The Wool Wire | March 13, 2025
News snippets from the wool world
Hello, my friends,
Our world of wool continues to evolve in surprising and inspiring ways.
We begin at the Auckland University of Technology, where second-year design student Jacob Smith set about innovating to help the country's flagging wool industry. Because he was already running a business selling shoe accessories, his mind went there first. Specifically, he thought of shoelaces. Totally biodegradable, naturally dyed shoelaces made of New Zealand strongwool.
Smith's vision is to "make the world a better place by challenging simple products," and I think he's off to a brilliant start.
Making concrete improvements
We move from college to secondary school and from feet to foundations for this next story. Earlier this year, two students at Ursuline College, Sligo, were named runners-up at Ireland's prestigious BT Young Scientist & Technology competition.
Their innovation had nothing to do with socks or sweaters or shoelaces—it was about the advantages of using sheep's wool to reinforce concrete.
Aoife and Jessica carried out this excellent research project into the use of wool fibres, as a sustainable and renewable resource to strengthen concrete. Such use could potentially replace the current materials such as polypropylene fibres which are in use today.
The students used extensive and rigorous testing techniques such as compression, tensile, drop, extreme heat, and freeze thaw. Their results have shown very positive potential for the use of wool in concrete. They demonstrated great skill, knowledge and hard work in investigating this more sustainable solution which could make valuable use of this renewable resource within Ireland.
If teenagers can come up with this idea and use rigorous testing to demonstrate the potential, why can't the adults in the room do the same?
Goodbye peat pots, hello sheep
I've talked about wool being used in a peatland restoration project in Wales. Now, researchers at Germany's Hof University are studying wool's effectiveness as a replacement for peat (and plastic) in vegetable seedling cultivation.
“Our research aims to preserve valuable resources and make natural materials viable for new applications. Achieving peat- and plastic-free food production is a significant step toward sustainability in horticulture.”
The central innovation of the project lies in processing sheep wool into substrates for plant production.
I look forward to seeing where the data may take wool, and us, in our food production.
Staying safe with merino
Let's shift gears to safety. We already know that wool's flame-resistant qualities make it an ideal textile material for anyone whose job involves potential exposure to flame, such as first responders and those in the military. But it's also helpful for those who work in industrial smelters, foundries, steel mills, and aluminum plants. Small splashes of molten metal can stick to traditional flame-resistant fabrics.
Wool to the rescue!
Working with its longtime Canadian garment development partner Noriske, the US textile company Burlington Industries has created a wool-filled fabric called BodyShield™ that retains the highest ISO rating while allowing molten liquids to simply roll off.
And while some PPE equipment can, itself, be laden with harmful chemicals...
“Our use of 100% Merino wool means that when the fabric reaches the end of its life cycle, it naturally decomposes, leaving no harmful residues behind. PFAS, ‘forever chemicals’, have never been part of our production process for the BodyShield™ fabric meaning it is a safe and reliable choice for workers looking for effective protection without harmful chemicals,” Bertrand [Ross, of Burlington Industries] said.
“Our commitment to sustainability is also reflected in our manufacturing process; all steps—from spinning and weaving to dyeing and finishing–are carried out in our US facilities. This allows us to closely monitor our operations, reducing waste and minimizing our carbon footprint.”
Let's hope that Burlington and Noriske's working relationship can withstand the next four years.
Mighty Munsingwear
Finally, here's a bit of historical fun from the Minnesota History Center, where 3,200 pieces of Munsingwear undergarments lie in storage along with several of the machines that were used to make them.
And what is Munsingwear, you ask? (Or maybe you already knew. I didn't.)
Munsingwear was a Minnesota-based company whose breakthrough innovation in the late 1800s was to make wool underwear more comfortable. They did this by knitting a fine layer of silk over the wool fabric. The result was so popular, the company (which employed mostly women) was churning out 30,000 pieces a day at its height.
After central heating started eating into the long underwear market, Munsingwear successfully managed to pivot to "fashion undergarments" before eventually liquidating in 1981.
Should you find yourself St. Paul with a few minutes to spare, head to the Minnesota History Center and check out the pieces on display. Thousands more are in the archives.
Happy birthday to us!
The Wool Channel celebrates its fourth birthday this month. I'm grateful for your readership.
I'm especially grateful to members of TWC's Foundation Flock. Without your support, nobody would be reading this email right now. As long as that support remains, I'll keep going.
If you aren't yet a member but enjoy these emails and want to support the work, I'd love for you to join the flock. You can also make a one-time donation if that's more your style. Either would be greatly appreciated.
Until next time,
Clara