Sophie is studying to become a Master of Science in International Animal Ethics, Welfare and Law through the University of Edinburgh. In this podcast episode, she explains how animal welfare is practiced for all animals living at Coonong station.

They are particularly focused on helping sustainable and socially conscious businesses succeed through their beautiful images.

In this episode, Nora and Viktor Jelinek share insights into how also businesses in the wool industry can benefit from storytelling and how to go about it.

In this Wool Academy Podcast interview, Paul Swan provides details about Sustainawool and discusses challenges and opportunities for sustainability standards within the wool industry.

In this interview, Susan shares details about how she and her family grow ethical, sustainable, and profitable wool.

Richard is highly committed to regenerative farming and ensuring hight animal welfare standards. In this episode, Richard shares his story of starting to farm merino sheep and provides insights into different aspects of his farming practices.

This episode is recorded in partnership with The Schneider Group and their Authentico Integrity Scheme.

CEO of Flock Wool, Evan Thomsen and CMO Elisabeth van Delden talk openly about the devastating situation the pandemic has put the start-up into.

Gain insights how to stay flexible in a business during uncertain times.

One of the by-products of scouring (washing) wool is wool grease, which is refined into lanolin. Lanolin is an important raw material for the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry as it forms the basis for lipsticks and creams.

Naturamus specializes in sourcing natural organic raw materials such as lanolin. Naturamus is part of WALA, a German-based company in the natural cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry founded in 1935.

In 2016, Naturamus and Fuhrmann partnered to create an innovative product that had never existed before: Organic Lanolin. Both partners brought different expertise to the table. Naturamus offered insights from the consumer market and the requirements of the cosmetic industry and Fuhrmann had the organic on-farm and processing expertise.

The partnership and direct dialogue between Fuhrmann and Naturamus enabled the Fuhrmann team to identify exactly what could be done in order to meet the high requirements of the organic cosmetic industry from the farm stage. While the Fuhrmann farms as well as the mill, both meet all the GOTS organic standard requirements for primary production and wool processing, the small concentrated amounts of chemicals still contained in the wool grease were above the accepted level for an organic lanolin product destined for skincare products. The challenge for the Fuhrmann team was, therefore, to identify which processes within the wool production could be changed in such a way that animal welfare and quality standards could still be met while also reducing allowed chemical traces in the organic lanolin product.

On-farm, the identified solution lay in doing the routine health checks at a different point in time of the year or even avoiding the use of certain drugs approved by the organic standard of primary production. This change in animal welfare management ensures that chemical traces vanish from the lanolin when the wool is shorn and the sheep can stay healthy as always.

In the mill, improvements were made in the way wool lots were separated into different lots for processing to ensure the organic lanolin stays pure.

Once the lanolin leaves the Fuhrmann mill, it is sent to a refining mill Inquimec in Buenos Aires for filtering and purifying. Based on the collaboration, Inquimec refining mill also achieved the certification of organic status in its process. It is as far as we know, the only company in the world that has certified this organic process.

From Argentina, the lanolin is shipped to Naturamus in Germany where it gets filtered one additional time. The final result is a 100% organic lanolin product ready to create the most natural cosmetic products the world has to offer.

Monica Ebert is the International Brand Development Manager at BKB in South Africa. Part of Monica's work portfolio is the company's outdoor apparel brand Core Merino. In this episode, Monica talks about the opportunities and challenges of marketing a South African merino wool product.

About Monica Ebert

Monica Ebert Is The International Brand Development Manager At BKB In South Africa. Her Responsibilities Include Managing The Companies Clothing Line Core Merino. Monica Joined BKB In March Of 2018 After Living And Working In The Wool Industry In New Zealand And The United States. Monica’s Passion For The Wool Industry Stems From Her Lifelong Involvement In The Sheep Industry Having Been Born Into A Small Purebred Sheep Operation In Kansas, USA. She Received Her Bachelor’s Degrees In Apparel Design And Apparel Marketing From Kansas State University And Completed Her Master’s Degree At Angelo State University Where She Focused Her Research Efforts On Sheep And Wool Production And Apparel Product Development Concentrating On The Processing And Manufacturing Of Wool Into Activewear Garments. Through Her Research And The Development Of A Supply Chain Entirely Within The United States Textile Industry, She Gained Unique Insights Of The Wool Supply Chain From “Sheep To Shop”.

Yvar Monasch is the Managing Director at Best Wool Carpets, a company based in the Netherlands. In this interview, Yvar shares insights about the tufting carpet industry and about Best Wool Carpets. As the company's name already conveys, Best Wool Carpets is an advocate for wool and is constantly trying to find new ways to communicate the wool message. 

About Yvar Monasch

Born (1970) and raised in The Netherlands Yvar has always been interested in the sales and production side of business. During his study of general economics at the University of Amsterdam Yvar got in charge of a piano store on one of the canals in Amsterdam. Yvar joined Best Wool Carpets in 1998, doing a management buyout in 2000 and since then running it together with a highly engaged team. It is an everyday dedication trying to do things differently than others and to exceed expectations. The three core values of Yvar are: • Always deliver on one’s promise • If you think you know; ask and if you know; act • All the success and all the failures are a team effort.

Over the course of one year, Luke Hooke wore only wool, documenting his journey as his Year of Wool. In this podcast interview, Luke reflects on his experience during the last 12 months.

About Luke Hooke

Luke Hooke is the young Australian behind Year of Wool, a project promoting wool clothing and the wool industry. For 365 days Luke wore only wool and wool blend clothing to demonstrate the versatility and incredible natural qualities of wool and wool clothing. Having grown up on a wool growing farm in Victoria, Australia, Luke explored post-farm-gate part of the wool industry, promoting the wonderful fibre that is wool while also learning more about the industry.

Eric Bjergso introduces us to the Canadian sheep and wool industry. In his interview, Eric provides insights into the history of the Canadian wool industry, sheep breeds and wool qualities. He describes the challenges and opportunities Canadian wool growers are faced with and how the Co-operative is supporting its members in the same.

About Eric Bjergso

Eric Bjergso is the General Manager of the Canadian Co-operative Wool Growers Limited. Eric is a graduate of the Agricultural College. He joined the Canadian Co-operative Wool Growers Limited in 1976 and has been the General Manager since 1983.

Celebrating episode 100 of the Wool Academy Podcast it is time to hear more about the host of the show, Elisabeth van Delden. In this episode, Monica Ebert, a former guest of the show, interviews Elisabeth about the podcast. Elisabeth will take you behind the scene of the podcast. You will learn how Elisabeth came up with the idea for Wool Academy, how each episode is created and what the future will bring for the podcast.

Rebecca Burgess introduces the Fibershed, a non-profit organization that explores and actively implements regional textile fiber and natural dye supply chains. In the interview, Rebecca explains how the idea for Fibershed developed and how it became an ever-growing self-sufficient community of wool growers, ranchers, designers, clothmakers and many more. She explains the concept of carbon farming, counter-intuitive funding models that work and how well-established brands can become part of the community. The Fibershed is a key solution to reversing climate change and an inspiration to the wider industry to think in new and different ways.

About the Fibershed

Rebecca Burgess is the founder of the Fibershed. Rebecca started the Fibershed originally with her local wardrobe project where she sourced all her clothing within a radius of 150-miles to where she lives. Fibershed is a non-profit organization focused on education, advocacy and research efforts that directly drive economic development for de-centralized fiber and natural dye systems. Organizational goals include developing a working model for 'soil-to-soil' agriculture and manufacturing processes. Our work is designed to empower small and mid-scale farmers, designers and brands to engage in Climate Beneficial agricultural practices that bring regionally and regeneratively farmed textiles directly to the marketplace. 

Gudrun Rógvadóttir is the co-founder of the Faroe Island Knitwear label Gudrun and Gudrun. Together with the designer Gudrun Ludvig she started the label in 2000. Ever since the label grew to a well-known knitwear brand. In this podcast episode, Gudrun tells the story of how and why she started the label. She also introduces us to the Faroe Island wool and sheep industry and gives insights on how the label empowers women.

About Gudrun and Gudrun

Gudrun and Gudrun is a knitwear company specialised in hand-knit. The company was founded in 2002 by two Faroese women and the creative process of design is very closely linked to the isolation of the place. The vision of the company is to make a difference, something very simple and yet very ambitious. The knitwear label wants to make clothes that meet the standards of conscious customers who care about each other, the environment, our common natural resources and who yet want to be stylish. The hand-knitted collections are made in the homes of female knitters on the Faroe Islands, Jordan and Peru as part of a women's empowerment project. The Faroe Islands are 18 tiny islands situated in the North Atlantic, between Iceland and Norway. Only 45,000 people live on the islands. Still, it is a nation of its own culture and own language.

James Braszell is a full-time shearer based in Australia. James found a creative way of sharing his passion for his work and life in the shearing sheds through his photography. Every day while shearing, James captures unique moments of life in the shearing shed. In his Wool Academy Podcast interview, James shares insights into the work and life as a shearer and how he developed his second career as a photographer.

About James Braszell

In 2013, James Braszell, started working full time in rural Australia as a rouseabout. He wasn’t long into his time in the woolsheds when he realised it would be worth getting a camera and capturing the unique scenes he found around me every day. The people, the places, the animals and even the dirt and the dust – there was so much to capture everywhere he went! That was how James started his photography business. Years later and his passion for the job has now only grown and he is now shearing full time. His photography has taken him all over the country and into countless woolsheds and farms where he has met many wonderful people on the way and snapped thousands of photos. 

Allan De Boos has been working in the wool industry his whole career. As the Programme Manager responsible for the Woolmark Wool Education Course at tertiary level he shares his knowledge with the wool industry's future designers and engineers. In this episode, he talks about the programme and explains the importance of educating students in wool for the innovations of the future.

About Allan De Boos

Dr. Allan de Boos is a graduate of the University of NSW (Textile Technology - Chemistry) and the Victoria University of Manchester (Dept Chemical Physics). He was employed by CSIRO Division of Wool Technology from 1968-2002 conducting research into the chemical and mechanical finishing of wool and wool-blend fabrics. While at CSIRO he worked closely with fabric and garment manufacturers particularly in Italy and the UK, on the exploitation of SiroFAST and other systems for fabric objective measurement for fabric and garment manufacturing. Over the last 15 years, Allan has worked for Australian Wool Innovation and is currently the Programme Manager responsible for Woolmark Wool Education Course at tertiary level. Over the past four years, he has delivered the Woolmark Course at Yantai-Nanshan university in Nanshan, China. The delivery involves two periods, each of two months, working in Nanshan. This year he will also be delivering units at Jiaxing University. In addition to delivery of the course units, Allan conducts 'course familiarisation' sessions with staff from other Chinese universities so that they can evaluate the course and its materials for inclusion in the university undergraduate programme for textile engineers. Allan also manages the delivery of units of the course at several other textile-related universities in China by staff from Deakin University (Australia). 

About AWI/The Woolmark Company

AWI is the research development and marketing (RD&M) organisation for the Australian wool industry. AWI’s mission is to invest in research, development, marketing and promotion to enhance the profitability, international competitiveness and sustainability of the Australian wool industry and increase demand and market access for Australian wool. Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) and its subsidiary The Woolmark Company (TWC) represent the interests of 55,000 wool growers in Australia. AWI is proud of what it has achieved for Australian wool growers. In FY17 AWI invested $71 million in 398 projects with 140 partners worldwide. These included leading international brands and sport companies such as Nike and Adidas who recognise their customers are interested in natural fibre, and in particular wool, in clothes, running shoes, and soft tailoring.

Yolanda Leask and Martin Brambley are the two young entrepreneurs behind the company Doppelhaus. In this episode, the two fashion textile experts talk about their product Cloudwool. Cloudwool is a non-woven fabric made out of wool. Yolanda and Martin share how they came up for the idea of Cloudwool and what they are trying to achieve with this product for wool and the planet.

