FLOCK
felted wool as a poly-quality mono-material
properties
Wool is renewable and biodegradable, as well as flame retardant and its moisture-retaining ability causes it to extinguish quickly. It is able to absorb 50 percent moisture before it starts to drip. It is partially hydrophobic and therefore water and dirt repellent. Wool is also resistant to acids and odours. Additionally, wool is insulating, can absorb volatile organic compounds and noise.
fibre structure
Compared to synthetic fibres, wool has a scaly surface. Depending on the angle of inclination, the wool feels softer or scratchier. It varies depending on the breed of sheep and is responsible for how well a type of wool can be felted. The angle of inclination is greater for coarse European fibres, which can be perceived as less pleasant on the skin, but deform less and maintain their shape better. Therefore, fine and smooth merino wool dominates the clothing market.
In general, there is no one type of wool that is suitable for all applications. Therefore, there is great potential in the many different European sheep breeds and their wool.
Recycling
Wool can be decomposed in the soil and is biodegradable in both fresh and saltwater, releasing nutrients back into the environment, acting as a fertiliser. Beyond that, wool fibres can be recovered through a mechanical process, by tearing fabrics into smaller pieces until the initial fibres remain.
adapted design strategies
Recycling is often accompanied by a loss of quality. This can barely be prevented, but it can be minimised as far as possible by reducing the complexity of the materials. As a result of today’s complex artefacts, their material complexity increases at every step of the cycle from raw material to recycling: a material is made from several raw materials, several materials are combined to artefacts, and many artefacts are sent for recycling, where some of the materials are returned to the cycle. This leads to high separation costs and complex logistics, which increase the costs of waste management. The reduction of material complexity is therefore based on both ecological and economic perspectives.
From a design perspective, less complex materials and artefacts seem less attractive at first glance, as a narrower range of contrasts and possibilities appear to be feasible, therefore adapted design strategies are needed in the long term to reveal the range of qualities of a single material.
history
why australian wool dominates the market
In Europe wool production declined due to the economic crisis in the 1960s and the development of synthetic fibres. As a result, alternative sources of income were sought, causing a shift in the breeding aim in Europe from high wool yields to meat and milk. Great Britain outsourced their wool production through its colony in Australia, leading to intesive merino sheep breeding for a high wool yield and making it one of the largest wool producers in the world to this day. Australia is now supplying 80 % of the wool due to the fine fibre structure.
Parameter
wool per sheep per year
production costs
selling price
European Wool
3 kg
7.6 USD
1.27 USD
Australian Wool
5 kg
3.5 USD
12 USD
European Wool
3 kg wool per sheep per year
7.6 USD production costs
1.27 USD selling price
Australian Wool
5 kg wool per sheep per year
3.5 USD production costs
12 USD selling price
Shepherding
ecosystem service
Today, merino sheep are often kept in large flocks in small, tightly fenced areas. Due to the abolition of transhumance and the intensive agriculture has resulted in a significant loss of biodiversity, resulting in around 20 percent of the world‘s pasturelands being severely degraded
Proper grazing management can play a crucial role in providing ecosystem services.The mobility of sheep flocks reduces the risk of invasive weeds, improves the mineral cycle, and increases soil fertility. It reduces erosion and enhance biodiversity. Sheep also help store carbon in the soil, which is vital for combating climate change. As a result, sheep in Germany are mainly kept for landscape conservation in both flat and rugged mountain areas.
Pastures store 30% of the terrestrial carbon and grazing sheep can help to store carbon in the soil
breeding
As breeding often focuses on one trait, other traits develop in the opposite direction, resulting in a variety of specialised sheep breeds.
Historically, European breeding has focused on meat and milk, which automatically results in coarser and naturally coloured wool that is less popular for fashion, whereas in Australia the focus is on wool, which results in finer and smoother white wool. However, selection pressure for certain traits also results in undesirable side effects, such as a reduced ability to adapt to environmental stressors. Selection for the highest possible wool yield in merino sheep automatically leads to the selection of animals with the largest wool-producing skin in order to achieve higher fleece weights per animal, which leads to a more complex shearing process and health issues due to skin folds prone to fly infestations.
On the other hand, breeding also offers the potential to reduce methane emissions, or restore old remaining breeds that do not require shearing and undergo annual shearing themselves.
Currently, 21 German sheep breeds are on the Red List of endangered species. These sheep breeds require special protection and can be supported by developing suitable processing techniques and applications for their wool.
