The Shocking Truth About the Inner Workings of the Wool Industry
Photo Credit: Kira Volkov / Shutterstock.com
By Pavika Vachirajindakul
TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains graphic descriptions of animal abuse.
Wool has been used throughout human history—in fact, people have been weaving and wearing it since 10,000 BCE! Despite its long history, wool is not an outdated material and is still used to make a wide range of products. The natural fiber has many incredible properties and characteristics: it is breathable, odor resistant, renewable, stain resistant, UV resistant. Unlike synthetics, wool actively responds to changes in body temperature, which means it keeps the wearer warm on cold days, and cool on the hot days. Because of wool’s various properties, its fibers are made into socks, sweaters, headwear, scarfs, gloves, blankets, and even sportswear.
In fact, wool plays a very important role in many industries. According to Textile School, “the majority of wool (72.8%) is used in apparel; home furnishing accounts for 15-45%, industrial uses 6 to 7% and exports 5%, wool accounts for 3.3% of all fibres for apparel.”
Because of consumer demands, harvesting wool has become a competitive business. Australia is the world’s leading producer of wool. According to Woolmarks, Australia produces 345 million kilograms of wool every year. Australia is followed by China, Russia, New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa, the UK and Uruguay. In comparison, 25 million pounds of wool are produced annually in the United States (according to Farm Flavor) from 101,387 sheep farms in the nation.
However, while people usually think that the wool industry is not as cruel as the fur and animal skin industry, hoping that sheep are left peacefully to be given a haircut, shearing can be a traumatic process for sheep if not done properly and carefully.
Shearing is not just a haircut for sheep when done on an industrial scale where shearers work against the clock. In many of these industries across the world, according to PETA, an animal rights organization, shearers are typically paid by the volume of wool being sheared, not by the hour, which leads to fast, careless work that leaves sheep with gaping wounds and missing parts of ears and teats. When time is precious and shearing becomes a business, animal welfare is neglected.
In 2014, PETA released a video about the cruelty in the wool industry in Australia, which acted as a wake up call for many people. The footage shows the shearers hurriedly and roughly shearing sheep, leaving many with bad cuts and bleeding. Oftentimes, a piece of their skin is still attached to the fleece. Afterward, the workers use needles to sew the wound shut without a pain reliever on the dirty floor. When the fearful sheep showed signs of resistance, shearers felt tempered, they punched, kicked them, slammed their head on the floor, and sometimes beat them up with metal clippers until the animals bled.
PETA revealed the same cruelty in 43 farms across South Australia, and New South Wales in 2017.
Such cruel, abusive acts toward sheep are not only found in Australia, but also in many of the world’s other leading wool-producing countries: Argentina, South Africa, England as well as others. Until now, PETA has produced 12 exposés of 100 sheep operations on four continents.
Life is no better for sheep in the U.S. According to PETA, eyewitnesses have recorded abuse of sheep from 14 farms across Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska. This video shows a shearer who forcefully bent and twisted the sheep’s neck until it broke. With a careless voice, he said to other workers, “I might have killed it.” Then he went on and kicked the dead sheep down the vent. Moreover, Shearers poked their fingers into the sheep's eyes, kneeling down on its body to hold the sheep in place. The video includes the moment when workers throw and kick sheep while sharing their opinion about them, “I got all permission to pound the f*** out of them”. Another worker said, “I want to choke that sheep.”
To protest against this cruelty, PETA encourages people to never wear wool products, while calling out clothing companies in many countries to eliminate all wool products completely.
However, many sheep farmers question if this is the best solution. In fact, sheep farm owners reveal that shearing is important for sheeps.
“Sheep have been bred for thousands of years to grow wool, therefore shearing is not just about harvesting wool - it's also about keeping the animals comfortable, relieving them from having to endure the hot summer months with a heavy fleece,” remarks ZQ, a wool certified organization.
Moreover, the Farmhouse guide reported that unsheared sheep can lead to tangling and matting of overgrown wool, which can strangle blood flow, cause painful sores and prevent sheep from moving properly.
“It is true that their wool is sold to make money, but that money helps to feed the sheep, keep them happy, and provide some of the money needed to have the sheep sheared regularly,” one farmer told Farmhouse Guide.
As wool shearing is essential for sheep’s health and wool is an important and unique fiber, however, inhuman treatment to animals in the wool industry is utterly unacceptable.
Therefore, the real question is: how can we continue using wool products without unknowingly supporting practices that are harmful to animals?
This is what we as individuals can do to help!
There are many sources of cruelty-free wool.
Wool certified by ZQ
ZQ is a certification organization that works to provide 5 freedoms for sheep:
Free from thirst
Ensure their sheep always have access to clean water and adequate nutrition.
Free to live naturally
ZQ sheep are free range, free to roam in vast open pastures, with typically more than an acre of space each.
Free from discomfort
protect sheep from distress and ensure they have adequate shade and shelter available at all times, especially during the winter months.
Free from distress
Shearing process is done by highly trained shearers.
Free from disease
ZQ growers regularly monitor their flock to prevent disease and illness, as well as to rapidly diagnose animal health issues.
What brands follow ZQ wool guidelines?
Best wool
Smarter Wool
Aclima
Woolyarns
The fabric store
Swanndri
Rewoolution
Reda
Neem
Kilt
Kowtow
Ice breaker
John Smely
49+ more brands (Check out more at ZQ webpage)
Wool certified by Animal Welfare Approved(AWA)
AWA’s sheep standards include the following:
Shearing of sheep must be carried out by a competent person who can minimize stress and avoid injury.
Any sick or injured animals on the farm must be treated immediately to minimize pain and distress. This must include veterinary treatment if required.
The discovery of untreated injured or ill animals may be grounds for removal from the program.
Animals must have access to pasture areas that are well drained and clean
Prohibit the use of chemicals that would cause the cessation of wool growth.
Where extenuating circumstances requires shearing in colder weather, bedding and shelter must be provided for at least seven days.
You can buy AWA certified wool from the following farms:
Wool/Clothing brand certified by RWS
Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) is a global standard that “provide[s] the industry with a tool to recognize the best practices of farmers, ensure the wool comes from farms that have a progressive approach to managing their land, and practice holistic respect for animal welfare of the sheep.”
The manufacturing process of wool is a long process. To avoid the animal’s cruelty, RWS works to ensure the animal's welfare and wool quality throughout the entire process before it reaches retailer stores.
Picture from Textile exchange webpage(https://textileexchange.org/standards/responsible-wool)
Clothing brand that follow RWS standard are :
H&M
William-Sonoma
Tchibo, Varner
Coyuchi
Mountain Equipment
Deckers
Knowledge Cotton Apparel.
