How do you feel about merino wool?

[Indigo Blue]

Wool clothing….not just socks…

 

Do you think it can be ethically sourced (no cruelty)? If so, then does it have environmental advantages (no plastic)? Do you like it for all seasons? Do you prefer it? 
 

What do you think about merino wool?

[Katy]

I think it’s slightly itchy but preferable to plastic. 

[HomeAgain]

I know nothing about the sourcing.We live in cold weather and I spend quite a bit of time in ice rinks, so merino wool is my friend.  I don't have many pieces but I buy whenever I find base layers on sale.

[marbel]

I have one merino sweater that I've had for over 30 years. I love it. It's very soft and while not thick, it's not like the very thin, nearly sheer merino I see in stores now. (I haven't looked into merino from online places like Wool&)

Is shearing sheep particularly cruel? I always thought the sheep benefited from the haircut, even though they probably don't like the actual shearing. 

Edited April 12 by marbel

[Ausmumof3]

I love it. Cool in summer, warm in winter. Moths are a problem. My family had a sheep station. Tail docking yes, muelsing no. I understand why though - if you’ve ever seen a sheep with fly strike 😞 

Don’t believe all the images PETA etc put out - there’s a lot of fake and dodgy stuff. I’d be a lot more concerned over chickens and lot fed animals. 
 

Environmentally probably better than plastic clothes and less water consumption than cotton, there are some downsides to hard hooved animals in Australia. 

[Eos]

I love it in all seasons, including summer when I wear merino socks to keep my feet cool. I can't afford the actual clothing but I do wear base layers as leggings and shirts.

[TheReader]

I absolutely love it. As far as I can tell, and I've not read super deeply on the topic, it's a more sustainable, and yes can be ethically sourced, textile option. 

I have several pieces now from Wool&, have loved every single one of them, and just dropped a small fortune to finish converting my under garments to their new merino blend items. 

I wear merino blend leggings & tees (and the aforementioned under things) for all my working out -- fencing 3x/week, "boot camp" style work out 1x/week, and assorted fencing tournaments (once every 6-8 wks or so? more or less?).  One thing I love with that -- it's much more temperature regulating, so I don't feel overheated like when I wear synthetic work out clothes. Consdering all the synthetic layers I have to put on over my work-out gear for fencing, not overheating is vital; I won't wear anything else now.  It's more moisture wicking, so I don't feel wet and gross.  And I'm able to hang up, air out, and rewear my outfits for more than one use before needing to wash them. So that side of sustainability comes into play, too - less laundry.  (I do NOT rewear underthings! one wear, into the wash bag). 

I wear it to sleep in, and haven't woken up from a hot flash since starting that. If I wear something else to bed, I still do. 

I find it to be a good all-season fabric, as well. Since discovering it, I've probably worn something merino every day, be it tees, long sleeves, dress shirts, pants, dresses, etc. I have some 100% merino as well, and personally I find it absolutely luscious. Some merino/linen blend stuff, some merino/tencel blend stuff, and some merino/nylon blend (for longevity). All are wonderful. 

Anyway, I'll let someone else talk, but yes, I love the stuff. 

[Faith-manor]

I don't know about merino. But I was a stable hand for several years at my friend's fiber farm. She raised Romney sheep. Adorable, smaller sheep with REALLY nice wool. It was not itchy, very soft and somewhat luxurious. Her sheep had a wonderful life. She did do the rubber band tail thing because fly strike is a terrible, terrible thing. However, I am not sure if I would consider that abuse. We spay and neuter cats and dogs all the time, and those medical procedures are more painful when they awaken from anesthesia and have more possibility of negative outcomes such as anesthesia reactions, incisions, etc. The lambs seemed to come through the tail docking pretty well. I think it goes numb after a few hours.

The sheep ate well, had lovely pasture, and lived out their lives on the farm, some getting pretty old as sheep go before eventually developing major health problems and being humanely euthanized. Most small, fiber sheep do not end up in the lamb to plate pipeline because well, they are small, not meat on them when you get the fluff off!

