Wool a ‘must-have’ luxury item

A $US 6 million campaign with Saks Fifth Avenue & Dillards

Australia’s wool industry has joined forces with two leading American clothing retailers to promote woollen products, positioning wool as a must-have luxury item.

Executive director of the Woolmark Company, Brenda McGahan, says the campaign focusses on the ‘must-haves’ of this season.

She says the ‘wide leg pant’ is the look that you need and that at the office you need the narrow leg suit for a woman.

One of the key looks for the season is wool and in fact fine and extra-fine merino wool is the ‘hero wool’ for the campaign.

Wool bedding items also doing well

Held over 28-30 August, the Shanghai Home Textiles Show in China hosted some 30,000 delegates from China and Japan, with European, North American and Australian designers showcasing their innovations in bedding products.

New Woolmark interior textile licensees were signed up and wool-based bedding products were ‘showcased’ to thousands of international visitors.

Woolmark’s booth partners, Kamex (Japan) and Michell (Australia) have received many inquiries and are expecting orders to be placed soon. Other Woolmark licensees received significant orders – for quilts and pillows, and also for sampling products such as quilts,
underblankets, and pillows in both adult and baby sizes.

“It is quite clear that wool bedding items both for use in the China
domestic market and for export, have great potential,” says Brenda McGahan.

“We anticipate that Australian wool usage in the bedding products industry will be significant. Pile and nap finish blankets will utilize Merino wool (20-24 micron), a greater usage is anticipated of wools suitable for underblankets – Merino crossbred (24-29
micron) for sliverknit manufacture and Down breeds (26-34+ micron) with a large proportion being carbonized for quilts, underblankets and pillow filling.”