About Doppelhaus

Yolanda Leask and Martin Brambley are the founders and Directors of Doppelhaus Ltd. Doppelhaus Ltd is a textile company specialising in utilising non-woven technology for the creation of high-quality fabrics. Their novel approach involves meticulous consideration and research in to supply chains, sustainability and surface technology/design. Yolanda's and Martin's vision remains to develop and produce reliable, high-quality textiles for many industries. They are on hand to impart their unparalleled creativity and passion into a project you may have. The two are based in London & Berlin.

Cobus Ooosthuizen has always wanted to bust advertisement claims and proof them wrong. That is also why he took on the wool industry to proof the outrages claims the industry was making about wool as false. These claims about wool included that wool was soft, durable, cool when it is hot, warm when it is cold, breathable, UV protective, odour resistant etc. Cobus Oosthuizen tested a wool t-shirt during a 250 km running race for 6 days through the South African desert. Cobus talked about his experience with wool at the last IWTO Wool Round Table in South Africa. This episode is a live recording from the event. Listen to the amazing story of how Cobus ran for 6 days through the South African desert with temperatures of 42-52 degrees Celcius to test wool's marketing claims.

About Cobus Oosthuizen

Dr. Oosthuizen is passionate about change…”that moment when you discover something and you know you can never go back to the way things use to be.” It is his drive and passion to see everyone have moments like these, leading them to more productive, effective, healthy and purposeful lives.” As the founder of LifeXchange and owner of LifeXchange Solutions, Cobus and his incredible team of experts are leading both communities, schools, and churches as well as small, medium and large business and corporate clients into effective mentoring and change management processes! Cobus is married, has an 8-year-old daughter, lives in Cape Town and is always ready to show you that you are more capable than what you could ever imagine!

Francesco Botto Poala is the Chief Operating Officer at the well known vertically integrated weaving company Reda 1865. In this episode, Francesco talks about how the company strives for continued success through quality and innovation. Francesco explains that innovation means to be always willing to change and adapt in order to survive. Traceability, animal welfare and environmental standards are of highest concern to Reda. Francesco explains how the company tracks and traces its own progress in these areas while setting the benchmark for other companies as well. Francesco goes even so far to discuss why consumers are also asking for this kind of level of transparency and responsibility.

Listeners will also gain insights on the challenges of founding the sportsbrand Rewoolution and the brand's social media activities.

About Francesco Botto Poala

Born in Biella in 1964, after completing school education in Italy, Francesco Botto Poala starts building his 360° experience, both at home and abroad. Francesco works in London for a fabrics wholesale and for a short period also for a mill in Scotland, then for a garment manufacturer in Italy and after this experience, he joins Reda the family company in textile since 1865. Francesco was appointed for 4 years as a Sales Manager for Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and around 1989 he got his first experience with wool working for 3 months for the Australian Wool Corporation, and after buying wool for several years in 1993 the company bought the first of the 3 farms in New Zealand. This gave Francesco the opportunity to get experience also in the farming side and in classing wool. Since 1990 he started to get a lot of knowledge of the business in all its different facets, and in particular, he was more and more involved in the mill's production process and the related technical aspects. Francesco was responsible for raw material supply and right after he was in charge of the farms in New Zealand. But, it is in the year 2000, that he became the mill's COO. Francesco is also a board member of different companies and President of the spinning mill CB Spa and a combing mill Pettinatura lane Romagnano Sesia Spa.

Dave Maslen introduces the New Zealand Merino Company in this Wool Academy Podcast interview. Dave explains the different benefits NZM offers to its wool growers, supply chain partners and brand retailers. He also talks about the research NZM conducted to better understand the environmental impacts of wool. Dave is also an expert when it comes to understanding the passionate wool consumer and what it takes to turn first-time wool customers into raving fans.

About Dave Maslen

Dave Maslen is the Global Partnerships Manager at the New Zealand Merino Company. This involves taking primary responsibility for NZM's key international relationships with its retail brand partners and supply chain partners. He is responsible for NZM’s marketing activities, maintenance and growth of existing business, development of new business, supply chain and contract management, strategic growth initiatives, research and development, and sustainability, traceability and ethical production. Dave has a background in environmental science and sustainable land management, and is engaged globally with a broad range of agencies focused on sustainability.

Ben Watts is a wool grower based in Australia who is using automation technology to help him run is farm more efficiently and more effectively. Drones, RFID tags or automated scales all help Ben look after his sheep, the farm, ensure the health of his stock and improve is production and therefore his overall business. Ben explains in this episodes how the different technologies work and how they aid wool growers, sheep and consumers. As Ben saw so much success with the new types of technologies he also started his own consulting and training company, Bralca, to assist other wool growers achieve the same goals. Listen to the fascinating world of automation on farm.

About Ben Watts

Ben has been working in the merino industry over the past 25 years, in this time ben has managed sheep farms for corporate business’ up until 2005 when he and his wife Fiona purchased their second farm and began to focus on utilizing automation. In this time Ben has developed commercial applications for a number of technologies to better utilize skilled labour by reducing repetitive tasks, providing meaningful live information and identifying individual animals within large commercial flocks. Traditionally data collection has been based on manual processes to collect mob based information. Utilising individual electronic ID, Ben uses remote data collection for live monitoring of animal body weights, matching ewes to lambs and recording animal treatments. In the past two years, Ben has incorporated the use of Drones to track stock, monitor water and measure pasture growth. This has provided a new level of automated monitoring to assist in management.

Derelee Potroz-Smith is the CEO and Co-founder of Woolchemy based in New Zealand. Woolchemy processes wool with its innovative neweZorb treatment to make it super-absorbent. In this Wool Academy podcast, Derelee tells the story of how she and her mother came up with the idea for Woolchemy and how she developed the business over the past 10 years.

About Derelee Potroz-Smith

Derelee Potroz-Smith is the CEO and Co-Founder of Woolchemy in New Zealand. She is a mother of three boys, an engineer, and an environmentalist. Her company Woolchemy have formulated a world first method that makes sheep wool super-absorbent for use in multiple moisture management applications. In 2017, Woolchemy was named finalists in the ’Going Circular’ category of the New Zealand NZI Sustainable Business Awards. Derelee comes from a wool producing upbringing and her mission is to pay farmers fairly for their wool clip and creating innovative biodegradable products for the better of our planet and our people.

Evan Helle is a fourth generation sheep rancher and co-founder of the merino wool retail brand Duckworth. In this episode, Evan shares the story of his family, the family ranch and the decision to add more value to their wool by starting an apparel business. He shares insights into the benefits and hurdles of running a vertically integrated business and the importance of preserving wool skills and knowledge locally.

About Evan Helle

Evan Helle is a fourth generation sheep rancher and co-founder of Duckworth. He is an active member of the American Sheep Industry Association, Montana Wool Growers, and Southwest Montana Stockman’s Association. Shortly after graduating from Montana State University-Bozeman in 2014, with degrees in Agriculture Business and Economics, he jumped into the fledgeling company Duckworth to help launch the startup. Excelling at computer database and software integration, he built the tools required to carve out a vertically integrated U.S. supply chain from Sheep to Shelf™. After Duckworth was up and running, Evan moved back to his hometown of Dillon where he manages Duckworth’s fabric production remotely and helps on the ranch. He is also an active ambassador for Duckworth and attends trade shows, sales events, and helps with social media. Evan’s focus is to grow the supply of wool for Duckworth by reaching out to fellow wool producers who buy Helle Rambouillet seed stock. He also is working on integrating new genetic software, management practices, and helping to develop fine wool breeding indexes aimed at improving wool production and quality.

John Roberts is the General Manager Eastern Hemisphere of the Woolmark Company - Australian Wool Innovation. IN his position he leads the Asian Woolmark offices as well as the Woolmark Resource Centre. In this interview, John Roberts shares insights into the Asian wool consumer and manufacturing markets. John also explains the concept and goal of the inspiring state of the art Woolmark Resrouce Centre.

About John Roberts

John brings nearly 30 years experience in the Wool Industry having worked in a wide range of industry sectors from primary production to processing, marketing and trading. He stems from a wool producing family in Binalong, NSW and started his career in the industry as a shipping and administration clerk for the Exporter Booth Hill & New Pty Ltd in Sydney in 1988. Since that time he spent a number of years as a wool buyer in Sydney before moving into wool trading. He continued to expand his experience in the industry working as the Senior Trader for Agrisk Pty Ltd developing risk management tools for wool growers before moving to Dubbo, NSW as the Topmaking and Trading Manager at Fletcher International. John returned to the Booth group (then owned by the German topmaker BWK) where he assumed the role of Trading Manager for both greasy wool and wool tops, based in Melbourne. He covered numerous key markets in his time trading including Italy, India, UK, USA Eastern Europe and China. As the groups processing expanded John was also overseeing the blending, processing and selling of wool tops ex Austops in Parkes, and the Geelong Wool Combing mill. When Elders bought BWK in 2000 John relocated to Adelaide and was able to work on a number of new sales initiatives that linked his extensive global sales network to Australian Wool Growers via the Elders broking arm. He extended this work when he was appointed to the role of Marketing & Trading Manager – China, based in Shanghai for 3 years. In that time he initiated the first Australian wool auctions held in China, developed a number of new mill direct selling avenues, led numerous farmer tours to China, and negotiated the sale of Austops and Joint Venture of Geelong Wool Combing with the Nanshan Group. John returned to Australia in 2006 in the role of General Manager for Elders Wool International where he oversaw the groups greasy wool trading and commission combing operations globally including the New Zealand greasy exporter J.S. Brooksbank. More recently John was General Manager of Dalgety Wool Exports before starting his own agricultural consulting business Eubindal Pty Ltd where he has worked on export initiatives in the wine and wool industries. He has spent the last 18 months working as the Executive Officer of the Wool Selling Systems Review that was commissioned by AWI.

Gerhard Schoppel is the owner and creative mind behind the premium hand knitting yarn Schoppel Wolle. In this episode he talks about the hand knitting business and why he decided to go premium. Gerhard also shares the journey he went through to source his wool only from Patagonia in Argentina and to have his products GOTS certified.

About Gerhard Schoppel

„Knitting is the answer to the yearning for something true, something for yourself, something of value.“ The Hohenloher Wolle GmbH is a company with a clear position. For more than sixty years the traditional company stands for the manufacturing and processing of hand knitting yarns - Made in Germany. An extensive knowhow on textiles has been acquired over decades, something that today is more valuable than ever. To owner Gerhard Schoppel, the spirit of creative handiwork is near and dear. The particular uniqueness of the Schoppel Wolle yarn collections is influenced by the interplay of art and fashion. With the three product lines gradient yarns, sustainably produced yarns made of natural fibres and luxurious yarns (silk, cashmere, linen, alpaca and mohair) the Hohenloher Wolle GmbH delivers its products to international customers, especially to countries with a long knitting tradition. The raw wool for the whole collection comes from Patagonia and local sheep farms. In a new Schoppel Wolle product line the Hohenloher Wolle GmbH has been certified with the eco-label GOTS. The GOTS-seal (Global Organic Textile Standard) is subject to very strict requirements and criteria throughout the complete production chain. For Gerhard Schoppel and the Hohenloher Wolle GmbH it is important to say: A clear position never goes out of fashion.

Peter Morgan is the Executive Director of the Australian Council of Wool Exporters & Processors and of the Private Treaty Wool Merchants of Australia. In this episode, Peter gives insights into the Australian wool export industry and shares stories from his life long career and achievements for the overall good of the wool industry.