Our son also raised a couple of blue faced leicester sheep for 4H. They also had very soft wool.

I think ethically raising fiber sheep can absolutely be done, and should be a thing. Plastic/polyester needs to go the way of the dodo. It is NOT good for the environment. I also would rather buy cotton and linen for the same reasons.

My friend had four llamas and one alpaca. I wasn't all that impressed with the llama wool, nor their attitudes. (Disney got it right in their portrayal of Kuzco in Emperor's New Groove). But the Alpaca had super soft wool.

Edited April 12 by Faith-manor
If ever something was demon possessed, it is absolute Kindle AutoCorrect!

[73349]

I choose wool for some of my socks and sweaters (and a secondhand coat) even though my diet is mostly plants. That's because...

- Beans and other plant foods are generally more sustainable than the animal equivalent; but alternatives to wool are typically petroleum products, which are problematic for their whole lifespan;

- If my clothing in cool weather isn't warm enough--and IME several layers of cotton can't be, in this damp climate--I tend to turn up the heat in our house, also a solution with negative consequences;

- I eat multiple times a day, so the impact of food choices adds up quickly, but I can and do wear the same socks/sweater/coat for years;

- Since I don't see any really great choices, I think the most ethical & sustainable thing I can do with regard to clothes and shoes is to limit the quantity I buy.

 

Does that mean I think wool production is ideal? Nope. I just don't have a better way to stay warm and dry. I wear my wool socks probably ~100 days a year.

Edited April 12 by 73349

[prairiewindmomma]

I also support ethically sourced wool from RWS (Responsible Wool Standards) certified companies. Wool is an organic, degradable fiber unlike anything petroleum based. 
 

I wear a lot of ultrafine merino wool. It is thermoregulating, requires less washing, and doesnt cause skin rashes for me unlike other fabrics. I live in a cool, damp climate—cotton isnt a great fabric here for that as cotton holds onto moisture. 

[Faith-manor]

15 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I also support ethically sourced wool from RWS (Responsible Wool Standards) certified companies. Wool is an organic, degradable fiber unlike anything petroleum based. 
 

I wear a lot of ultrafine merino wool. It is thermoregulating, requires less washing, and doesnt cause skin rashes for me unlike other fabrics. I live in a cool, damp climate—cotton isnt a great fabric here for that as cotton holds onto moisture. 

I can understand not wanting cotton. Where I live, we don't really have anything called "humidity"! 😂 So cotton and linen feel lovely, and wool in the winter for warmth is important. When we visit Alabama, I am just stunned by the moisture content. My dry fish scale skin doesn't know what to make of it! 😆

[Indigo Blue]

Thanks for all the opinions and information about merino wool. I feel better about it as an option now, especially since I now have some first hand information from Australia! 

[MercyA]

@Indigo Blue, I would not personally buy wool from Australia. About 70% of Australian sheep farmers perform a procedure called mulesing on lambs, often without any anesthesia. From Wiki:

"During this operation small strips of skin are peeled from a sheep's buttock using steel shears on either side of the anus and underside of the tail. ...For lambs older than two months the period of greatest discomfort seems to last for approximately two weeks, by which time healing is almost complete...While the lamb is under restraint (typically in a marking cradle), the wrinkled skin in the animal's breech (rump area) is cut away from the perianal region down to the top of the hindlimbs...In addition, the tail is docked and the remaining stump is sometimes skinned. The cuts are executed to avoid affecting underlying muscle tissue."

They do it to reduce the incidence of flystrike, but there are other more humane methods. 

[Faith-manor]

3 hours ago, MercyA said:

@Indigo Blue, I would not personally buy wool from Australia. About 70% of Australian sheep farmers perform a procedure called mulesing on lambs, often without any anesthesia. From Wiki:

"During this operation small strips of skin are peeled from a sheep's buttock using steel shears on either side of the anus and underside of the tail. ...For lambs older than two months the period of greatest discomfort seems to last for approximately two weeks, by which time healing is almost complete...While the lamb is under restraint (typically in a marking cradle), the wrinkled skin in the animal's breech (rump area) is cut away from the perianal region down to the top of the hindlimbs...In addition, the tail is docked and the remaining stump is sometimes skinned. The cuts are executed to avoid affecting underlying muscle tissue."

