Agri Mega week te Bredasdorp het met klomp voorbereidings en verwagtinge aangebreek, maar is net so vinnig verby. Alle lekker dinge kom tot ‘n end en sommiges gaan hopeloos te vinnig verby. MEGA 2011 was een van daardie vinniges. Die uitstallings en bewusmaking van WOL en die wolwaardeketting was ‘n groot trekpleister vir oud en jonk en besoekers het met ongeloof die wonder van wol as natuurlike vesel beskou van waar dit geskeer is, deur die hele proses tot by die eindproduk, naamlik moderne klere. Continue reading »

The Campaign for Wool was initiated in October 2008 by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, who had observed that the wool industry was facing enormous and unprecedented challenges.  The price of wool had plummeted to the point where farmers were being paid less for their sheep’s’ fleeces than the cost of having them shorn.  At the same time, sheep numbers were declining across the world, from Britain to Australia and New Zealand, and some farmers were losing confidence in the future of the wool industry.

A parallel threat came from new man-made synthetic fibres, often oil-based, which were providing stiff competition in the areas where wool had traditionally triumphed – fashion, carpets and insulation. Continue reading »

 WOOL Week 2011, the annual culmination of Campaign for Wool’s efforts to raise awareness of wool, continues its celebrations with the launch of ‘Wool Modern’.

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall were joined by representatives of the wool industry, as well as figures from the worlds of fashion and interior design at the official opening of the Wool Modern exhibition in London last month.  The royals were accompanied by Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth and his wife Livia, a keen advocate of sustainable fashion.  Other guests included Dame Vivienne Westwood, Lily Cole, Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Giles Deacon, Lady Amanda Harlech, Henry Holland, Jasmine Guinness, Katie Grand and Nicholas Kirkwood. Continue reading »