About Peter Morgan

Dr Peter Morgan, like a number of members of the wool industry enrolled in the former Wool Technology course at the University of New South Wales. It was his first involvement with the sheep and wool industry. He joined the Western Australian Department of Agriculture after graduation in 1963, based in Port Hedland as a one man office. From there, he provided an extension service to the pastoralists over an area of 60,000 square miles, working mostly on sheep fertility problems and pasture management issues. He also had responsibility for the local Departmental Research Station, “Abydos”. While based in Port Hedland, Peter also completed an MSc on methods for improving ram fertility and lambing performance in the Region. Outside of his work with the Department of Agriculture, Peter witnessed the commencement of the transformation of the Pilbara from a pastoral small to medium sized mining industry based area to an iron ore giant. Peter received an Australian Wool Board Scholarship to continue his studies at the University of Western Australia in 1967. This time, in the field of early stage lamb mortality. He returned to the North West on completion of his PhD studies, taking a position in the Department’s Regional Office in Derby. From there, he resumed work on sheep fertility problems in the Pilbara Region and participated in the beef cattle research programme at the new Department of Agriculture Research Station at Fitzroy Crossing. Peter accepted an offer to join the Australian Wool Testing Authority (AWTA) as Regional Manager Fremantle in 1972. His friends from University days, David Ward and SAS Douglas were already at AWTA. The timing of his appointment coincided with the lift in wool prices after the very tough times from 1968 to 1971. It also coincided with a significant lift in testing volumes as the recently formed Australian Wool Commission began testing the stockpile prior to resale. His commencement at AWTA was only a few months before the completion of the Australian Objective Measurement Project (AOMP) that led to the introduction of Presale testing and Sale-by-Sample in July 1972. This, in turn, led a period of phenomenal growth and challenges at AWTA. He moved to Head Office in 1978, where he had a number of senior roles before retiring in 1999 as part of the phased transition in the senior management structure. Peter involved himself at all levels of the industry during his time at AWTA and is probably best remembered for his work in the development of IT systems to meet the ongoing growth of Presale testing and as a member of the Industry Committee which introduced electronic data transfer to the industry in 1984. This was a pioneering achievement for the wool industry in EDP terms and removed the costly, and error prone, need for sellers, private treaty merchants and buyers to re-enter data which was already recorded in other computers in the industry. On retirement from AWTA, Peter took up a part-time position assisting Bob Quirk at the newly formed Australian Wool Industry Secretariat (AWIS). This stretched to full time in 2002 when Bob moved to Australian Wool Innovation and Peter took on Bob’s former role of Executive Director. This made him Executive Director of the Australian Council of Wool Exporters, the Australian Wool Processors Council, the Private Treaty Wool Merchants of Australia and Secretary of the Federation of Australian Wool Organisations. He is also a Member of the Australian delegations to the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) Meetings. Peter continues today as the...]]>Introduction

Peter Morgan is the Executive Director of the Australian Council of Wool Exporters & Processors and of the Private Treaty Wool Merchants of Australia. In this episode, Peter gives insights into the Australian wool export industry and shares stories from his life long career and achievements for the overall good of the wool industry.

About Peter Morgan

Dr Peter Morgan, like a number of members of the wool industry enrolled in the former Wool Technology course at the University of New South Wales. It was his first involvement with the sheep and wool industry. He joined the Western Australian Department of Agriculture after graduation in 1963, based in Port Hedland as a one man office. From there, he provided an extension service to the pastoralists over an area of 60,000 square miles, working mostly on sheep fertility problems and pasture management issues. He also had responsibility for the local Departmental Research Station, “Abydos”. While based in Port Hedland, Peter also completed an MSc on methods for improving ram fertility and lambing performance in the Region. Outside of his work with the Department of Agriculture, Peter witnessed the commencement of the transformation of the Pilbara from a pastoral small to medium sized mining industry based area to an iron ore giant. Peter received an Australian Wool Board Scholarship to continue his studies at the University of Western Australia in 1967. This time, in the field of early stage lamb mortality. He returned to the North West on completion of his PhD studies, taking a position in the Department’s Regional Office in Derby. From there, he resumed work on sheep fertility problems in the Pilbara Region and participated in the beef cattle research programme at the new Department of Agriculture Research Station at Fitzroy Crossing. Peter accepted an offer to join the Australian Wool Testing Authority (AWTA) as Regional Manager Fremantle in 1972. His friends from University days, David Ward and SAS Douglas were already at AWTA. The timing of his appointment coincided with the lift in wool prices after the very tough times from 1968 to 1971. It also coincided with a significant lift in testing volumes as the recently formed Australian Wool Commission began testing the stockpile prior to resale. His commencement at AWTA was only a few months before the completion of the Australian Objective Measurement Project (AOMP) that led to the introduction of Presale testing and Sale-by-Sample in July 1972. This, in turn, led a period of phenomenal growth and challenges at AWTA. He moved to Head Office in 1978, where he had a number of senior roles before retiring in 1999 as part of the phased transition in the senior management structure. Peter involved himself at all levels of the industry during his time at AWTA and is probably best remembered for his work in the development of IT systems to meet the ongoing growth of Presale testing and as a member of the Industry Committee which introduced electronic data transfer to the industry in 1984. This was a pioneering achievement for the wool industry in EDP terms and removed the costly, and error prone, need for sellers, private treaty merchants and buyers to re-enter data which was already recorded in other computers in the industry. On retirement from AWTA, Peter took up a part-time position assisting Bob Quirk at the newly formed Australian Wool Industry Secretariat (AWIS). This stretched to full time in 2002 when Bob moved to Australian Wool Innovation and Peter took on Bob’s former role of Executive Director. This made him Executive Director of the Australian Council of Wool Exporters, the Australian Wool Processors Council, the Private Treaty Wool Merchants of Australia and Secretary of the Federation of Australian Wool Organisations. He is also a Member of the Australian delegations to the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) Meetings. Peter continues today as the Executive Director...

Garlita is a flat knitting company based in Lithuania with a vast experience in knitting wool garments. Together with their father, twin sisters Rita Haselwander and Rasa Stanevičienė have lead the company to success. The plant runs 24/7 and produces 1000 flat knitted pieces per week. In this episode Rita and Rasa explain the nature of their business and how they convince their customers to use more wool in their products.

About Garlita

Garlita is a family business and is run by a father and two daughters, each of them being involved in every aspect of the process. The venture of two generations has led local knitwear factory into the successful and innovative global business. It all began in 1970, when Lithuanian army, gymnasiums and schools were in need of knitted uniforms… Therefore, it is safe to say that the company was founded for a good reason - to dress the country. More than 40 years have passed until today when Garlita exports knitwear to France, Germany, UK, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Israel, Russia, Japan and many other countries around the globe.

Lorents Tvedt is the Product Development Manager at the Norwegian wool knitwear brand Dale of Norway. In this episode Lorents tells the interesting story of how Dale of Norway was founded and how the brand transformed into the famous brand it is today. Lorents furthermore explains the development of the Norwegian sweater patterns and how the brand clothes the Norwegian Olympic teams.

About Lorents Tvedt

Lorents Tvedt is the Product Development Manager at Dale of Norway. Lorents started working for Dale of Norway when he was 16 years old. Ever since he started working, Lorents had different positions in the production, product development and sales department. He only took a short break to study textile engineering in Reutlingen in Germany in 1985.

Adam Dawes is the Senior Agriculture Advisor for the Falkland Islands Government. In his Wool Academy Podcast interview, Adam gives an introduction to the sheep and wool industry of the Falkland Islands. He gives insights into the benefits of the islands' wool as well as the struggles and opportunities the industry faces.

About Adam Dawes

Adam Dawes is the Senior Agriculture Advisor for the Falkland Islands Government. He grew up on a superfine wool farm in Southern New South Wales (Australia). Adam studied Agronomy at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga before working as an agronomist, providing advice to sheep and cattle farmers near his hometown. Leaving agronomy Adam worked for 8 years in the Australian government in various roles relating to plant biosecurity. In 2015 Adam was attracted to a role working with the Falkland Islands Government seeking a career break and a once in a lifetime adventure for his young family. Adam has enjoyed the move back to the wool industry and is looking forward to the global wool industry developing as consumers begin to develop a well-deserved appreciation for the positive attributes and sustainability of our wonderful fiber.

Jacob Long is the CEO of US based worsted and woolen weaving mill American Woolen. In this interview, Jacob tells the story how he brought the once biggest weaving mill of the United States back to life. Jacob shares the challenges he faced and the opportunities he sees for the company.

About Jacob Long

Jacob Harrison Long leads American Woolen Company, Inc. He has a finance background with considerable experience in cross-border M&A, debt capital markets and consumer goods/retail turnaround investing. Jacob spent 20 years in Europe working in investment banking for BNP Paribas and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. While working in Milan from 2006 to 2012, Jacob developed extensive contacts in as well as a deep appreciation for the Italian textile and apparel industry with its focus on product quality and luxury versus the large-scale, commodity-oriented manufacturing that typifies the U.S. textile industry. He acquired the assets of American Woolen Company and Warren Mills in order to replicate the European approach to textile manufacturing in the United States.

Osman Kilic is the Executive Board Member of hand knitting yarn manufacturer Ormo. In this episode, Osman talks about the Ormo Group and how the business of hand knitting yarn works. Osman explains further how the hand knitting industry is set up and how trends influence hand knitting as a hobby.

About Osman Kilic

Osman Kilic is the Executive Board Member of the Ormo Group. Osman joined the company in 1984. He has experience in marketing knitting and craft yarns and international market development. In addition, Osman is part of the Executive Committee of the International Wool Textile Organisation.

Giovanni and Marco Schneider are the leaders behind the wool processing company The Schneider Group. In this episode, father and son talk about what it means to run a family business. 

About the Schneider Group

The Schneider Group is a family-run, multinational company based in the south of Switzerland close to the Italian border. The Schneider Group has been founded in 1922 by Giovanni Schneider as a wool trading company. When his son Marco Schneider joined the company he added early stage wool processing to the business. Today, his son Giovanni Schneider is leading the company forward. Schneider is a world leader in the processing and supply of high-quality wools and natural fibres. The Schneider Group operates combing mills in Italy, China, Egypt and Argentina.

Over the years, the Group has grown into a solid, integrated organization with production facilities managed by an independent Industrial Division. The sourcing and selection of raw materials in their countries of origin is handled by an extensive network of specialized laboratories performing quality tests and fully-owned purchasing organizations located in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, China, Mongolia and Iran. 

Jo-Anne Bester is the first and so far only female wool auctioneer in South Africa. In this episode, Jo-Anne talks about how the South African wool auction actually works and what it takes to work in the auction room. 

About Jo-Anne Bester

Jo-Anne Bester is the daughter of Eric Naude, one of the two breeders of the well-known Geelbek elite Merino stud. Having been raised on a sheep farm, she developed a keen interest in agricultural activities. Jo-Anne then went on to pursue her studies in agriculture at the Grootfontein Agricultural College outside Middelburg, which specializes in small stock management and offers an exceptional course on Merino’s. She received the prestigious award of Junior Merino Judge of the year in 2014 upon completing her diploma. Jo-Anne now works for BKB and is the first woman auctioneer in the fibre industry for both wool and mohair in South African history. She is also a qualified Senior Merino Judge and advisor. She is also an equestrian and achieved SA colours for Saddle Seat Equitation, representing SA against the USA in 2010 and 2011. 

Jimmy Jackson is a living legend in the wool industry. With a wool career of over 48 years in wool chemical processing, Jimmy Jackson combines knowledge and experience many companies seek out to have access to. In this Podcast Episode, Jimmy shares some of his knowledge on making wool machine washable and mercerizing wool. In addition, Jimmy talks about wool manufacturing in Asia, in particular, China and helps clarify some of the still existing prejudices around. Last but not least, Jimmy talks about the current trends and challenges the wool knitting industry is dealing with today.

