Woolpower’s process starts with the merino sheep that graze the Argentinian part of Patagonia and Uruguay. We have a continuous dialogue with the yarn supplier and have visited them personally to make sure that the merino sheep have good grazing grounds and are treated well. We always buy our raw materials directly from the producers.
WOOLPOWER USES ONLY MULESING-FREE WOOL
We are very careful about the origins of our merino wool and want complete confidence that the sheep that produce it are treated well. In Australia, there is a complex problem with mulesing, a process carried out on sheep to prevent fly infestation. That’s why we decided to not source wool from that country. Since Australia’s wool farmers can’t guarantee 100% mulesing free merino wool we decided to redirect our sourcing to the Argentinian part of Patagonia and Uruguay, where the fly in question doesn’t exist. We haven’t sourced wool from Australia since 2008 and can therefore guarantee ethical animal treatment. Thanks to the fact that we have our manufacturing here in Sweden we were able to react quickly to the issue.
So that you can feel warm from the inside out, Woolpower places high standards on quality, the environment and ethics. When the day comes that the fly problem can be resolved in a caring way, we can review collaborating with Australia.
We continuously test out new ways to be as sustainable and environmentally friendly as we can possibly be. We don’t know, or have the answers to, everything today. But we’re working on it – we can always be better. Get in touch if you have any questions or suggestions for improvement.
AS BIG AS AN OX
Sheep have existed in Europe and Asia for 2.5 million years. The very first sheep, before the ice age, were as big as oxen. Sheep were tamed by humans 9000 years BC in south east Asia and were the first pets to provide humans with food and clothes. Wool has been used in clothing for 10 000 years.
WOOLPOWER BILL
Bill is the handsome merino ram that has been Woolpower’s mascot for many years. Bill and the other sheep are sheared every year between September and November. Their wool grows constantly so they feel well from being sheared. To make a jacket, we need about one load of wool from one sheep’s shearing.
200 BREEDS
Today there are about a billion sheep in the world made up of more than 200 breeds. The largest sheep producing regions are Australia, New Zealand and South America, and the most common breeds are Lincoln and Merino. Merino sheep produce fine and crinkly wool.
ROYAL MERINOS
Merino sheep have their origins in north Africa and are believed to have arrived in Spain at the end of the 1100s. Trade in the soft fine wool became significant for Spain, which dominated the wool market for hundreds of years and long forbade the export of merino wool. The sheep got their name “merino” in the 1400s from the royal sheep inspectors “merinos”.
