Woolmark Company launches global ad campaign linking synthetics to oil

The global direct to consumer campaign is focused on making explicit the link between clothes, material and impact.

“To help drive the much-needed reduction in industry footprint and transition towards a circular economy, The Woolmark Company has been researching each supply chain stage to better understand wool’s environmental hotspots, strengths and the disparity between the internal and external environmental assessment of the supply chain. The Woolmark Company has performed the world’s first textile fibre full life cycle assessment (LCA) study of the wool supply chain, that highlights the challenges the industry is facing to improve its environmental footprint. These include GHG emissions, reliance on fossil fuels, water stress, water use and land use. Through collaboration with government and RDCs, The Woolmark Company has invested in GHG mitigation strategies, which represent the best approach to significantly reduce wool’s GHG impact but currently lack effective technology,” The Woolmark Company said.

The LCA study showed that garment lifetime is the most influential factor for determining a fibre’s impact - a long garment lifetime improves fibre sustainability due to reduced impact from production. As the most reused and recycled fibre of all textile types, wool has a service life at least 50 per cent longer than other fibre types.

Calling for a level playing field in textile LCAs, The Woolmark Company said that it is working to improve environmental rating methods for textiles, with a focus on the EU’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method. Proposed PEF methodology is currently incomplete. It currently downplays or excludes critical environmental impacts and does not reflect the EU’s own sustainability and circularity goals.

This means that natural fibres such as Merino wool, which, in its pure form, is a 100 per cent natural and 100 per cent biodegradable fibre as well as being renewable, may be scored as ‘less sustainable’ than synthetic fibres under the current PEF methodology. “As such, we are a supporter of the Make the Label Count campaign, which brings together an international coalition of organisations who wants to ensure clothing sustainability claims in the EU are credible,” The Woolmark Company added.

The Woolmark Company’s 360-degree impactful consumer campaign aims to help make fibre composition a key consideration during the consumer purchase journey. Research conducted by The Woolmark Company has shown that, while more than a third of global consumers say they are willing to pay more for sustainability, fibre consideration does not feature in the purchase journey at all.

With the global educational campaign, The Woolmark Company aims to help consumers make the connection between synthetic fibres and fossil fuels, encouraging fibre composition to be a key consideration when purchasing a new garment.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)