They do it to reduce the incidence of flystrike, but there are other more humane methods. 

Ugh! That is awful. My fiber farmer friend never did anything like that to her lambs. We also bottle fed her bum lambs when a ewe rejected them or died and she couldn't get another ewe to adopt those lambs. Those little babies were spoiled rotten by us. So precious.

Why do people think it is okay to torture animals? We have developed veterinary anesthesias and lidocaine type products plus pain killers for animals. If the little things need treatment to prevent future disease and disability, there are acceptable methods that reduce suffering. Of course it is always about money. Cheaper to torture an animal than be kind to it. Sickening.

[Melissa in Australia]

I am pretty sure that a numbing spray is used nowadays on just about all sheep farms  in Australia 

Edited April 13 by Melissa in Australia

[prairiewindmomma]

2 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

I am pretty sure that a numbing spray is used nowadays on just about all sheep farms  in Australia 

I thought so too. Flystrike is quite painful and deadly and the dips and sprays are very difficult to get out of the wool fiber. Freezebranding and banding are other methods farmers use to remove the saggy wrinkly skin prone to botfly infections. 
 

Personally, I think breeding for different skin is the best way out of the mess—it just takes time (but is happening).

The problem of flystrike is tied to the animal existing—not to the recovery of wool. Chickens and other animals can also be prone to flystrike. Essentially it’s insect larvae/maggots eating at the animal. 

[Ausmumof3]

10 hours ago, MercyA said:

@Indigo Blue, I would not personally buy wool from Australia. About 70% of Australian sheep farmers perform a procedure called mulesing on lambs, often without any anesthesia. From Wiki:

"During this operation small strips of skin are peeled from a sheep's buttock using steel shears on either side of the anus and underside of the tail. ...For lambs older than two months the period of greatest discomfort seems to last for approximately two weeks, by which time healing is almost complete...While the lamb is under restraint (typically in a marking cradle), the wrinkled skin in the animal's breech (rump area) is cut away from the perianal region down to the top of the hindlimbs...In addition, the tail is docked and the remaining stump is sometimes skinned. The cuts are executed to avoid affecting underlying muscle tissue."

They do it to reduce the incidence of flystrike, but there are other more humane methods. 

I don’t know who edits but I literally know no one who does this 

[Faith-manor]

23 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I thought so too. Flystrike is quite painful and deadly and the dips and sprays are very difficult to get out of the wool fiber. Freezebranding and banding are other methods farmers use to remove the saggy wrinkly skin prone to botfly infections. 
 

Personally, I think breeding for different skin is the best way out of the mess—it just takes time (but is happening).

The problem of flystrike is tied to the animal existing—not to the recovery of wool. Chickens and other animals can also be prone to flystrike. Essentially it’s insect larvae/maggots eating at the animal. 

I think that breeding for different skin is an excellent idea. Flystrike is just darn horrible!

[Ausmumof3]

So I did do a bit of reading and it does look like that for merino wool it is still a very common practice. I’m surprised because no one in our area does it. However they are mostly smaller scale farms, perhaps it’s more common on the larger stations where the risk of a sheep not being found for several days is higher. (And death of fly strike is horrible… tail docking is like vaccination to my mind - short term pain for long term prevention). 
 

It looks like 85pc of farms do use some kind of pain relief. CSIRO are working on a vaccination option and farmers are opting for sheep bred to minimise the issues as much as possible. (Even farmers who don’t care about their animals well being will adopt stuff like this just due to cost savings etc).

 

[TheReader]

Just wanted to add that many of the respectable merino wool clothing brands are sourcing non-meuslinged wool, &/or adding "where does our wool come from" pages, etc., in an effort to be as transparent & ethically-sourced as possible. So, it is possible to find ethical merino, despite the (still happening) bad practices of some farms/farmers/merino production.