About Jimmy Jackson

Jimmy Jackson was born in Bradford, in West Yorkshire in the north of England. At that time Bradford was known as the “Wool City” as 50% of all the worlds wool supply was traded and manufactured in and around that city. Therefore growing up in such an environment it was almost inevitable that Jimmy would pursue a career in the wool industry. In 1970 Jimmy joined the Woolmark Company (Then known as the International Wool Secretariat) as a laboratory technician in their International Research, Development and design centre which was located close by. Jimmy worked a recent technology at that time on making wool machine washable and was part of a team who took the idea and made it into a commercial scale manufacturing process. After this Jimmy was responsible for transferring the technology around the world designing and commissioning plants. This took him to the four corners of the world, Japan, Korea, Australia, South Africa, South and North America as well as throughout Western Europe and Eastern Europe including Russia. Jimmy was also the co-inventor of the Mercerised process for wool, known as Mercerized Merino which is firmly established today. In 1981 Jimmy made his first trip to China, and has been a frequent visitor ever since, and continues to visit their multiple times each year. In 2005 Jimmy left the UK to be based in AWI’s HQ in Sydney where he took up the position of General Manager for Product Development & Commercialization. In 2016 Jimmy Left AWI, and started his own part-time business (International Wool Consulting Group), where today he works with some of the leading and world’s largest Chinese wool manufacturers. Jimmy was educated at the University of Huddersfield in England, where he gained an honours degree in Textile Technology, and he was awarded a Fellow of the International Textile Institute.

Wolf Edmayr is the Managing Director of South African based company BKB. BKB is the largest wool handler of the South African wool clip and service provider to South African wool and mohair growers. In this episode, Wolf Edmayr talks about the history and future of the BKB business and shares his perspectives on the potential of the South African wool clip as well as the agricultural industry.

About Wolf Edmayr

Wolf Edmayr was born on 22 July 1956 in Delareyville. He matriculated at Grey College in Bloemfontein after which he obtained a B.Com Hon. degree at the Rand Afrikaans University. Afterward, he qualified as Chartered Accountant. He worked for the firm Deloitte & Touche in Johannesburg and later became an audit partner. Before joining BKB Ltd he also held the following positions: 1992 - Managing Director of Wooltextile Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd 1996 - Managing Director of Sweet-Orr and Lybro (Pty) Ltd 2001 - Managing Director of the HT Group (Pty) Ltd Wolf joined BKB Ltd in 2004 as Managing Director. He is a shareholder of BKB Ltd and part-time Free State farmer and is married to Birgit. They have three children.

Stephen Wiedemann is a leading expert on Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) for livestock systems. In this podcast interview, he shares the latest research results on the LCA for wool. He gives details on research conducted on different areas of the wool supply chain including the manufacturing stage and consumer use stage. Stephen also talks about the importance of the wool industry engaging with retailers and brands to explain why the Life Cycle of wool is different and how brands need to take this into account when calculating their product footprints.

About Stephen Wiedemann

Steve is an agricultural systems scientist and principal at Integrity Ag Services. Steve’s professional experience is focussed on livestock production and supply chains, resource management, sustainability and environmental regulation. With over 30 peer-reviewed publications and 17 focussed on life cycle assessment, Steve is a science leader in the fields of greenhouse gas, water assessment, energy, nutrient and land management in livestock systems. Steve is an advisor to the Australian Government Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Emission Reduction Fund teams. Steve is also a technical advisory member of the Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) partnership, a global initiative coordinated by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. Steve has been working on sheep and wool related life cycle assessment projects over the past 10 years and has six major LCA publications in this area. Steve comes from a family farming background with sheep and wool, cattle and cropping in northern NSW, where he now owns manages a small farming operation.

Connect with Stephen Wiedemann here

Website of IntegrityAgIWTO LCA Technical Advisory Group IWTO LCA Guidelines IWTO Fact Sheets SIFO Wool use review SIFO microplastics 

Key Time Stamps

[spp-timestamp time="00:53"] About Stephen Wiedemann [spp-timestamp time="01:47"] About Integrity AgServices [spp-timestamp time="02:24"] About the IWTO LCA Technical Advisory Group [spp-timestamp time="03:09"] About Life Cycle Assessment? [spp-timestamp time="05:26"] Why is it important for the wool industry to undertake LCAs? [spp-timestamp time="06:38"] Do other textile fibres do LCA research? [spp-timestamp time="07:39"] What topics did the LCA TAG work on recently? [spp-timestamp time="09:59"] LCA on the wool processing stage [spp-timestamp time="13:15"] The use and reuse phase of the wool life cycle [spp-timestamp time="19:35"] How to apply the research results [spp-timestamp time="22:00"] Why is it important to engage with brands and retailers on LCA? [spp-timestamp time="23:04"] Can wool make a difference in the LCA space? [spp-timestamp time="26:43"] What other LCA research needs to be done? 

Similar podcast episodes you may like

#015 Beverley Henry from the Queensland University of Technolgy about LCA#019 Kjersti Kviseth from 2025 Design from Norway about the circular economy#030 Ingun Klepp from the Consumption Research Norway about wool sustainability#036 Dave Maslen from New Zealand Merino about research on sustainability#041 Graham Ormondroyd from the BioComposites...]]>Introduction

Stephen Wiedemann is a leading expert on Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) for livestock systems. In this podcast interview, he shares the latest research results on the LCA for wool. He gives details on research conducted on different areas of the wool supply chain including the manufacturing stage and consumer use stage. Stephen also talks about the importance of the wool industry engaging with retailers and brands to explain why the Life Cycle of wool is different and how brands need to take this into account when calculating their product footprints.

About Stephen Wiedemann

Steve is an agricultural systems scientist and principal at Integrity Ag Services. Steve’s professional experience is focussed on livestock production and supply chains, resource management, sustainability and environmental regulation. With over 30 peer-reviewed publications and 17 focussed on life cycle assessment, Steve is a science leader in the fields of greenhouse gas, water assessment, energy, nutrient and land management in livestock systems. Steve is an advisor to the Australian Government Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Emission Reduction Fund teams. Steve is also a technical advisory member of the Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) partnership, a global initiative coordinated by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. Steve has been working on sheep and wool related life cycle assessment projects over the past 10 years and has six major LCA publications in this area. Steve comes from a family farming background with sheep and wool, cattle and cropping in northern NSW, where he now owns manages a small farming operation.

Connect with Stephen Wiedemann here

Website of IntegrityAgIWTO LCA Technical Advisory Group IWTO LCA Guidelines IWTO Fact Sheets SIFO Wool use review SIFO microplastics 

Key Time Stamps

[spp-timestamp time="00:53"] About Stephen Wiedemann [spp-timestamp time="01:47"] About Integrity AgServices [spp-timestamp time="02:24"] About the IWTO LCA Technical Advisory Group [spp-timestamp time="03:09"] About Life Cycle Assessment? [spp-timestamp time="05:26"] Why is it important for the wool industry to undertake LCAs? [spp-timestamp time="06:38"] Do other textile fibres do LCA research? [spp-timestamp time="07:39"] What topics did the LCA TAG work on recently? [spp-timestamp time="09:59"] LCA on the wool processing stage [spp-timestamp time="13:15"] The use and reuse phase of the wool life cycle [spp-timestamp time="19:35"] How to apply the research results [spp-timestamp time="22:00"] Why is it important to engage with brands and retailers on LCA? [spp-timestamp time="23:04"] Can wool make a difference in the LCA space? [spp-timestamp time="26:43"] What other LCA research needs to be done? 

Similar podcast episodes you may like

#015 Beverley Henry from the Queensland University of Technolgy about LCA#019 Kjersti Kviseth from 2025 Design from Norway about the circular economy#030 Ingun Klepp from the Consumption Research Norway about wool sustainability#036 Dave Maslen from New Zealand Merino about research on sustainability#041 Graham Ormondroyd from the BioComposites Centre at Bangor University in the UK about bio-composites

Ingun Klepp is a research professor at Consumer Research Norway, an institute at the Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences. Ingun is specialised in consumer research on sustainable textile, clothing, laundry and leisure consumption. In this episode, Ingun talks about the different findings she uncovered when studying wool in relation to consumer behaviour. In particular, Ingun studied the use of wool in beds. Ingun started with the intention to understand why we use cotton as linen instead of wool. At the end of her study, she discovered how consumers use wool in their beds in many unconventional ways. Another research project Ingun shares during the interview is a study on the smell of sports clothing which made wool outperform synthetics. Ingun is also a thought leader on environmental issues related to textiles. In particular, she criticises the focus on waste and recycling. Instead, she encourages us to think about creating better, longer lasting apparel that is of value to the consumer. All of Ingun's research findings help us develop new business ideas for wool products that are of value to the consumer and the planet.

About Ingun Klepp

Ingun Klepp works with research on sustainable textile, clothing, laundry and leisure consumption and has written numerous articles and books on these themes. The relationship between textiles, social and physical characteristics and how these are woven together is at the core of her interest and she loves popular dissemination and new methods.

Peter Ackroyd is the COO of the Campaign for Wool and the President of the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO). Peter shares insights about the start of the Campaign for Wool together with HRH The Prince of Wales and the latest campaign's event. He also talks about provenance and wool's environmental credentials providing value to retailers, brands and the consumer.

About Peter Ackroyd

Peter Ackroyd is the Global Strategic Advisor for The Woolmark Company in Sydney, Australia and the Chief Operating Officer of the Campaign for Wool. In May 2011 he was elected President of the International Wool Textile Organisation and re-elected in April 2016. Specialising in world markets for woollen and worsted yarns and fabrics, Peter has particular expertise in marketing in Europe, the Middle East, Japan, Korea and China, along with in-depth knowledge of the menswear supply chain ‘from farm to fashion’. He also serves as Vice President of the Strategy Board of Première Vision Paris.

Tove Grane is the founder and designer of the Norwegian wool label called We Norwegians. In this episode, Tove shares her story of how she started We Norwegians. Tove explains how wool has always been an important part of Norwegian heritage and how this is reflected in her collection. 

About Tove Grane

Tove Grane was born and raised in the fjords and mountains of western Norway (Sogn og fjordane). Tove got her design education at ESMOD Oslo, and has been working in Oslo since the late 90’s for various brands. She moved to Voss in 2010 to work with a ski brand, where she got into merino wool, and decided to make her own brand after the ski brand Tove worked for was closed down in 2013. Tove is married with a textile man, and he works together with Tove at We Norwegians. Tove has a daughter, who will be 14 this Summer, and a stepdaughter who is 19 and a stepson who is 24.

Matthias Boehme is a textile consultant and expert on a wide range of topics relevant to the wool industry. In in this episode, Matthias gives an outlook on the key markets for wool applications. These include the sports, outdoor and interior markets. Matthias also talks about the increased interest in traceability and sustainability schemes and shares what manufacturers and retailers need to consider. With his wide expertise, Matthias covers a broad range of topics relevant to the wool industry. 

About Matthias Boehme

Matthias Boehme is an Innovation, Sustainability, R&D and Sales Consultant. He has a vast background in wool and wool products as well as other animal hair fibres. Matthias has helped retail brands implement their sustainability strategy as well as getting certified for various sustainability schemes such as GOTS.

Chris Kerston is the Market Engagement and Public Outreach at the Savory Institute. In this episode, Chris introduces us to Allan Savory and the work of the Savory Institute. Chris explains how desertification happens and what role sheep and wool play to reverse desertification. You also get to learn details about the Land to Market certification scheme Chris and his team are working on to build a regenerative supply chain.

About Christ Kerston

Chris Kerston has dedicated his life to helping connect innovative ranchers and farmers with progressive brands in ways that create true synergistic value for both sides. Chris managed ranches and farms full time for nearly 15 years before joining the Savory Institute. In that time, he developed thriving and profitable markets for a number of different niche products. He has a longstanding passion for regenerative agricultural and a strong desire to contribute to better systems that meet the consumer’s wants and needs. Chris also utilizes innovative media production in concert with traditional marketing techniques to help ranchers share their stories and build long-lasting relationships with partners based upon common goals.

Mark Grave is the CEO of the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX), a key service provider to the Australian and International wool industry. Mark explains how AWEX supports the wool trade through educating wool classers, defining the wool auction rules and developing helpful tools such as the National Wool Declration and electronic RFID bales. In this interview, it becomes apparent how many things are taken for granted, such as standardised wool packs, but without them trading wool would be pure chaos. Thanks to Mark Grave we get a better understanding of the importance of the work done for wool by AWEX.

