Is Wool Eco-Friendly?

Oct 26

I have always been a fan of working with wool. When I learned how to knit that was all my grandma had in her stash. When most people think of wool, they think of heavy, itchy sweaters, but that’s not always the case. Wool has a lot of benefits, but one of my favorites is that it’s not just less bad for the environment, it can actually be good for it!

Types of Wool

Wool can come from a variety of different animals. The most common source of wool is sheep, but it can also come from goats, rabbits, musk ox, alpacas, and more!

Merino wool is softer and lighter than other types of wool. It comes from a specific type of sheep and can be woven into a soft and stretchy fabric.

Angora comes from the angora rabbit. It is soft and strong and is often used in combination with other types of wool. However, most of the world’s angora comes from China where there are limited animal welfare standards. However, angora rabbits molt every four months and their hair can be easily collected during this process for a more ethical practice.

Cashmere is another popular type of wool. Most of it comes from Mongolia and it has been associated with a significant negative impact on the environment there. There are brands that use recycled cashmere fibers.

Qiviut is the wool that comes from a musk ox. It is one of the softest and warmest fibers out there but is also very expensive. I’ll be honest that I don’t know a lot about how domesticated musk oxen are used, I know that a majority of the qiviut comes as a byproduct of musk oxen that are harvested as a part of a subsistence lifestyle of native people in the arctic.

Environmental Impact of Wool

Wool mostly comes from sheep and sheep do have an impact on the environment they inhabit and a majority of the carbon footprint of wool (about 50%) comes from the sheep themselves, where other fabrics have a larger impact from the production process. Wool uses less energy and has a smaller carbon footprint than other fibers (with the exception of hemp). This is due to the fact that sheep can be raised on land that is not inhabitable by other animals and cannot be used to grow crops.

There are some areas of the world where increasing flock size has led to overgrazing and fragile landscapes as well as displacement of native wildlife.

As far as sustainability goes, wool is a fully biodegradable product that breaks down relatively quickly and returns its nutrients to the soil without releasing plastic microfibers into the environment as its synthetic counterparts do. It’s also compostable.

Wool, if raised properly can actually help sequester carbon from the atmosphere into the soil rather than producing it. If you’re interested in learning more about this I highly recommend checking out the book Sacred Cow by Diana Rodgers. While it is not specific to sheep and wool, the concepts are very similar.

Some sources say that wool is the most reused and recyclable fiber out of the major fibers used to make clothes. Many companies are making clothes from recycled wool.

Impact of Wool on Animals

The practice of mulesing is banned in most places where wool is produced with the exception of Australia (and most Italian wool is sourced from Australia). This means that wool produced elsewhere is largely considered humanely produced. This should be obvious, but I’m going to say it anyway, sheep are not killed for their wool. Shearers carefully shave the wool off of the sheep and then let the sheep go off and do their thing and grow more wool.

It is important for the health of the sheep that they are shorn. Otherwise, their coats just keep growing and growing and growing. There are reports of “inhumane” shearing operations, however, sheep are incredibly valuable and it makes little sense that shearers would mistreat or harm them. (I’m not naive enough to suggest that this never happens, I just don’t believe that mistreatment of sheep is a widespread practice as some organizations might have you believe that it is.)

The Benefits of Wool

My favorite part about wool is that it performs well under a variety of conditions. It is both breathable and insulates well, making it excellent for most outdoor adventures no matter what the conditions are. Much like it does for the sheep who wear the wool before it’s turned into yarn or fabric, the fibers help to trap air and keep you warm when it’s cold out and they help wick away sweat when it’s warm out.

This sounds too good to be true…but let me explain how it works. The fibers are porous and allow moisture vapor to get into them (they are made up of little plates with spaces between them), this means that you aren’t left feeling cold and wet because the moisture is wicked away from your skin. Synthetic fabrics are not porous and wick liquid sweat away, but your body still has to heat it up and evaporate it, which leaves you feeling cold and clammy.

My other favorite part about wool (can you have two favorites?) is that it resists odor. The molecules that cause body odor sit on top of synthetic fibers and can cling to the fibers even after you wash them. Have you ever washed your favorite workout shirt only to discover when you put it on and start warming up that it still stinks?? I know I have. The porous nature of the wool fibers allows them to trap odor-causing bacteria, but also allows them to be released as it dries or when it is washed.

Because wool is naturally odor-resistant (and flame-resistant!) it doesn’t need to be washed as often as other fabrics which can help make it last longer!

Wool is more sustainable and more eco-friendly than most other fibers. It also stands up incredibly well in a variety of conditions, is incredibly versatile, and can last a very long time. When wool items have served their purpose, they can be recycled or composted! I don’t believe that the perfect textile, fabric, or fiber exists, everything has benefits and drawbacks. However, wool has more benefits than drawbacks, which is why I continue to choose to work almost exclusively with it (I also wear a lot of wool clothing).