What is our Premium Eco-Wool?
- Local Sourcing: Wool is sourced only from small sheep farmers in the U.S. This year most of the wool is coming from small farmers along the West Coast. This is quite a political issue, actually, since most of the wool used in the U.S. is imported from New Zealand and Australia, greatly undermining our own local farms and our economy.
- Sustainability Guidelines: All of the U.S. farmers who sign onto the Premium Eco-Wool program are educated in sustainable farming practices that are good for the people, the land and the animals. In turn, for following these sustainable principles the farmers are paid twice the amount they would receive in the general wool pool. It is a win win situation for everyone and a great example of how what is good for the environment is also good for the economy.
- Clean Wool: Not all wool is the same. It depends on the machinery. Our wool mill uses additional breakers and carders to produce an incredibly clean wool that is dust free and virtually vegetable matter free. We have seen a lot of wool over the years and you would be surprised at what passes for good wool.
- A Word About Organic Wool: We do offer a few products that use organic wool, but it is actually only when we cannot find the same wool product that uses Premium Eco-Wool as we believe the Premium Eco-Wool is currently the better product. The majority of organic wool that is available in the U.S. market suited for making bedding comes from New Zealand and Australia. While it is great that there is a growing market of organic wool, we believe that local wool which supports small U.S. farmers and creates U.S. jobs is far more advantageous than a certified organic wool- especially considering that there is a rigorous program to ensure the wool is produced sustainably. Our wool supplier is currently working on promoting organic wool from U.S. sources.