About Mark Grave

Mark Grave is CEO of the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX), an independent not-for-profit service provider to the Australian wool industry. AWEX has been developing and maintaining industry standards and providing market information for nearly 25 years. AWEX standards include the wool classer Code of Practice for wool preparation, often regarded as the benchmark for industry best practice, the NWD-IP an integrity program supporting the NWD, piloting the electronic identification of wool bales and daily and weekly dynamic market information. AWEX services are delivered from Farm to Exporter and are intended to provide value, transparency and integrity to the wool industry.

David Mitchell is the National Wool Manager for AWH. The company handels about 50% of the Australian Wool Clip that goes to auction. In this episode, David explains the journey that wool goes on once it leaves the farm and before it is exported.

About David Mitchell

David Mitchell is relatively new to AWH Pty Ltd and has wealth of Wool Industry experience and knowledge. Originally a Wool Broker with Elders in the heady days of the '80's and 90's Australian Wool Industry. Subsequently the Marketing Manager with the former BWK (Bremen Woll Kämmerei Germany) Australian subsidiary, Geelong Wool Combing Ltd, where he was heavily involved in top making and wool combing through to it's closure in 2004. In more recent times David enjoyed downstream manufacturing and wholesaling success with Godfrey Hirst Australia, being responsible for and overseeing the Wool Carpet Division. Currently the National Wool Manager for AWH responsible for the receipt, preparation for sale by Auction, logistics and shipping for approx. 50% of the Australian Wool Clip that goes to Auction. David also sits on the FAWO (Federation of Australian Wool Organisations) Excecutive representing AWH.

Chad North is the founder of NorthxNorth. In this podcast interview, Chad explains how he came up with his product idea of a wool kerchief made out of merino wool. Chad shares his journey of finding the right fabric supplier, launching his business on Kickstarter and distribution channels.

About Chad North

Pairing his passion for the outdoors and his love of merino wool, Chad North set out to create the most versatile piece of outdoor apparel that he wanted yet was missing from the market--a merino wool kerchief. After a successful Kickstarter launch in June 2016, production began and North x North was born. The kerchiefs boast over 100 different ways to wear and use with much of their versatility coming from the premium Australian merino wool fabric. Each kerchief is hand sewn in his home state of Pennsylvania where they are tested year-round in the rolling mountains and forests surrounding the company. North x North continues to grow and now offers a full line of kerchiefs, handkerchiefs, and hooded neck gaiters while selling to customers worldwide on northxnorth.co.

Marion Tviland is the Director Wool in Norilia in Norway. In this episode Marion talks about what is special about Norwegian wool and the Norwegian wool industry. Marion also has a strong background in Marketing and in this discussion she explains why it is so important to tell the wool story. 

About Marion Tviland

Marion Tviland is Director Wool in Norilia AS, a subsidiary of the Norwegian farmer cooperative Nortura SA. Her department handles nearly 80% of the annual Norwegian clip of approximately 4 200 tons of greasy wool. Marion grew up on a farm in Southern Norway having forestry as the main revenue base, but where sheep played an important role adding to the income. Thus Marion has firsthand experience from sheep farming, helping out with taking care of the sheep during winter and lambing season in spring when the animals are indoor, harvesting of forage in summer, and taking the animals up to the mountains in the beginning of summer and then down again when autumn starts. Marion has a Master degree from Norwegian University of Life Sciences and worked for many years with category management, product development, marketing and sales of grocery goods like chocolate and cheese in Norwegian companies like Orkla and Tine. It was not until two years ago, starting as Director Wool in January 2016, that Marion once again got involved with sheep farming and wool. Knowing about sheep farming, but not that much about wool when she started, the last two years she has been busy trying to learn as much as possible about the wool fiber, Norwegian wool and use of wool in carding, spinning, knitting and weaving and at the same time using her past experience to develop the wool sector in Norway.

Morten Dilling is the 4th generation working in the family company Dilling Underwear based in Denmark. Dilling Underwear was founded in 1916 and has since then reinvented its business model to adapt to modern times. Morten talks about why he joined the company in 2009. He also explains how he turned the company into an eco-friendly vertical B2C manufacturing and retail business.

About Morten Dilling

Morten Dilling is the Concept Manager of Dilling Underwear based in Denmark. Morten is the 4th generation working in the company. Before joining the family company in 2009, Morten studied Business economics at Copenhagen Business school (CBS) from 2003 – 2007, and at the same time worked for www.icgroup.net from 2003 – 2009. Morten lives in Aarhus together with his girlfriend and their daughter. 

Piercarlo Zedda is one of two Directors of the family-owned business Pantex SPA based in Biella in Italy. The company is specialised in importing fine raw wool and manufacturing the wool into tops and open tops. On this episode, Piercarlo explains the difference between the many wool products available before spinning and weaving. He gives insights how the products are made and how they are used further down the supply chain. Amazingly, nothing in the wool supply chain gets wasted. Being an active member of the Italian and International wool textile industry, Piercarlo talks about the importance of working together as an industry to create a better future for wool.

About Piercarlo Zedda

Piercarlo Zedda is, together with his Brother Giovanni Zedda, the Director of the family-owned business Pantex SPA in Biella in Italy. The company sells scoured, carbonised wool as well as wool tops, open tops and noils. Already as a child, Piercarlo spent his time in the family wool warehouse learning about wool. Today, Piercarlo is also the Vice President of the International Wool Textile Organisation and the President of the Italian Wool Trade Association.

Nora Kuehner is a well-known trend expert for the fashion and sportswear industry. In this podcast episode, she talks about how trends develop and what skills are needed to become a trends expert. She identifies the key trends for the wool industry. These include sustainability, fast fashion vs. slow fashion and including the customer into the supply chain process. Nora says beautiful sentences such as 'Wool is a product for sustainable thinking and appreciating clothing' or 'You don't consume wool, you have it as a companion for life time'.

About Nora Kuehner

After training at the German Master School of Fashion in Munich, Nora Kühner gained her first professional experience as a full-time designer for fashionable sports and leisure wear. In 1987 she founded her own design studio. She successfully designs collections for renowned international companies in the sportswear industry. Until 2001, the focus of her design activities was on collections for ski, tennis, golf, football and fitness wear. Her design work is characterized by extensive experience, creativity and openness to new ideas. Complemented by personal, active commitment to creating successful solutions for the requirements of their customers. Nora Kühner gives lectures on topics such as trend developments and colours at important industry meetings, e. g. in Friedrichshafen on the occasion of the Outdoor or in Munich at the Performance Days. For many years, Nora Kühner has been committed to the issues of designers, primarily in the fashion and textile sector. These include, among others, since 1999 the voluntary counseling activity for the networks of expert counseling University of Hamburg and of the Women's Academy Munich (FAM). For almost 10 years Nora Kühner was responsible for the successful IDEAS trend colour chart. 

Kurt Haselwander is the CEO of the Austrian based Schoeller Spinning Group. In this Wool Academy Podcast episode, Kurt talks about the company's 170 year history and how it continued to adapt its strategy in order to be successful also in the 21st century. He explains the difficulties spinning companies based in Europe had to go through and what strategies helped the Schoeller Spinning Group to survive. These strategies include product innovation, environmental stewardship and getting closer to retailers and brands. 

About Kurt Haselwander

Kurt Haselwander's main focus is on the innovative and sustainable use of wool in a wide variety of applications, such as the automotive industry and the development of technical and functional yarns. For many years he was mainly been responsible for the Schoeller production facilities, including wool finishing, dyeing and spinning. Since the beginning of 2014, he has been in charge of sales, purchasing and marketing. Kurt Haselwander also serves as the Chairman of the Executive Board of the Professional Association for Worsted Yarn Spinning in the Industrial Association of Yarns + Fabrics in Germany and of the Association of German Worsted Yarn Spinners. In addition, he is the Chairman of the Board of the Association of the German Wool Association and a board member of the German Industrial Association for Yarns and Technical Textiles. 

Luke Hooke started the Campaign Year of Wool where he challenged himself to wear only wool clothing for one entire year. His goal is to proof the many benefits of wool and promote the fibre as well as its industry. In this podcast interview, Luke talks about how he came up with the idea, what wool items were hard to get a hold of and what his experience has been so far. He shares how he communicates about his experience online and on social media.

About Luke Hooke

Luke Hooke is the young Australian behind Year of Wool, a project promoting wool clothing and the wool industry. For 365 days Luke is wearing only wool and wool blend clothing to demonstrate the versatility and incredible natural qualities of wool and wool clothing. Having grown up on a wool growing farm in Victoria, Australia, Luke is now exploring the post farm-gate part of the wool industry, promoting the wonderful fibre that is wool while also learning more about the industry.

Louis de Beer is the CEO of Cape Wools, an industry association representing the interests of the South African wool industry. In this episode, Louis gives insights into the South African wool industry and explains what makes South African merino wool special. Louis also tells the success story of local communal farming projects in the Eastern Cape.

About Louis de Beer

Louis de Beer is the Chief Executive Officer of Cape Wools SA. Prior to accepting the position at Cape Wools in 2011, Louis gained extensive managerial experience in the SA wine, fruit and fishing industries whilst living his passion for agriculture. Cape Wools is the official industry representative organisation of the South African Wool Industry, and that represents the collective interests of the wool producers, wool buyers and processors, wool brokers and traders, small stock breeders, labour and the wool testing group. Cape Wools promotes the wool communities’ interests within South Africa and internationally in partnership with the other great wool producing nations of the world. Louis currently serves as a council member of the Campaign for Wool and represents SA's interests at International Wool Textile Organisation.

South African Wool Grower Geoff Kingwill, shares insights into what it is like to run sheep in the semi-desert of the Karoo. He explains how holistic management of sheep and land helps reverse desertification. Geoff also explains what all there is to achieve and gain when working together with all parts of the wool industry supply chain. Learn why there is never a typical day in the life of a wool grower, what the Geoff's different income streams are and how nature is challenging him and his sheep.

About Geoff Kingwill

Geoff Kingwill is Chairman of the IWTO Sustainability Committee and serves on the Working Groups dealing with Animal Welfare and the Environmental Credentials of Wool. He runs a farm producing Merino sheep, Angora goats and beef cattle. Mr Kingwill is a past Chairman of both Cape Wools South Africa and the Western Cape branch of the National Wool Growers Association and is currently Vice Chairman of the board of BKB, a Wool Broker Business.

Cobus Ooosthuizen has always wanted to bust advertisement claims and proof them wrong. That is also why he took on the wool industry to proof the outrages claims the industry was making about wool as false. These claims about wool included that wool was soft, durable, cool when it is hot, warm when it is cold, breathable, UV protective, odour resistant etc. Cobus Oosthuizen tested a wool t-shirt during a 250 km running race for 6 days through the South African desert. Cobus talked about his experience with wool at the last IWTO Wool Round Table in South Africa. This episode is a live recording from the event. Listen to the amazing story of how Cobus ran for 6 days through the South African desert with temperatures of 42-52 degrees Celcius to test wool's marketing claims.

About Cobus Oosthuizen

Dr. Oosthuizen is passionate about change…”that moment when you discover something and you know you can never go back to the way things use to be.” It is his drive and passion to see everyone have moments like these, leading them to more productive, effective, healthy and purposeful lives.” As the founder of LifeXchange and owner of LifeXchange Solutions, Cobus and his incredible team of experts are leading both communities, schools, and churches as well as small, medium and large business and corporate clients into effective mentoring and change management processes! Cobus is married, has an 8-year-old daughter, lives in Cape Town and is always ready to show you that you are more capable than what you could ever imagine!

Chantel McAlister is Australia’s only masterclasser and professional photographer. The fusion of her two careers has been the inspiration behind her national campaign, The Truth About Wool. In this episode, Chantel talks about her career in the wool industry, her love for wool, sheep, growers and photography and how she came up with the idea for her campaign.

