How sustainable and animal-friendly is wool?


Wool is a popular material, a textile with timeless allure and unparalleled advantages. For centuries, people have been engaged in the ancient craft of shearing sheep or alpacas and dyeing their wool.

Alpaca fibre, from South America, mainly Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, is particularly soft - even softer than merino wool. It is not only stronger, but also seven times warmer than sheep's wool, making it ideal for people who are sensitive to cold. In addition, alpaca fibre is an excellent alternative for people who are allergic to lanolin, a natural wax produced by sheep. Alpaca fibre is versatile, offering warmth during cold days and airy luxury in summer. A subcategory, Suri fibre, known for its silky and shiny fibres is often used for weaving rather than knitting.


The appeal of wool is universal: it is the most widely used animal fibre and accounts for 1.2% of all textile fibres in the world.


The environmental impact of wool

At Solid, we believe in transparency about the impact of wool, a core material in our production processes. Wool’s advantages—its natural, renewable qualities, and role in supporting rural communities—are balanced by environmental and ethical concerns, such as land use, emissions, and complex certification requirements. 

A respectful conversation with the environment

According to the Higg Index, wool has a higher environmental impact than synthetic materials, scoring 81 MSI per kg compared to 36 MSI for polyester. This high footprint is driven by the large areas of pasture needed for grazing and methane emissions from livestock like sheep and alpacas.

Sheep vs. Alpacas:

  • Sheep require extensive grazing areas, with about 2,000 hectares needed to produce one tonne of wool.
  • Alpacas have a lower footprint, requiring 25-30% less land and contributing less damage to vegetation due to their grazing habits -  they only bite off the top part of the grass and do not pull the roots.
  • Although sheep, goats and alpacas are known to emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas, it is good to know that this is part of a complex ecological comparison. On average, a sheep emits about 25 litres of methane every day. Alpacas emit about 50% less methane than sheep, thanks to their more efficient digestion.

Despite these challenges, grazing animals contribute to biodiversity - by preventing a single plant species from dominating the landscape and allowing a more secure eco-system to flourish. They also help maintain soil fertility and carbon storage, especially when managed responsibly. 

In regions like Peru’s highlands, alpacas are vital for local communities, providing jobs where economic alternatives are scarce and providing  a natural and effective way to extract value from marginal lands.

*The HIGG index is a transparency program developed by an alliance of global brands called the sustainable apparel coalition (SAC) to compare the environmental impact of different materials. 

Innovations in sustainable wool cleaning


To process wool into textiles, it must first be cleaned with chemicals to remove dirt and possible diseases. Cleaning alpaca fibre has traditionally required intensive chemical treatment, resulting in chemical discharges to water that can be up to 14 times greater than for conventional sheep wool.


Our suppliers, however, are taking initiatives to reduce the impact of this. Michell is already using the EasyWash line, an eco-friendly cleaning method that uses enzymes to remove dirt and impurities from wool, reducing the need for harsh chemicals and making the process more sustainable. All chemicals used comply with OEKO-TEX and REACH standards, a guarantee that products are free of harmful chemicals and safe for humans and the environment.


Also circular water recycling systems are used to reduce waste water by collecting, filtering and reusing used water. Inca Tops uses New Zealand's ANDAR system, which optimises water consumption during the washing process and recycles about 30% of used water for irrigation purposes, such as forestry and garden use. They also use arm dyeing machines* that leads to significant water savings compared to traditional methods.


New technologies like ultrasonic cleaning, which removes impurities using sound waves instead of chemicals, offer promising solutions, particularly for fibers like alpaca wool that typically require intensive treatment.


*An arm dyeing machine is a specialized yarn dyeing machine designed to evenly dye yarn wound onto spools, cones, or hanks. The machine operates by circulating dye liquor through and around the yarn packages, ensuring uniform dye penetration. It is commonly used for batch dyeing in textile manufacturing, offering control over temperature, pressure, and dye consistency.

Balancing Organic and Small-Scale Farming


In regions like Peru, many alpacas graze semi-wild in high regions, benefiting from natural feeding conditions. Small farmers often can’t afford costly organic certifications, but this doesn’t mean their farming practices are less ethical. Grazing in their natural habitat supports animal welfare and local ecosystems, even if these farms aren’t formally certified.

These small-scale farmers have to compete with larger alpaca farms, where nutrition and medication are strictly controlled to meet organic standards. Larger farms with organic certifications benefit from structured systems , but that does not mean small-scale farmers take less care of their animals. Their herds are a crucial income in these harsh regions and therefore well taken care of. 

Which labels reflect best practice


Certifications like the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) and Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) ensure criteria for animal welfare and environmental responsibility are met. Clothing brand Patagonia started the RWS certification after several scandals revealed by PETA about an Argentine sheep farm. Major brands, including big international players, have adopted these standards, and by 2023, RWS-covered farms had expanded across six countries.

However, certified wool still represents less than 2% of global production, with smaller producers struggling to meet the high costs of certification. 


The Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) label was also introduced for alpaca products, but as with the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), the proportion of certified products remains small. To claim RAS certification, every link in the supply chain, including those who do not produce, must be certified. High audit costs mean that we are not currently certified as processors, which means we cannot label our products as RAS-certified, even if the materials we use are. This is a global problem: The cost and complexity of certification is often a major hurdle, especially for smaller producers, who find it difficult to compete with larger companies that can afford these certifications.


Do Certifications Solve Everything?

Certifications play a key role in promoting animal welfare and establishing clear criteria for responsible wool production, while also respecting workers and their conditions. They ensure transparency and offer reassurance about ethical practices. However, they can unintentionally exclude small-scale farmers who uphold high standards but cannot afford the costs of certification, creating an ethical dilemma.

At Solid, like the global trend, our use of RAS and RWS wool remains low due to the significant costs tied to full supply chain certification.

Although we support small-scale farmers, large suppliers remain essential partners in meeting our production needs. We source from large suppliers due to their extensive yarn offerings, which provide us access to a wide range of materials, including certified yarns. This is why we prioritize ongoing collaboration, closely monitoring their transparency around producers, working conditions, and certifications. By fostering high ethical standards, we strive to balance responsible sourcing with practical progress.

Conclusion

This article highlights the complex environmental impact of wool while acknowledging that all fibers—whether natural or synthetic—have their strengths and weaknesses. Wool offers long-term benefits due to its renewable, biodegradable nature and role in supporting biodiversity, while synthetic fibers pose issues such as microplastic pollution. However, sustainability is not easily measured, and tools like the Higg Index often favor synthetics by focusing on short-term production impacts rather than the full life cycle benefits of natural fibers.




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Empowering Women Through Fair Fashion