The Campaign for Wool, founded in 2010 by HRH Prince Charles and currently operating in thirteen countries globally, has a modest objective: “increase the demand for wool by explaining its many benefits to consumers.” This year, the Canadian group launched its five-year Wool Plan 2021-2026, a strategic framework for reviving and strengthening the Canadian wool industry, which declined after World War II from a sustainable national textile industry to a cheap commodities pipeline for the export of 90% of our wool. The Wool Plan sets an ambitious path to rebrand and revalue Canadian wool, advocate for everyone from sheep farmers to Canadian consumers, and increase awareness of Canadian wool internationally.
“We’ve been promoting the benefits of Canadian wool since 2014,” explains Matthew J. Rowe, Chair of the Board of the Canadian Campaign for Wool. “But the challenges we face in the Canadian wool industry due to our lack of infrastructure, machinery, and economics, warranted a more coordinated response.” Jane Underhill, an independent wool consultant and principal author of the Wool Plan, promoted the five-year plan to address issues arising from what she calls “wool’s natural predator:” apathy and myth. “Canadian farmers and consumers have bought the myth that our wool isn’t worth anything. The Campaign for Wool Canada is ideally positioned to bring together the various players and spearhead the five-year vision of the Wool Plan.”
Over the course of a seven-month international consultative process, the Wool Plan authors tested their ideas at roundtables to get feedback from key stakeholders across five areas: education, outreach for wool awareness, brokerage, infrastructure, and “Proudly Canadian” products made of Certified Canadian Wool. Representatives of Canada’s existing wool supply chain—from shearing the sheep to bringing wool products to consumers—included farmers, shearers, mill owners, brokers, artisans, marketers, and promoters.
Excerpt from The Wool Plan, courtesy of The Campaign For Wool Canada.
Romy Schill, an Ontario sheep farmer and retailer with Circle R Lamb and Revolution Wool, participated in all five roundtable sessions. “There was a broad range of knowledge and input,” she says. “I’m looking for ways to keep Canadian wool in Canada. The Plan’s ideas for a national shearing guild and a premium Canadian Wool Trademark are two tactics that could help.”
In New Brunswick, Leah Little, office manager at venerable Canadian woolen mill and yarn manufacturer Briggs & Little, echoes that sentiment. “Everyone chimed in with practical solutions for improving our infrastructure. As a 105-year-old family mill, we would definitely promote the new Canadian Wool Trademark.”
Although there was a wide range of ideas, decisions had to be made about what to include in the Plan. “We had to focus only on what’s achievable in Canada in five years,” says Underhill. “We know there’s a need to process more of our wool here, but building mills isn’t possible in that timeframe. We have to outsource for now while we work on our infrastructure.” The Plan proposes, for example, to increase prices for farmers, whose sales don’t even cover the costs of shearing their sheep, by having their wool processed overseas for use in semi-industrial and home interior products, such as insulation and high-end carpets.
“Canadian wool has great qualities,” says Martin Curtis, a UK wool consultant and founder of Shetland Wool Week. “The key is to demonstrate a range of products made with 100% Canadian wool and then to educate people. I see similarities to the success we’ve had with the Shetland Wool brand; you can say, ‘This is Canadian Wool and this is what we’ve been able to do with it.’”
Many of the participants stressed the timeliness of the opportunity for Canadian wool. “COVID brought to light the issues of traceability,” says Jenn MacTavish, General Manager of Ontario Sheep Farmers. “People want to know where their products are coming from; they’re looking for safe, local products to put on and in their bodies.” Fast fashion and synthetic textiles have been terrible for the environment. “There’s an urgency to use wool—a sustainably made fibre that lasts a lifetime—instead of things that are killing the planet,” adds Rowe.
One group that is keenly interested to see what the Plan can do and how is the newly formed Canadian Wool Congress. Co-founder and activist sheep farmer Anna Hunter of Long Way Homestead in Manitoba represents the smaller producer who is successfully growing, processing, and marketing their wool products domestically. “I appreciate that they invited me to the table. I think the report is an excellent step in the right direction,” she says. “To see this industry grow, we need to work together.” However, she does feel there are gaps in the Plan due to the lack of broader consultation with her members. “Where the Plan is taking a measured approach to moving the industry forward, our farmers are looking for bolder action to keep and process Canadian wool here.”
Excerpt from The Wool Plan, courtesy of The Campaign For Wool Canada.
While there may be differences of opinion on the specific approaches to take, there is consensus for the need and opportunity to bring about positive change. “For this year’s Canadian Wool Month we’ll be showcasing a Wool House furnished throughout with premium wool home goods as well as a 100-mile jacket that was sourced, processed, designed, and manufactured within a 100-mile radius of Toronto,” says Rowe. “We’ve got all the elements of a thriving Canadian wool industry; it’s just a matter of knitting it all together.”
The Wool Plan 2021-2026 can be downloaded from CampaignForWool.ca.
Featured image by Tanner Yould on Unsplash.