About Chantel McAlister

Growing up in Brisbane, Chantel fell in love with a country boy and moved to his family’s sheep property in her early twenties. Her affinity with animals and love affair with country life, soon found her throwing herself into a career in the woolsheds. Her daily life in the woolsheds was always documented through her camera and Chantel soon turned her happy snapping hobby into a second profession in 2013. An advocate for the wool industry, her images provide an intimate look into to the shearing and wool industry. Chantel launched her Truth About Wool Campaign in 2015 to dispel any misconceptions about the wool industry and has now grown the campaign into a national tour. Chantel will continue touring Australia part time photographing the wool industry and telling stories of those who dedicate their lives to it throughout 2018 and 2019.

Andrew Cuccurullo is the CEO of Waverley Mills in Tasmania. Waverley Mills is the last remaining woollen mill in Tasmania. The weaving mill produces woollen blankets. When Andrew invested into the company in 2016, the mill was in bad shape and in urgent need of a rebranding and repositioning of its products. Andrew shares the story of how he implemented the new marketing strategy. He even goes into detail about his social media strategy, photo and video shootings and product design.

About Andrew Cuccurullo

Andrew Cuccurullo has a history of clothing and knitwear manufacturing from the late 80’s-2000 working with Gowing Bros and many other retailers. Andrew was also involved with the surf label Insight. From 2001 – 2014, Andrew worked in the cutting edge of digital technologies for 14 years through start-ups he founded. Currently, Andrew is CEO of Waverley Mills. Andrew invested in Waverley Mills in April 2016 after seeing the potential of its products and its rich heritage. Since getting involved with the mill he has undertaken a rebranding and repositioning of its products in the marketplace.

Victor Chesky is a lifelong wool industry journalist and publisher of Wool2Yearn Global, Wool2Yarn China, Woolnews.net as well as woolbuy.net. Being an observer and documenter of the industry, Victor shares his insights into the industry in this episode. His work as a journalist also let him travel around the world and he talks about his most favorite moments. In addition, he has valuable advice for international wool industry business to be more successful in China and how to communicate better with future and existing customers.

About Victor Chesky

Victor Chesky was born in the former USSR. He immigrated to New Zealand aged 17. He started working in The Dominion newspaper in New Zealand in the 1980s and this was his introduction to media, publishing, and advertising. He established International Trade Publications (ITP) in 1986. Its first wool magazine promoting New Zealand wool was published in the Russian language when the Soviet Union was still the biggest buyer of wool. After the collapse of the Soviet Union this publication was superseded by a New Zealand / Australian English language edition that soon expanded to include profiles on exporters and processors in Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa, Russia, UK and Eastern and Western Europe. In 1999 ITP further expanded its publication list to include WOOL EXPORTER CHINA (now Wool2Yarn China), a Chinese language publication reflecting the growing importance of Asia, and in particular China. This magazine plays an important role as a communication link between the global wool industry and the wool industry in China. ITP moved its office from NZ to Melbourne Australia in 2000. Its annual flagship publications are wool2yarn China and wool2yarn global. They are circulated to over 12,000 wool and textile companies in more than 60 countries each year. ITP also publishes two online industry websites - www.woolnews.net a monthly electronic newsletter and www.woolbuy.net an online platform for buyers and sellers of wool and speciality fibre. Victor Chesky travels extensively around the world visiting wool and textile companies every year.

Ben Watts is a wool grower based in Australia who is using automation technology to help him run is farm more efficiently and more effectively. Drones, RFID tags or automated scales all help Ben look after his sheep, the farm, ensure the health of his stock and improve is production and therefore his overall business. Ben explains in this episodes how the different technologies work and how they aid wool growers, sheep and consumers. As Ben saw so much success with the new types of technologies he also started his own consulting and training company, Bralca, to assist other wool growers achieve the same goals. Listen to the fascinating world of automation on farm.

About Ben Watts

Ben has been working in the merino industry over the past 25 years, in this time ben has managed sheep farms for corporate business’ up until 2005 when he and his wife Fiona purchased their second farm and began to focus on utilizing automation. In this time Ben has developed commercial applications for a number of technologies to better utilize skilled labour by reducing repetitive tasks, providing meaningful live information and identifying individual animals within large commercial flocks. Traditionally data collection has been based on manual processes to collect mob based information. Utilising individual electronic ID, Ben uses remote data collection for live monitoring of animal body weights, matching ewes to lambs and recording animal treatments. In the past two years, Ben has incorporated the use of Drones to track stock, monitor water and measure pasture growth. This has provided a new level of automated monitoring to assist in management.

Professor Stephen Russell is an expert on textile recycling. In this episode, Stephen Russell teaches us the basics of textile recycling. He shares insights into the market for reuse and recycling of textiles as well as future technological developments in this area. Stephen highlights the importance of the consumer participating in the recycling supply chain by donating used textiles as well as buying recycled products. Stephen also talks about issues of sorting used textiles, what to do with blended fabrics and dividing the textile from zippers, buttons and thread. When it comes to recycling, wool is also a special fibre which Stephen explains in detail. 

About Stephen Russell

Stephen Russell is Professor of Textile Materials and Technology, as well as Group Leader for Technology in the School of Design at the University of Leeds, UK. He is a textile engineer with a background in both academic and industrial research, working mainly on the manufacture, structure and properties of new textile materials. After starting his career in wool processing research, he developed broader interests in textile technology, working on waste minimisation in textile manufacturing, recycling and reuse, design for disassembly of textile products and technical textiles. His work in textile technology has been industrially applied to various industrial, consumer and healthcare products, and in 2005 he co-founded NIRI Ltd. a University of Leeds spinout Company specialising in technical consultancy.

Isak Staats is the General Manager for Wool and Mohair at BKB in South Africa. Isak talks about the services BKB offers to wool growers in South Africa. The company handels 32 million kilograms of wool per year. He explains how different technologies help to track the wool within the BKB warehouse. Further, Isak gives insights into the wool industry in Lesotho and the special program BKB runs to employ deaf people.

About Isak Staats

Isak Staats is the General Manager Wool and Mohair at BKB in South Africa. Isak was born and raised on a dairy and irrigation farm in the Northern Cape. He started his career in the fertilizer industry in various positions for the first twenty years of his working life, all over South Africa. In 2002 he completed his MBA. In 2012, Isak joined BKB as the General Manager of the wool and mohair division. Isak is happily married and has three children.

Gaspard Tiné-Berès is the founder of Lasso Shoes, a young startup based out of France. The first product was a felted wool slipper which the company successfully launched on Kickstarter in 2013. Gaspard talks about how he came up with the idea for the wool slipper and how the put together a very local supply chain. Gaspard explains why it was important to him to source the Lasso shoe within a radius of 500 km of Paris and why the customer needs to do the final assembly. Furthermore, Gaspard shares insights about this social media strategy and introduces the brand's latest product - a felted wool bag.

About Gaspard Tiné-Berès and Lasso

Lasso is a family business based in Paris, France. Founded in 2012 by Gaspard Tiné-Berès and Amandine Richard, they launched their first product, the Lasso slippers, on Kickstarter in 2013 and sold more than 1400 pairs in just a month. As a design driven company they care about the origin, sustainability and production process of their products. They understand the responsibility of a business and the ethic is very important to them. They consequently thrive by building lasting relationships with all of their customers and suppliers.

Steve Ranford is a Senior Scientist at AgResearch. In this podcast interview, he is talking about the important environmental role wool has to play in today's world and why it is therefore important to continue research about one of the oldest fibres in the world. Steve covers topics such as biopolymers, biodegradability, isotopes and specifications.

About Steve Ranford

Steve Ranford is a Senior Scientists at AgResearch in New Zealand. During his whole career, Steve has been an important contributor to wool research making huge contributions to the wool industry. Steve is currently working on wool product development, sustainable processing and new tools for process control. His research experience covers the development of visual and infra-red spectrometry, mass spectrometry and sensing technology to provide rapid information on fibre and food products. Steve has recently developed a system for tracing the origin of wool fibres that integrates with current IWTO wool sampling and testing platforms.

Claudia Weiss de Machado runs her own wool retail company by the name Don Baez Eco Chic. The brand sources only so-called grey wools from Uruguay and uses them undyed in their fashion and accessories products. All products are manufactured in Uruguay and sold online and through the Don Baez shop in Montevideo. In this interview, Claudia Weiss tells the story about how she got started working in the wool industry by learning directly from her father. She also speaks about her vision of making consumers into wool fans.

About Claudia Weiss

Claudia Weiss de Machado was born in 1958 in Montevideo, Uruguay. Her Czech father Fritz Weiss, was a passionate and very successful wool exporter. Claudia attended the British Schools in Montevideo and later graduated from Sussex University (UK) with a B.A. in Economics and Italian. Later she spent one year in Rome where she developed a keen interest in fashion.  Claudia lives between Montevideo and her small organic farm near Punta del Este with her husband and three children. Claudia has worked alongside her father, who has been an important mentor for her, for 20 years. Claudia's dream had always been to start a wool brand in un-dyed fine wool, which she could source locally. She named her brand after her father, whom everyone called 'Don Baez'. In 1997 Don Baez started out making woven blankets. Since then the collection has grown to include a wide range of different products including capes, jackets, ponchos etc. Her interest in fashion, as well as her desire to support animal welfare and a healthy attitude to life (LOHAS) started at an early age. Through the brand, she has created wearable designs that are simply tailored with a feminine edge but which also emphasize the sustainability of un-dyed wool. Her intention is to make Don Baez's designs have a style of their own and be timeless and hopefully very chick. Don Baez opened its first store in 2013 in Punta Carretas - the trendiest neighborhood in Montevideo. The products are also available in many Uruguayan wineries and top hotels.

In this episode, Dr. Beverley Henry talks about why the opinions about the sustainability for fibres varies so much and how we can find common grounds through the method of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). She shares with us the latest findings on LCA research for wool and how this is integrated into the textile supply chain. Beverley explains how individual companies can use the available research on LCA to improve their product footprint.

About Dr. Beverley Henry

Dr Beverley Henry is a member of the IWTO Wool Life Cycle Assessment Technical Advisory Group, an Adjunct Associate Professor with Queensland University of Technology, and a consultant to agricultural industries. For over 30 years she has conducted research on agricultural systems focusing on profitability and sustainability especially in variable climates and markets. Beverley is particularly interested in the integration of grazing in extensive pastoral regions with effective environmental management and in communicating the value of these systems. She is a member of Australian Government technical groups on climate change and research issues and a member of several national and international Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Standards bodies, including roles with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and International Standards Organization.

In this episode, Mac Bishop, founder and CEO of Wool & Prince talks about his business. The goal of Wool & Prince is to deliver durable long lasting apparel out of wool. Mac shares his experience on launching his business with the support of a Kickstarter campaign. For the Kickstarter campaign, Mac created a well-known video where he wore one of his wool button-down shirts for 100 days. In the interview, he shares how the video got created and what to look out for when creating a successful video for your product launch. Mac also talks about key learnings and challenges when growing his business. 

About Mac Bishop from Wool & Prince

Mac Bishop is the founder of Wool&Prince, an online menswear brand that makes naturally odor- and wrinkle-resistant wool button-downs. When Mac started the company, he wore a wool shirt for 100 days in row to demonstrate the functional properties of wool. After four years in upstate New York at Cornell University and another four years in NYC, Mac moved back to Portland this past summer. Read more about his experience on his blog.

Nick Armentrout is the Supply Chain Leader at US retail brand Ramblers Way. Majority of the Ramblers Way products are made out of wool, sourced directly from US based wool growers. In his interview, Nick explains the whole Ramblers Way supply chain from farm to shop. Nick talks in detail about the Ramblers Way target group and how the company plans to grow long term.

