Background information
Shea butter: good for the skin – and for local producers
by Mareike Steger
Advantages, differences, animal welfare: an expert reveals the most important facts about wool
21.12.2022
Translation: machine translated
Wool is one of the highest quality textiles - and has its price. From an ethical point of view, too. Nicole Ungureit, expert for knitwear, talks in an interview about the beautiful and the ugly sides of the popular animal fibre.
Nicole, humans have been wearing wool for around 5000 years. What is it that makes this textile so special?
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Wool has incomparable properties. It protects the animal from cold and wetness - and retains this quality even after it has been processed into a garment for us humans. It can absorb up to 30 percent of its dry weight in moisture without feeling damp. Unlike synthetic fibres such as polyacrylic, wool is also odourless and less prone to pilling.
Merino, angora, cashmere - there are many types. So what exactly counts as wool?
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Strictly speaking, a distinction is made between wool and animal hair. At customs, only the hair of sheep counts as wool. But in colloquial language and even in literature, this distinction is often not made.
Source: zvg
What is the difference?
We speak of animal hair when the animals still have a natural seasonal change of coat. Sheep, on the other hand, are domesticated so that they do not lose their coat.
Which animal fibre is most commonly used in the European clothing industry?
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I would say virgin wool. This is wool that has been shorn from a live sheep.
Wool that has been shorn from a live sheep is wool that has been shorn from a live sheep.And then what do I have in front of me if the label only says "wool".Wool from sheep, obtained in a variety of ways. For example, tanning wool or death wool, which comes from animals that have been slaughtered or have died naturally. Then there is also so-called rice wool, a recycled product made from old textiles. It is made from sheep's wool.Is one more valuable than the other?New wool is of higher quality. Nevertheless, it is good to recycle as much of the animal as possible.Wool clothing can feel scratchy directly on the skin. Why is that?How scratchy wool is depends mainly on two factors: the diameter and the outer cuticle of the fibre. If the individual hairs are very coarse and have a pronounced cuticle, they can noticeably prick the skin. In rare cases, people also react allergically to residues of the wool fat, also called lanolin.Why do acrylic jumpers with a low wool content often itch more than pure wool?.When inexpensive wool is used, the difference between the fine acrylic and the prickly wool may be all the more noticeable.How do I find particularly soft wool?.The price can provide information about the fineness. Basically, the finer the wool, the more expensive it is. The top coat is the thickest and correspondingly cheap. What is really soft and warming is the high-quality downy hair directly against the skin. In addition, there are animal species whose coat is particularly fine.Which are?Among the types of wool available in our country, the fibre of the angora rabbit is one of the finest, with a diameter of 12 to 14 micrometres. By comparison, the diameter of a conventional Swiss sheep is about 28 micrometres. Angora is rarely used pure, however, because it is difficult to spin. For animal welfare reasons I advise against buying it anyway.Can you explain?Officially, the rabbits' hair is brushed out. The reality is usually different. Because the little animals don't give enough otherwise, they are stretched on boards where their hair is pulled out. Moreover, it is difficult to trace the origin.[[image:73102502 "Ein fluffiges Angorakaninchen." "Anil Sharma via Unsplash"]]Good thing angora is not so common now. What I often see, on the other hand, are cashmere products. They too are supposed to be particularly soft.Cashmere wool is extremely sought after and, with a diameter of 14 to 16 micrometres, is one of the finest fibres - and the warmest. It is crimped and very light, meaning the fibre has many cavities. These air pockets store heat perfectly. However, caution is advised when buying it.In what way?One cashmere goat yields at most 200 to 300 grams of wool per year. It takes several goats to make a single jumper - and keeping them is resource-intensive. Moreover, the downy hair is not always combed out, but torn out. In addition, they are sometimes completely shorn. The animals live in very cold areas. If this happens too early, they freeze to death. In addition, people like to cheat with the data. Even if the animals are shorn too early, they freeze to death.So it is likely that a jumper made of 100 per cent cashmere also contains other fibres?.The cashmere share on the world market at least does not match the number of cashmere goats. An admixture of other animal hair or viscose is therefore conceivable. However, the risk is relatively low for companies that specialise in selling cashmere products. They have the textile chain well under control.Is sheep's wool less of a concern? Merino wool is also supposed to be very noble.The merino sheep is bred specifically for wool and, at 17 to 19 micrometres, provides the finest sheep's wool. The fibres are also highly crimped and the scale structure is well tolerated. But here, too, there are major concerns about animal welfare. Keyword mulesing. A procedure in which the flaps of skin around the lamb's tail are cut off. Practically without anaesthesia.With what intention?To prevent miyasis, a fly maggot disease: larvae nest in the anal area of the sheep and feed parasitically on the host. This can be fatal for the sheep. Mulesing is widespread in Australia, where most merino wool comes from. I recommend looking for seals of approval when buying, such as the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), which prohibits mulesing. Why is merino wool used?Why is mulesing still practised when there are alternatives?.It is a tradition - and for a long time hardly anyone was interested in the problem. That is now finally changing. Thanks to the media and consumer awareness, the issue is gaining greater attention among clothing companies as well.What measures are being taken?Many companies have already included in their strategy to only buy mulesing-free in the future. This is putting pressure on farmers in Australia.Is the wool industry in general facing change?Awareness of animal suffering in the wool industry is still developing. But we have already seen it with fur: If a rethink takes place in society, big companies will have to adapt sooner or later.Nicole Ungureit is a lecturer at the STF Swiss Textile College. She heads the Knitwear Specialist course there. As a freelancer, she also advises companies in the areas of textile development and production management.Auftaktbild: Seyi Ariyo via Unsplash
Has endless love for shoulder pads, Stratocasters and sashimi, but a limited tolerance for bad impressions of her Eastern Swiss dialect.
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