Executive Summary
The purpose of this report is for the reader to gain understanding of the strong wool industry as well as find some guidelines that could work for the future of the industry. To do this there is an overview of the history of the industry, following this an overview of what is currently happening in the industry and finally some thought on what needs to occur in the future to creat a booming industry again.
The main goal for this report is to raise awareness for consumers to make the environmentally friendly decision to buy wool and encourage the industry as a whole to stand together, to pull the wool market out of the doldrums and put it back into the flourishing fibre position it deserves to be.
There has been a lot of research into the history as well as the present to gain a broad knowledge of the industry as a whole. In-depth research of what organisations are doing and have done in the past, what factors have impacted the strong wool industry and how the strong wool industry sits within the market. The future component of this report is made up of thoughts of industry leaders and the writers perceived opinions on what the wool industry and eco-friendly consumers need to do to change the future of wool back into its rightfully thriving state.
From this report I hope to encourage innovators to create new markets for strong wool and to get producers and government to invest into wool research and development. Consumers, retailers, producers and industry organisations will need to learn to understand what the needs are and what opportunities are available to increase the demand for the super fibre that is wool.
For the future to be positive for the industry, there needs to be innovation, investment, and collaboration. The industry needs to combine to become a team who work together, who invest within the industry, from the woolshed up, to increase the quality and research and development for the sector and to keep an open mind for innovation within the industry.
To help create a thriving strong wool industry again we need:
Producers to:
- Produce high quality wool
- Employ proper practice in the wool preparation
- Always look for new and different markets and opportunities
- Educate the market of the benefits of using wool in every way we can, so the consumer can make informed, eco-friendly and sustainable choices.
Consumers to:
- Encourage the industry
- Value the product.
And most importantly we all need to:
- Buy New Zealand Strong Wool products.
Download and read the full report here