About Nick Armentrout

As Ramblers Way’s supply chain leader, Nick oversees the sourcing, processing, and conversion of natural fibers to the finished fabrics that create our products. He enjoys working with raw materials from nature and thinking critically about the lifecycle of Ramblers Way products. A 25-year animal agriculture and organic farming veteran, Nick has learned on his feet at Ramblers Way since 2009 and appreciates apparel designed for long-term utility and use. His role includes maintaining relationships with individual ranchers as well as manufacturers of yarns, knit and woven fabrics and the dye houses that color Rambler’s yarn and fabric. He also manages certifications of manufacturing operations, such as the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Cradle to Cradle©. Over the course of his career, Nick has managed four small businesses for others, and two of his own, throughout start-up phase to maturity. Nick is also a Saltwater Institute veteran where he educated students on Values-Based Business Models, which for the Chappell family emphasize: 1) Quality 2) Sustainability 3) American made 4) Family Owned and 5) Transparency. Nick holds a BA in English from Washington College, Chestertown, Maryland. He participates in Maine Farm Bureau, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and Draft Animal Power Network. He has lent his skills as a volunteer to gardening, farming, and equine therapy organizations. Nick and his wife, Sarah, run Spring Creek Farm, an organic horse, sheep, hay and grain farm that also serves as the host facility for Carlisle Academy Integrative Equine Therapy & Sports for children and adults with disabilities.

Janne Strommen, Head of Marketing at Devold of Norway, talks about the company's long relationship and history with wool. At the same time, Janne talks about the importance of not dwelling in history but instead constantly improving the product as well as the supply chain. She shares insights about the company's new project called from Sheep to Shop. A traceability project linking the consumer directly to the wool grower. She also shares how the company is using social media as well as influencers to position Devold to the outdoor loving consumer.

About Janne Strommen

Janne Strømmen is the Head of Marketing at Devold of Norway since August 2015. At Devold she is managing the strategic development of the Devold brand domestic and internationally and has a key role in strategic projects. One of these projects is the further development of the Devold Quality Strategy (“From Sheep to Shop”) and the Devold innovation program. Janne also oversees the development of all consumer communication concepts and leads the development of digital and social media channels. Prior to joining Devold of Norway, Janne held a position as Global Brand Director at Stokke AS, building strong presence and awareness to the brand across Asia, Europe and the US, and establishing social media as one of the key communication channels internationally –creating a direct link from the brand to mothers searching for the best solutions to their newborn. Janne Strommen studied Marketing and International business in Norway and Spain and holds an MBA in Strategic Brand Management from NHH, Norwegian School of Economics. After years of studying and working in other countries and cities in Norway, she returned to her hometown Ålesund, on the west coast of Norway where she has her closest family. She spends all her spear time in the outdoors together with her partner and their friends, either snowboarding, mountaineering, skydiving or horseback riding, and they love traveling and experiencing the great outdoors of other places around the world.

Willy Gallia of Fuhrmann in Argentina gives insights about why and how the company committed to growing and processing organic wool in the wilderness of Patagonia. Besides feeling that it was the right thing to do, it took a long breath before this strategic step was also reflected in the bottom line for the wool growers as well as Fuhrmann.

Willy Gallia explains that brands and retailers, as well as the end consumer, now show a growing interest in sustainability, animal welfare, desertification and origin of fibre, all of which organic wool can give answers to easily. Willy talks further about life in Patagonia where experiencing nature and living in communion with nature are part of everyday life, something that the urban consumers wish to connect to. Social media now gives the possibility to do just that.

About Willy Gallia and Fuhrmann

Willy Gallia is the commercial representative at Fuhrmann S.A. based in Trelew in the South of Argentina in Patagonia. Willy is responsible for the Northern European, Central and South American and Asian markets.

Fuhrmann, a family owned and run business is part of the family run G. Schneider Group. Fuhrmann is specialised in buying and growing its own organic wool on a growing number of 13 farms with close to 300.000 sheep. All is washed and combed in the Trelew based mill in accordance with the GOTS organic standard.

Rita Kourlis Samuelson from the American Sheep Industry Association gives a detailed overview of the sheep and wool industry of the United States. She covers such as how to what is special about American wool, what products the wool goes primarily into and how the industry is set up. Rita also talks about some of the programs the industry association runs to motivate younger generations to enter and stay in the industry as well as programs to help grow the industry. Last but not least Rita also talks about the industry's efforts to educate the consumers about the benefits of wool.

About

Rita Kourlis Samuelson is ASI’s director of international wool/pelt marketing. As such, she oversees ASI’s domestic and international wool marketing programs, also quality improvement, product development and government procurement. She also works with international customers of American wool and wool products. Prior to joining ASI at its start-up in 1989, Kourlis Samuelson worked for the American Sheep Producers Council beginning in 1983, bringing first-hand knowledge of wool and wool production and several years of retail marketing and management experience. Kourlis Samuelson is past president of Woolknit Associates, a trade association that promotes wool in knitwear. She has a business degree with an emphasis in marketing from the University of Denver. The Kourlis family operates a sheep ranch in Craig, CO. Kourlis Samuelson’s father emigrated from Greece more than 60 years ago and started the Kourlis sheep operation years later. She was raised on the ranch with her two brothers and two sisters and has been involved in all aspects of the sheep and wool business.

Silvia Gambi from the Chamber of Commerce in Prato explains about the history of how Prato became the centre of recycled wool. Through constant innovation, the Prato region has developed itself into an expert for high quality and innovative recycled wool fabrics. She introduces the Cardato Brand Certification that retailers and brands can work use to promote their products made of recycled wool to the consumer.

She explains further how recycled wool used to be regarded as something dirty while today it meets the demands of the green economy. Many international and well known brands use recycled wool fabrics from Prato in their fashion and interior product collections.

About Silvia Gambi

Silvia is the manager of external relations for the Chamber of Commerce in Prato. Silvia is a law graduate and works as a journalist. She has been involved in textile and fashion for over 15 years.

Don Macdonald runs his own woolbroker company under the name Macdonald & Co. Woolbrokers in Dubbo in the Australian Outback. In this podcast episode, Don explains lots of details about wool growing under the harsh natural conditions in the Outback. He covers topics such as low rain falls, occasional floods, finding staff and overcoming long distances.

About Don Macdonald

After growing up on a coastal dairy farm Don Macdonald enrolled to study an agriculture course at Sydney Technical College in 1975. The course included wool classing and he has never set foot on a dairy farm since! Don loved everything about wool from that moment. He loved the iconic history connected to it, the lifestyle of the shearing sheds. He liked working with sheep and even the smell of wool. And, particularly the people involved in the industry. Don then spent the next eight years in the outback of New South Wales working as a wool classer and a shearer. In 1984 after the bitter shearers strike over wide combs, Don decided to move into the wool brokers field and gained employment based in the wool stores in Sydney. After two years he then moved to Newcastle with that firm as a field wool adviser, again traveling the outback areas of NSW canvassing wool growers. In late 1987 Don decided to open his own wool brokerage Lanoc Wool based in central NSW in the city of Dubbo. Nearly all the wool then was transported to Sydney and there were a few county based brokers opening and Don felt there was a good opportunity to open in Dubbo as it is very central geographically and is a natural logistic hub. In 2016/17 Dubbo was the largest storage centre for wool in NSW. Lanoc Wool grew to become the largest country based broker in NSW and by 2002 was handling over 55,000 bales from one site. Much of their business was from the outback regions of NSW where traditionally the big wool clips were grown. The Millennium drought of the early 2000’s and the incursion of non-wool breeds like Dorpers saw wool production plummet, particularly in the outback. By 2004 the company's wool volumes had fallen to 30,000 bales. Things gradually recovered after the drought broke in 2009 and wool production steadied. The non-wool breeds seem to have steadied their increase and fortunately higher wool prices have helped. In early 2011 a shareholder dispute at Lanoc Wool saw Don's hasty departure and Macdonald & Co was formed and the new business quickly picked up where the old one left off. A new 7500sqm wool store was completed in October 2011. Macdonald & Co Woolbrokers has continued to grow, this year the company handled 41,000 bales through their new wool store turning over $A63,000,000 on behalf of their 700 wool clients. The company has some of the largest wool growers in NSW as clients and some are up to 800 kilometers west and north of Dubbo. Don is ably assisted by a staff of 15 of which 5 are wool specialists and auctioneers.

Graham Ormondroyd is originally a wood expert, yes wood not wool who has now also turned into a wool expert. Graham explains that wood and wool actually have a lot in common. Both are highly valued bio material that can be used to create bio composites. Within our world that is becoming more and more environmentally conscious, bio composites play an important role in replacing plastics and other materials made out of oil. Graham shares his latest research results about wool insulation as well as wool improving the air quality by binding VOCs. This interview gives a fresh outlook on future applications for wool.

About Graham Ormondroyd

Dr. Ormondroyd completed his PhD (Wood Science) at Bangor University, UK and has been the Head of Materials Research at the BioComposites Centre for 8 years. During that time he has written many proposals, papers and undertaken commercial works in all aspects of biomaterials science. Dr. Ormondroyd has over 70 publications including peer reviewed papers, conference proceedings, book chapters and edited books, he continues to publish regularly. Dr. Ormondroyd is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining, a member of the International Research Group on Wood Protection and in 2015 was short listed for both the Bangor and the Insider Wales Innovation Awards. Dr. Ormondroyd is an editor of 2 International Journals and a reviewer for 6 others.

Lorna Haigh is an expert in marketing and design and brings a valuable perspective on how to market wool products and in particular wool carpets more successfully. In this episode, Lorna explains the importance of telling the story of the people growing and manufacturing wool products. The craftsmanship involved in wool is unique and worth telling to the consumer who is ever more interested in learning about the stories behind the products. And these stories lend themselves especially well to Social Media. Lorna also explains how Alternative Flooring takes great attention to detail into creating professional images and videos to showcase their products. Something more companies should invest into to tell better stories. 

About Lorna Haigh

Lorna Haigh is the head of creative and marketing for the company Alternative Flooring. Lorna is an experienced marketing professional with a love of design. Her personal mantra is ‘life is too short to live in dull spaces’. And this sums up how Lorna lives and works. Lorna has multiple industry backgrounds in advertising, exhibition and direct marketing. With all of this experience together with her fresh and energetic approach, Lorna is changing the way people look and feel about floors by bringing design, colour and a ‘textile’ approach to flooring. Alternative Flooring is now an award-winning brand and the first exclusively flooring brand to be nominated a CoolBrand for its style, and innovation. Lorna has literally led a movement where carpet is no longer boring and I look forward to talking to her about how to do that.

David Michell shares insights about running two distinct wool companies in this Wool Academy Podcast. His long term family owned business Michell Wool is a wool broker and processing business at the beginning of the supply chain processing over 20 mio kg per year. David's side hustle is IO Merino, an Australian based merino wool base layer brand. David shares why he started IO Merino in 2002 and how it creates synergies for both businesses. David shares his strategies for being successful on social media and getting good returns from event sponsorships. David also emphasises the importance of creating compelling images to tell the story brand to the consumer.

About David Michell

David Michell is the Owner and Executive Director of Michell Wool, a wool broker and wool processing business. In 2002, David also started IO Merino an Australian merino wool performance base layer brand. David Michell is also the Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Australian Wool Organisations (FAWO).

Francesco Botto Poala is the Chief Operating Officer at the well known vertically integrated weaving company Reda 1865. In this episode, Francesco talks about how the company strives for continued success through quality and innovation. Francesco explains that innovation means to be always willing to change and adapt in order to survive. Traceability, animal welfare and environmental standards are of highest concern to Reda. Francesco explains how the company tracks and traces its own progress in these areas while setting the benchmark for other companies as well. Francesco goes even so far to discuss why consumers are also asking for this kind of level of transparency and responsibility.

Listeners will also gain insights on the challenges of founding the sportsbrand Rewoolution and the brand's social media activities.

