Planning wool's comeback

We are being inundated with advancements in the development of intelligent clothing that enhance the wearer's comfort. Natural materials are being combined with synthetics to provide optimal wear. Now wool is being mixed with synthetic materials in order to develop intelligent fabrics, like carpets that change colour or materials that respond to the environment by growing thicker as the temperature drops.

Thermafleece insulation is being used increasingly in building projects from council estates to single homes, and by the National Trust for renovation. This growing market, which has expanded by 10% this year alone, is fuelled by fears surrounding fibre glass insulations. To this end a new GBP6 million wool research centre at Dinas Mawddwy is being planned.

These new developments are bound to revive an ailing wool industry, which has seen sales decline and prices drop. Sheep breeders have suffered as a result, but new investments promise a brighter future.

A new testing laboratory at Cibyn Industrial Estate in the outskirts of Wales in Caernarfon has been founded by the British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB), which will certainly breathe new life into the UK wool industry. The testing laboratory is a joint venture with New Zealand's Wool Testing Authority (WTA). The enterprise has been funded by a grant provided by the WDA. The new facility, which is worth GBP1.2 million, offers quality assessment of all wool produced in the northern hemisphere. Wales was a logical choice for the location, due to its extensive sheep farming facilities.