THE YORKSHIRE SHEPHERDESS CELEBRATES WOOL AT SALTS MILL
The Campaign for Wool welcomed Amanda Owen, The Yorkshire Shepherdess to celebrate Wool Month at the historic Salts Mill along with local wool manufacturing companies, farmers, brands and retailers.
Wool Week has morphed into Wool Month for 2021 to highlight the many natural attributes and benefits of wool. The Campaign for Wool amplifies the many new products and collections released for the Autumn and the historic wool season, and educates consumers on the natural benefits of choosing wool, both for themselves and for the well-being of the planet.
Amanda Owen provided insights into her life as a farmer and shepherdess and the custodian of sheep and the daily life involvement at the early stage of the wool lifecycle ahead of the many processing stages involved in creating the extensive range of products that wool can become.
“My life is much more than raising a flock and a family, I am a custodian not only of the flock on the moor but also custodian of the moor itself. I think that the whole idea of regeneration of the moorland and peat bogs is overlooked and could prove critical in changing attitudes towards sheep farming and what it can offer on a wider scale. We are currently returning our wool to the land which, as it biodegrades, adds valuable nutrients back into the soil and reduces the carbon impact at a higher rate than just planting trees.” Amanda Owen, The Yorkshire Shepherdess
This year Wool Month is focussing on Feel Better #ChooseWool, as the overriding message it allows for the many diverse product categories, highlighting each with wool’s key and specific natural attributes that work individually for each area. By choosing wool you Feel Better emotionally that you have made a good choice for the planet, and with the assurance wool provides in the home environment in relation to VOC’s, fire safety & comfort. Wool improves the environment around the skin reducing unnecessary moisture that can aggravate irritation, providing softer and calmer skin when eczema is a problem.
Wool can also help in sports keeping the body warmer or cooler and drier aiding better performance in running, cycling, gym sports & endurance sports. And importantly a wool environment when used in mattresses, mattress protectors, pillows, duvets and sleepwear can provide a better nights sleep with quicker to reach REM and longer, more settled sleep patterns. Not forgetting craft activities such as knitting, crocheting and felting that provide a therapeutic escape from a busy mind and has been classed as an ideal way to put the mind into a meditative state of relaxation as the concentration switches from the pressures of daily life to the crafting techniques.
“In addition to the launch of Wool Month, this week saw the launch, in Brussels, of the Make the Label Count Campaign, an initiative backed by major natural fibre and fashion organisations in a quest to bring accountability to the often misleading world of product labelling. Given wool’s natural, biodegradable and renewable properties, particularly as we approach COP26, the overall message is; if, in the words of Dame Vivienne Westwood you “buy less, choose well, make it last” and choose wool you will make a significant contribution to the eco balance of the planet and the circular economy”. Peter Ackroyd COO The Campaign for Wool
