British Wool board member Kate Drury has set up a company and undertaken a PhD research project to help find products which can be made from lower-value wool.Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Drury said there is a “big opportunity” to manufacture more products from wool as it is more environmentally friendly than oil-based materials.
British Wool board member Kate Drury has set up a company and undertaken a PhD research project to help find products which can be made from lower-value wool.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Drury said there is a “big opportunity” to manufacture more products from wool as it is more environmentally friendly than oil-based materials.
Her company, Sustainable Rope Ltd, has been trading for two years and makes natural fibre rope, braid and fabric from UK wool.
“People had been making rope out of wool for a long time, but it was all hand-cranked. Nobody had designed a yarn to put on a commercial rope machine.
“Our customer base goes from land management and restoration work, right up to artisans using it for art installations. We also sell products ourselves like dog leads and sheep halters,” Drury said.
All raw material is bought through British Wool’s auctions and the wool is then scoured (washed) in Bradford.
“It is made into yarn and then that is either twisted into rope, or braided into braid, or woven into fabric.
“By buying through the auction, I can guarantee complete traceability. I can also do it regionally and by depot. I have just been processing wool that came out of Muckamore,” Drury said.
The grading process, which is carried out at the Ulster Wool depot in Muckamore and at British Wool depots throughout Britain, is a crucial first step in the manufacturing process.
“The mills and whole supply chain won’t take it unless it’s uniform. I run 1,000kg at a time, so it has to be 1,000kg of the same grade. There are 110 grades in total and each grade will behave differently in the mill,” she said.
Markets
From the outset, Drury wanted to find markets for “overlooked wools” so she has been focussing on making products from the likes of Blackfaced, Swaledale and Welsh Mountain sheep.
Rope made from wool is more expensive than oil-based alternatives, costing roughly twice the price per metre.
For wool rope to sell, there has to be a strong marketing focus on its environmental credentials, such as it being a natural material that is grown locally and is biodegradable.
“We really need policies to create levers so companies will transition to natural fibre. At the moment, there is no incentive or legislation to make companies do that,” Drury said.
“This is a real environmental issue. Any time a plastic rope goes through linkage or friction, it is shaving off material which is causing micro plastic pollution,” she said.
Research
Drury is involved in a new project with Ulster University called Future Island-Island. She has started making rope from wool grown on Rathlin Island and visited locals on the island last week to find out what products they could make use of themselves.
Her research into wool products is still ongoing, with a key focus being the strength of different types of wool rope and how long it takes to degrade in different environments.
“I am documenting this to show to industry. They need that data to be able to transition to natural fibres,” Drury said.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: