THE CHALLENGE

Sheep farming is Ireland’s fourth most important animal enterprise (Teagasc, 2023). Wool is a natural, biodegradable, and renewable fibre and is abundant in Ireland due to the key role of sheep farming.

Wool was considered as an agricultural product in the EU until 2002, and it was a source of income for the farmers who operated in the sector. Wool’s categorisation altered through a series of EU regulations and is now currently classified as a Category 3 waste product alongside animal carcasses (DAFM, 2022). Wool must now be transferred to specialised processing facilities, which means high reprocessing costs and uncertain earnings for many farmers. All treatment of recovered materials needs to adhere to the guidelines of Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency.

This regulatory change, coupled with the rapid decline in the usage of natural fibres in favour of synthetic fibre production, resulted in the devaluation of wool. Farmers in Ireland are only paid 20 cents per kg (DAFM, 2022), which is considerably less than the cost of shearing. This leaves farmers with no incentive to care for their wool or breed for wool quality.

Currently, some sheep farmers are storing years’ worth of wool in their sheds or storage warehouses (O’Riordan, 2022), which compromises the condition of the wool.

THE CIRCULAR OPPORTUNITY

Currently, synthetic, petroleum-based polymers account for two-thirds of all textile items (Henry, Laitala and Klepp 2019). Laundering synthetic clothes accounts for 35% of primary microplastics released into the environment (De Falco et al., 2019). Sheep wool, on the other hand, is a natural biodegradable and renewable fibre which at the end of its life poses no threat to human health or the environment (DAFM, 2022). Properties in wool also allow it to be used for purposes such as fertiliser and insulation.

Wool is an excellent insulator and thermo- regulator. It responds to variations in body temperature, keeping the wearer warmer when cold and cooler when warm. It is odour and wrinkle resistant, so does not need to be washed as frequently as other fibre types, conserving water, and energy (DAFM 2023). According to recent studies, regenerative wool can store carbon from the environment, thereby minimising the impacts of climate change (Colley et al., 2020).

THE CIRCULAR SOLUTION IN PRACTICE

Ériu, a 2023 CIRCULEIRE New Venture, founded in 2021, manufactures yarn from the wool that is hand-selected, processed and designed entirely in Ireland. Ériu is the first Irish knitwear brand whose products are exclusively Irish sourced and manufactured using a ‘Farm to Yarn’ sustainable initiative.

Ériu contributes to the Irish economy by sourcing wool from a trusted network of farmers around Ireland, as well as from their own farm in Wicklow. They offer farmers EUR €2.50 per kg of wool, which is more than 10 times market price. Donegal Yarns processes the wool locally, and Irish knitters in Dublin make it. Aside from local collaborations, they have established their own facility for processing wool on the farm which they intend to roll out in stages. The first stage is scouring, where they will wash the wool softly and sustainably using biodiverse methods. They already have equipment for additional stages, which will further enable an expansion of their Farm-to- Yarn networks to source and incentivise more wool collection, and create more opportunities for an expanding range of wool products.

REPLICABILITY

The global wool market is expected to grow from $37.06 billion in 2022 to $45.05 billion in 2027 (The Business Research Company, 2023). As consumers are becoming more conscious of the environmental degradation caused by synthetic textile production there has been a rise in demand for sustainable and ethically produced textiles (Granskog et al., 2020). In light of these factors, Irish wool is expected to hold significant potential for the textile sector’s sustainable transition.

Ériu has an unparalleled opportunity to be at the forefront of revitalising the Irish wool market. As circularity in the textiles and fashion sector continues to be encouraged, a few companies worth mentioning include:

Infinited Fiber, a Finnish company that has developed a technology that converts textile waste into a premium-quality circular textile fibre, which reduces the world’s reliance on virgin raw materials.

Our Choice Fashion, based in Luxemburg, manufactures circular leather sneakers that are 100% plastic free, repairable, and recyclable.