About Francesco Botto Poala

Born in Biella in 1964, after completing school education in Italy, Francesco Botto Poala starts building his 360° experience, both at home and abroad. Francesco works in London for a fabrics wholesale and for a short period also for a mill in Scotland, then for a garment manufacturer in Italy and after this experience, he joins Reda the family company in textile since 1865. Francesco was appointed for 4 years as a Sales Manager for Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and around 1989 he got his first experience with wool working for 3 months for the Australian Wool Corporation, and after buying wool for several years in 1993 the company bought the first of the 3 farms in New Zealand. This gave Francesco the opportunity to get experience also in the farming side and in classing wool. Since 1990 he started to get a lot of knowledge of the business in all its different facets, and in particular, he was more and more involved in the mill's production process and the related technical aspects. Francesco was responsible for raw material supply and right after he was in charge of the farms in New Zealand. But, it is in the year 2000, that he became the mill's COO. Francesco is also a board member of different companies and President of the spinning mill CB Spa and a combing mill Pettinatura lane Romagnano Sesia Spa.

Richard Halliday is a dedicated wool grower and merino stud breeder. In addition, Richard is the current president of WoolProducers Australia, the national voice for wool growers in Australia. In this interview, Richard talks about his operation and his passion for wool. Richard takes the time to explain various sheep terms such as hogget or wether. As the President of WoolProducers Australia, Richard also introduces the organisation and shares his motivation to be serving the wool industry.

About Richard Halliday

Richard has worked in the wool industry all his life. Richard, Jacquie and their children Sarah, Angus and Thomas run the Callowie Poll Merino stud and commercial sheep flock. Their property is located in the south-east South Australia near Bordertown. Richard joins WoolProducers from Livestock SA's Wool and Livestock Committee.

Dave Maslen introduces the New Zealand Merino Company in this Wool Academy Podcast interview. Dave explains the different benefits NZM offers to its wool growers, supply chain partners and brand retailers. He also talks about the research NZM conducted to better understand the environmental impacts of wool. Dave is also an expert when it comes to understanding the passionate wool consumer and what it takes to turn first-time wool customers into raving fans.

About Dave Maslen

Dave Maslen is the Global Partnerships Manager at the New Zealand Merino Company. This involves taking primary responsibility for NZM's key international relationships with its retail brand partners and supply chain partners. He is responsible for NZM’s marketing activities, maintenance and growth of existing business, development of new business, supply chain and contract management, strategic growth initiatives, research and development, and sustainability, traceability and ethical production. Dave has a background in environmental science and sustainable land management, and is engaged globally with a broad range of agencies focused on sustainability.

Michael Jackson is the Managing Director of AWTA, the Australian Wool Testing Authority. In this Wool Academy Podcast Michael explains how wool testing works. In particular he explains what wool tests are applied to each bale of wool and what the benefits are for the wool grower as well as the buyer. Michael also talks about why the wool industry testing standards are unique compared to other fibres and how new test standards get created to meet today's consumer expectations.

About Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO), which is an international body representing the interests of the world’s wool textile trade and industry. On behalf of the industry and its members, IWTO standardises trading instruments; facilitates marketing; lobbies to protect the interests of wool industry; and provides a network to the industry worldwide. He is also the Chairman of IWTO’s Contracts & Specifications Committee.

He has been with the Australian Wool Testing Authority Ltd since 1987 and became the Managing Director in 2001. Michael has a Bachelor of Science in Wool Technology (First Class Honours) Degree from the University of New South Wales and Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management at the University of Queensland.

Louis de Beer is the CEO of Cape Wools, an industry association representing the interests of the South African wool industry. In this episode, Louis gives insights into the South African wool industry and explains what makes South African merino wool special. Louis also tells the success story of local communal farming projects in the Eastern Cape.

About Louis de Beer

Louis de Beer is the Chief Executive Officer of Cape Wools SA. Prior to accepting the position at Cape Wools in 2011, Louis gained extensive managerial experience in the SA wine, fruit and fishing industries whilst living his passion for agriculture. Cape Wools is the official industry representative organisation of the South African Wool Industry, and that represents the collective interests of the wool producers, wool buyers and processors, wool brokers and traders, small stock breeders, labour and the wool testing group. Cape Wools promotes the wool communities’ interests within South Africa and internationally in partnership with the other great wool producing nations of the world. Louis currently serves as a council member of the Campaign for Wool and represents SA's interests at International Wool Textile Organisation.

Philippa Wright, Founder and Managing Director at Wright Wool, talks about running a wool broker business in New Zealand. Being one of the few women in a leading position within the industry she brings fresh perspectives and approaches to the business. Philippa talks about motivating young people to join the industry and how she uses social media platforms such as Facebook to connect with the younger generations of farmers as well as a wider international audience.

About Philippa Wright

Philippa Wright is the Founder and Managing Director of Wright Wool. Philippa founded Wright Wool 15 years ago, becoming New Zealand’s first and only female owner/operator Wool Broker.Philippa was introduced to the wool industry through her father Bryan, who was a Private Wool Buyer and Fine Wool Classer in the South Island. Her father of 86 years now assists Philippa with wool sale preparation and the auctions. Her life partner Dean Freeman, who is an independent Stock Agent, is the auctioneer for Country Auctions. Wright Wool is a privately owned Woolbroker with two subsidiary companies, Country Auctions Ltd and Dag Processors Ltd. The head office and wool store business is in Waipukurau, Central Hawkes Baysubsidiarywe service all of the Hawkes Bay and wider areas. Wright Wool employs 9 experienced, highly qualified staff. Philippa is an executive member of the NZ Woolbrokers Association, she is an active member of the National Council of NZ Wool Interests and sits on several working groups of the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO). Philippa was one of the original flag bearers for the Campaign For Wool, an initiative started by HRH Prince of Wales, aimed at rejuvenating the global industry. She is now a Trustee of CFW NZ and was the first chair of the Trust. Philippa represents NZ on the executive of Global CFW. Wright Wool has recently developed a Quality Assurance Programme (WWQAP) to ensure best practice is adhered to from farm to yarn and to demonstrate the importance of delivering wool sustainability.

Jonas Sanders opened his merino wool only shop in May 2016 under the name Wollmeister Berlin. In his shop, Jonas is only selling a small number of merino wool fashion brands. With his long experience in retail, Jonas takes care to offer brands that not only perform well but also look stylish. In this Wool Academy podcast episode, Jonas talks about how he came up with the idea to start his merino wool only shop after a visit to New Zealand. He also shares insights about his customers and how he creates new wool fans one by one.

About Jonas Sanders

Coming from a long line of textile engineers, Jonas has inherited an interest in quality and comfort in fabrics. After his postgraduate studies as sports specialist, Jonas managed for over ten years different fashion and outdoor shops. This experience allowed Jonas to study the advantages and disadvantages of synthetic materials. At the same time, he began to discover the versatility of wool. After a visit to merino wool brands in New Zealand, Jonas decided to launch the first merino concept store in Berlin under the name Wollmeister. In his shop, Jonas is selling clothes exclusively made of merino wool - not just for sports, but also for every other occasion. Jonas takes care to select the most interesting and stylish products from a variety of labels such as Formal Friday, Funktion+Schnitt, Mons Royale, Pally Hi, Finisterre, Houdini and many more. All of the brands he sells use mulesing-free wool and most labels manufacture in Europe. In 2017 Wollmeister Berlin celebrated its first anniversary. 

Jonathan Dyson, the editor of Twist magazine, shares his views as a journalist on the wool industry. He explains how there is a growing desire for information of which most of that is driven by the consumer. Consumers want to know more about the story behind the product. This has the effect that brands and retailers need to provide the consumer with more information and are therefore looking towards the supply chain to find it. Jonathan also talks about how all natural fibres are heading towards a situation where they need to focus on high-value products. This means consumers need to be made aware of why these products are more expensive and have more value attached.

About Jonathan Dyson

Jonathan Dyson joined World Textile Information Network (WTiN) - www.wtin.com - as a staff journalist in 2006, and became editor of Wool Record in 2007, before re-launching the magazine as Twist in 2008. In addition, he was the WTiN head of content from 2009-11. Now in his second spell as Twist editor, Jonathan also edits the WTiN online Natural Fibres & Yarns channel, as well as Knitting International. Jonathan has also worked as a freelance journalist, contributing to The Times, The Observer and The Independent on Sunday, as well as a wide range of global business and sports media.

Ingun Klepp is a research professor at Consumer Research Norway, an institute at the Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences. Ingun is specialised in consumer research on sustainable textile, clothing, laundry and leisure consumption. In this episode, Ingun talks about the different findings she uncovered when studying wool in relation to consumer behaviour. In particular, Ingun studied the use of wool in beds. Ingun started with the intention to understand why we use cotton as linen instead of wool. At the end of her study, she discovered how consumers use wool in their beds in many unconventional ways. Another research project Ingun shares during the interview is a study on the smell of sports clothing which made wool outperform synthetics. Ingun is also a thought leader on environmental issues related to textiles. In particular, she criticises the focus on waste and recycling. Instead, she encourages us to think about creating better, longer lasting apparel that is of value to the consumer. All of Ingun's research findings help us develop new business ideas for wool products that are of value to the consumer and the planet. 

About Ingun Klepp

Ingun Klepp works with research on sustainable textile, clothing, laundry and leisure consumption and has written numerous articles and books on these themes. The relationship between textiles, social and physical characteristics and how these are woven together is at the core of her interest and she loves popular dissemination and new methods.

Robert Ryan holds various leading positions within the Australian Wool industry. In this episode, Robert explains the different activities and roles of the organisations he is leading which gives a great overview of the set up of the Australian wool industry. 

About Robert Ryan

Robert Ryan has 40 years of experience in the wool industry. He is the current Chairman of the Federation of Australian Wool Organisations and Member of the Board of Directors of the National Council of Wool Selling Brokers of Australia. In addition to these roles, Robert is also the Managing Director and Chairman of the Board of Schute Bell Badgery Lumby, Woolbrokers and Stock and Station Agents in New South Wales and Queensland. Schute Bell commenced trading in 1906. In June 1996, Robert was elected to the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Australia and has held a number of positions on various Committees. He was Chair of the Sheep and Wool Committee from 1999 – 2009 and was elected President of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW in June 2014. A Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services in the wool industry was awarded to Robert in June 2014. 

Pedro Otegui from wool combing mill Lanas Trinidad in Uruguay gives an overview of the Uruguayan wool market in general and introduces his family company Lanas Trinidad. Pedro explains how Lanas Trinidad manages to be self-sufficient in terms of the mill's water and energy consumption always keeping the environment in mind. Lanas Trinidad also complies to many accreditation and licenses and Pedro explains the benefit of the same. Furthermore, Pedro discusses the issues the industry faces as more and more farmers disengage from wool production. In this episode, you will also learn from Pedro what is so special about Uruguayan wool and how farmers are committed to high animal welfare standards.

About Pedro Otegui

Pedro Otegui is the Director at the wool combing company Lanas Trinidad in Uruguay. Lanas Trinidad is the main producer and exporter of combed wool tops in Uruguay. Pedro is the 3rd generation of the Otegui family working in the company which was founded in 1916.

For one episode the Wool Academy podcast is being taken over by Planet Wool - a Podcast by the International Wool Textile Organisation. As this episode is launching on 3 May 2017, the 86th IWTO Congress is taking place in Harrogate, United Kingdom. The IWTO Congress offers 3 full days of excellent wool industry speakers and networking opportunities. Wool Academy is of course also attending the event to secure some more amazing interviews for the podcast.

This episode gives all Wool Academy listeners a taste of the IWTO Congress. In 2016, The IWTO Congress took place in Sydney, Australia. All presentations from that event have been recorded and published as the Planet Wool Podcast. In this Wool Academy episode, you can listen to one of these presentations.

The speaker is Craig Vanderoef, Senior Director Global Running Apparel and Customization at Adidas. Craig talks about growing the next generation of wool in sports. He particularly talks about how to communicate to the generations called Gen Y and Gen Z. He also points out how retail brands and the wool industry can work closely together to deliver innovative products to these younger consumers.

If you want to listen to more presentations, go to Soundcloud.com and search for Planet Wool. A total of 28 great episodes awaits you there. The Planet Wool podcast covers topics such as wool market trends, sustainability, consumer trends, education and retail.