WEAR WOOL, NOT WASTE
FROM WARDROBE TO
WASTE
Every synthetic garment ever made still exists in some form1.
The average polyester product is likely to survive in landfill for over 200 years: Changing Markets, 2021, Fossil Fashion: The hidden reliance of fast fashion on fossil fuels, p12-13.
World consumption of major textile fibres
Oil-based synthetics fuel the fast fashion industry. One cannot exist without the other.
WEAR
WOOL
NOT
FOSSIL
FUEL
BUY LESS, BUY BETTER
Natural, renewable and biodegradable, Merino wool can help you to buy less and buy better. Here are 4 reasons why choosing wool can help with responsible purchasing decisions.
01
Check the label
Checking the label is a great place to start and shouldn't be skipped over. It's essentially a brand's promise to you, the buyer. Choosing natural fibres over synthetic fibres can make a huge difference in protecting our land, waterways and ocean against pollution.
01
Check the label
Checking the label is a great place to start and shouldn't be skipped over. It's essentially a brand's promise to you, the buyer. Choosing natural fibres over synthetic fibres can make a huge difference in protecting our land, waterways and ocean against pollution.
02
Buy better, keep for longer
Wool garments are amongst the oldest kept in wardrobes, so you know your wool clothes are made to last. A global wardrobe study shows 9% of wool clothes were purchased more than 10 years ago, compared with just 4% for polyester clothes.
03
Easy to care for
Wool clothes can be washed less often, at lower temperatures, which has a lower impact on the environment. Wool garments have the lowest water and energy use per wear, as well as related GHG emissions because they are washed significantly less frequently than similar garments made from synthetic fibres. The global wardrobe study also shows that woollens were only present in 8% of tumble dry loads.
04
Think circular
Has the garment been made to last? Is the piece a timeless classic that can be worn, reworn, repaired or recycled? If the answer is yes then you know that, in the future, less will be made, less will be bought and less will be wasted.
The Woolmark Company is helping the wool industry lighten its footprint, and you can help too by choosing natural fibres over fossil fuel fibres.
We know that Merino wool isn't the answer to solving fashion's environmental crisis. It takes a flock - not a lone rider - to create change and find those greener pastures.
Carbon matters
Wool forms a part of the natural carbon cycle. By storing the carbon from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2), wool prevents the gas from contributing to climate change for the time the garment is in use. All this CO2 is removed from the atmosphere for the fibre's life - from when it is used by the grass during growth, to when it is converted into wool on the sheep, through the wool product's use phase - until it is disposed of and biodegrades. For many wool garments, this period greatly extended because wool is used or recycled in a variety of textiles.
In contrast, fossil ethane and CO2 from the burning of coal, oil and gas is an extra burden on the atmosphere as it is derived from carbon securely held underground for millions of years.
But carbon is
still an issue
We know that carbon emissions on farms is still an issue. However, when managed well, wool-growing businesses can emit very small amounts of carbon dioxide and sequester large amounts of carbon. A recent pilot study estimated that, on average, wool-growing farms were sequestering more CO2 than they were emitting by capturing and storing a net 1539 tCO2e per year.
World's most reused
and recycled fibre
Wool garments are 330% more likely to be donated compared to garments of other fibre types. It is the only fibre to have a well-established and commercially viable recycle pathway.
Russell, S., Swan, P., Trebowicz, M., Ireland, A. (2016). Review of Wool Recycling and Reuse. In: Fangueiro, R., Rana, S. (eds) Natural Fibres: Advances in Science and Technology Towards Industrial Applications. RILEM Bookseries, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7515-1_33
No microplastic
pollution
Wool biodegrades readily on land and in water. Wool does not contribute to microplastic pollution. Synthetic fibres, including recycled polyester, shed microplastics which can harm ocean life.
- AgResearch, Microfibre Pollution and the Marine Biodegradation of Wool. 2020.
Supports
biodiversity
Sheep are key to good soil health. Including animals in farming systems and implementing rotational grazing techniques ensures that grass is trimmed regularly, allowing it to regrow, store more carbon in its roots and support biodiversity in and above the soil. Synthetic fibres are produced through mining and oil extraction. The production of plastic-based fibres for textiles uses around 350 million barrels of oil each year.
planet-tracker.org/the-emperor-has-no-clothes-toxic-textiles-in-todays-age
Sheep first
The Woolmark Company and Australian woolgrowers work to uphold the health and wellbeing of Australian sheep, ensuring they are cared for in a way that meets the Five Domains of Animal Welfare. Industry players are encouraged to employ innovative, sustainable farming practices founded on intuitive wisdom of generations of woolgrowers.
For people, planet
and prosperity
Through best-practice sustainable farming, Australian woolgrowers are able to protect and regenerate the land, care for the health and happiness of their sheep and prosper as family-run businesses, for this generation and the generations to come. Many remote, rural and regional communities continue to be supported by Australian wool-growing, with more than 60,000 Australian woolgrowers and many tens of thousands more working in the industry.
Treating your Merino wool with love
can improve environmental impacts by 75%