In support and celebration of Wool Week UK, Bridgwater College and Fox Brothers held an event at Castle Green to create awareness for wool and the process it undergoes, from farming to fashion.
Wool Week UK celebrates everything that is great about the British wool industry. The United Kingdom is home to over 31m sheep at any one time, producing 22,000 tonnes of raw wool each year. But UK sheep farmers receive a derisory price for their sheep fleeces, and there is an urgent need to promote British wool as a commodity that is versatile, fashionable and sustainable.
Some well-known British brands are already on board with the message that ‘wool is cool’ – Jack Wills, Savile Row, Hackett – but there is so much more that we need to do if we are to safeguard the future of British Wool and support further research. Whilst Australian Merino wool is crucial to the production of very fine cloth, British wool is warmer, more durable and cheaper, making it superb for outerwear such as coats and jackets.
Rebecca Pow, MP for Taunton attended the event and said,
“This is such a good exercise to highlight the important link between sheep, their wool and the fashion industry. With the right support I hope to see this industry expand in the future.”
Marty Simmons, Director of the Woolly Shepherd said,
“We were delighted to be asked to join the event on Castle Green. Our company uses wool to make acoustic room treatments with the aim of supporting British Farmers by helping to increase the value of the coloured and low grade fleeces, which otherwise may be disregarded.”
Working in partnership with Bridgwater College, Fox Brothers of Wellington are setting up The West of England Wool Centre, to try and bring together the two industries at each end of the wool production spectrum: our farmers, and our fashion designers, manufacturers and retailers. Fox Brothers will be producing a new, diffusion line of cloth woven entirely from British wool and using a different breed of sheep each season.
Bridgwater College will be focusing on the wool industry within its Land-based and Fashion and Textiles curriculum, offering students valuable knowledge and skills in a range of subjects from sheep husbandry right through to spinning, weaving, and garment design/manufacture. They will even have an opportunity to help design and produce their own Somerset cloth.
Douglas Cordeaux, Managing Director at Fox Brothers of Wellington said,
“I am delighted to support the link between the communities of agriculture and commercial cloth weaving. I hope, by bringing sheep to the county town of Somerset, Taunton, we will raise awareness of the wool industry and members of the public will appreciate and have a respect for the guardians of our fields.”
By offering young people access to Fox Brothers’ facilities and expertise as part of their studies, and showing them the huge range of careers available within the industry, we will be helping to create the wool-based workforce of the future.
In time, we hope that growth within the industry will mean that British farmers receive a fairer price for their wool, and feel encouraged to support the industry by investing in wool production and research. We also see a wealth of research opportunities for College students, as we seek to establish a research flock at the College’s Cannington Centre, to produce the best British wool ever.
To find out more information about Agriculture and Fashion and Textiles courses please telephone our Information and Guidance team on 01278 441234. Fox Brothers can be contacted at their Wellington office on 01823 662271 or via their website, www.foxflannel.com.
