Where does our wool come from?
Merino wool begins with the sheep. But where does our wool come from and what makes it so special? We know exactly where our Merino wool originates. Discover everything you need to know about our natural, sustainable sheep’s wool.
1 November 2018 • 4 min reading time
The story behind our wool
The wool for our Basic series comes from Merino sheep in South Africa. Their wool is white and extremely high-quality; it is the softest sheep’s wool available. Merino sheep live on huge farms in an entirely natural environment, with plenty of food sources. Their particularly fine wool is developed to deal with the varying climate with its range of high and low temperatures. This is just one of the reasons why the quality of the wool from South Africa is so high.
The Merino sheep’s wool is made up of particularly thin, light, breathable hairs. This makes the summer heat more bearable for the sheep. However, they also grow a longer coat for the winter to protect them from the cold. The Merino sheep’s thick wool also contains downy hairs which are particularly fine and tightly curled, and provide insulation in winter. Merino sheep can normally be shorn once a year, producing around 2–4 kg of wool (the best sheep can produce up to 10 kg a year). The sheep need to be shorn regularly – otherwise their wool just keeps on growing!
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