called Pinebury. Based in Maine, the company offers domestically manufactured gear made from Responsible Wool Standard-certified Nuyarn Merino.
Yes but what about the perils of the great outdoors?
Of course the great outdoors can have its drawbacks. Here in Maine, in addition to ticks and mosquitoes and black flies, we also have to navigate brown tail moth caterpillars. Not only can they strip a mighty oak in days, but their fine hairs can cause terrible rashes and breathing problems for anyone unfortunate enough to come into contact with them.
A similarly dangerous caterpillar, called the oak processionary caterpillar, is wreaking havoc in regions of Europe and the UK. And in the Belval neighborhood of Luxembourg, they're experimenting with a low-cost, low-tech, low-chemical solution that relies on wool.
They're wrapping vulnerable trees with wool fiber, which the oak processionary caterpillars happen to not enjoy walking over. They stall when they hit the ring, and they make a detour to a piece of wood that leads them directly into a bag of doom.
Go wool!
Saying goodbye to Solitude
And finally, earlier this month Solitude Wool announced that it was closing after 18 years.
Back in 2011 when I first wrote about Solitude, you could've counted the number of small-batch, breed-specific artisan yarn companies on one hand. Solitude has been a pathbreaker in terms of educating consumers about how vast and nuanced wool can be.
Not only did they hand-select the very best breed-specific fleeces from small farms, but they also made sure that the unique fleece traits of each breed were taken into account when it was time to make yarn. You knew you were getting a thoughtfully created yarn whose twist and ply worked in harmony with the crimp and staple of the very fibers themselves.
Should you wish to stock up, the Solitude website still has a good supply of yarns left, and you can get a 15% discount on orders of six skeins or more. And if anyone reading this is seriously interested in carrying the Solitude torch, you'll find Gretchen's email and phone number in her closure email.
My respect and gratitude to Gretchen and everyone who has given their heart to the Solitude endeavor. Thank you for all you've done in the service of sheep and their wool.
On that note, I'll let you go.
Thanks, as always, for your readership and your support!
Until next time,
Clara
