Navigating the Modern Wool Supply Chain
A Guide to Quality, Ethics, and Sustainability
I’ve worked in the Merino wool industry for years, driving product innovation around this remarkable fiber. Wool’s natural performance—softness, breathability, and durability—makes it indispensable, but behind those benefits lies a complex supply chain with challenges ranging from sourcing transparency to sustainable finishing methods.
These articles are designed to help brands navigate that complexity. This guide highlights how to build a resilient, sustainable wool supply chain that balances performance with responsibility.
Wool in Context: History, Landscapes, and Sourcing
For thousands of years, wool has shaped economies, cultures, and landscapes—from medieval Europe’s trade routes to nomadic life in Central Asia to vast sheep stations in Australia and New Zealand. Wool has always been more than fiber—it’s a driver of land use and livelihoods.
That legacy is mixed. In some regions, sheep grazing supports biodiversity and regenerative practices; in others, it contributes to erosion, water stress, and habitat loss. For brands, sourcing wool isn’t just a material decision—it’s a land and community decision. Understanding where and how wool is produced ensures that a brand’s story aligns with sustainability goals and consumer expectations.
The Production Journey and Your Supply Chain
From pasture to product, each stage of wool production is an opportunity to implement responsible practices:
Sourcing: Partner with farms that prioritize regenerative grazing and biodiversity.
Shearing & Animal Welfare: Prioritize non-mulesed wool and farms with strict welfare standards.
Processing: Advocate for water-wise, closed-loop systems to minimize resource use and pollution.
Finishing: The finishing process can create significant environmental impacts, which we’ll detail below.
The Superwash Dilemma: A Deeper Look for Brands
Machine-washable wool is traditionally achieved through the "superwash" process, which prevents shrinking and felting. Superwash has enabled wool’s growth into mainstream performance markets. Without it, wool wouldn’t be as widely used today. While effective, conventional superwash carries environmental and ethical consequences. Let’s cover the details below.
Understanding Conventional Superwash
The most common superwash method is the chlorine-Hercosett process. It involves two primary steps:
Chlorination: Fibers are treated with chlorine, eroding microscopic scales responsible for felting.
Polymer Coating: Fibers are coated with Hercosett, a petroleum-based resin that prevents shrinkage but is non-biodegradable and can shed as microplastic.
Why it Matters: Environmental and Ethical Consequences
Hazardous Chemicals & Water Pollution: Chlorine used in superwash reacts with wool’s organic compounds to form Adsorbable Organohalogens (AOX), toxic and persistent substances that standard wastewater treatment struggles to remove. If not treated properly, this wastewater poses a direct threat to aquatic ecosystems.
Reduced Biodegradability: The Hercosett resin coating is non-biodegradable, preventing wool from naturally breaking down in soil. It can also shed microplastics during washing, reducing some of wool’s key environmental advantages.
Increased Energy & Resource Use: Superwash adds extra production steps, consuming more energy and water for chemical treatments and multiple rinses, increasing the overall environmental footprint.
Beyond Superwash: Safer, Innovative Alternatives
Brands now have access to a growing range of environmentally friendly, shrink-resistant treatments that make wool machine washable without the negative impacts of conventional superwash. These technologies help reduce chemical use, water consumption, and energy, while preserving wool’s natural properties:
EXP (Ex-Pollution, Schoeller Spinning Group): A chlorine-free process using natural enzymes, salts, and biopolymers. It lowers toxicity and water use, and garments can be tumble dried.
Plasma Treatment (Naturetexx Plasma, Südwolle Group): Uses plasma fields generated from electricity and air to modify fiber surfaces, preventing felting without harsh chemicals.
Interfacial Polymerization (Life Fiber EFT, Japan): Forms a shrink-resistant layer on wool, eliminating the need for traditional bleaching.
Lanazym (Dr. Petry): Protease enzymes prevent pilling and shrinkage, enabling energy-efficient machine washing without harsh chemicals.
Eternity X-Care® (Südwolle Group): A bluesign®-approved treatment that enhances durability and washability while protecting water systems from toxic runoff.
WoolUp (Woolmark & Jeanologia): A dry ozone-based treatment applied at the garment stage, gently smoothing fibers to prevent felting and allow machine washing.
Novozymes Enzyme Treatment (Dilling dyehouse): A 10-hour enzyme process that modifies fiber scales without resin, preserving wool’s natural softness, biodegradability, and performance.
By adopting these alternatives, brands can deliver high-performance, machine-washable wool that aligns with sustainability goals and meets consumer demand for ethical, eco-conscious products.
Building a Responsible Wool Portfolio
Brands aiming for sustainability and ethical practices can benefit from partnering with suppliers that hold recognized third-party certifications, providing transparency, traceability, and verified standards.
Regenerative & Organic Certifications
ZQRX (New Zealand Merino): Verifies practices that restore soil health, increase biodiversity, sequester carbon, and uphold high animal welfare and social standards. Includes Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) in partnership with the Savory Institute.
NATIVA Regen: A regenerative agriculture program applied to Merino farms in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Uruguay. Builds on RWS standards with added focus on soil health, biodiversity, water quality, CO₂ sequestration, and farmer livelihoods. Blockchain traceability links wool back to regenerative farms.
Woolmark – Nature Positive Farming: Woolmark’s regenerative verification program measuring ecological improvements against a baseline. Focuses on enhancing soil, biodiversity, water cycles, carbon storage, and long-term land health while improving livestock welfare and farmer resilience.
Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS): While GOTS doesn’t certify farms directly, it works with IFOAM to ensure wool comes from organic sources (no synthetic pesticides, GMOs, or routine antibiotics). GOTS certification ensures processing excludes hazardous chemicals and mandates wastewater treatment and fair labor.
Responsible & Ethical Certifications
Responsible Wool Standard (RWS): Guarantees high animal welfare and sustainable land management, including a ban on mulesing. Ensures full supply chain traceability.
ZQ Wool: Combines quality, animal welfare, and environmental responsibility. Long-term grower contracts support stable livelihoods and promote transparency from farm to fabric.
Mulesing-Free: Indicates wool sourced from farms that do not practice mulesing, relying instead on humane alternatives like selective breeding and improved animal care.
Recycled & Upcycled Certifications
Global Recycled Standard (GRS): Verifies a minimum of 20% recycled content while enforcing strict social and environmental criteria.
The Circular Economy: Planning for End of Life
Wool’s natural properties make it ideal for a circular model. Brands can design for longevity and end-of-life from the start:
Longevity & Repair: Create durable products that are easy to repair, extending their useful life.
Recycling & Upcycling: Partner with textile recyclers to repurpose wool waste or post-consumer garments into new products like insulation or non-woven fabrics.
Biodegradability: Promote the natural biodegradability of untreated wool and consider alternatives to Superwash when possible.
By prioritizing quality, transparency, and a commitment to ethical and sustainable practices, brands can build a better supply chain while earning trust from a new generation of consumers.