Published on : Tuesday, June 17, 2014
5th anniversary of Campaign for Wool was celebrated at Clarence House, the London home of the campaign’s Patron His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.
The Campaign for Wool is a global endeavour initiated by HRH The Prince of Wales, in order to raise awareness amongst consumers about the unique benefits of wool, the ultimate natural renewable and biodegradable fibre.
The event, hosted by The Prince, was a celebration of wool and everything this sustainable material contributes to The Great British High Street, namely fashion and interiors. Attended by a host of key guests representing brands and fashion designers from the Wool Collection, the occasion was marked with enlightening talks by very special guests including Nicholas Coleridge CBE, Chairman of the Campaign for Wool. The event highlighted two of the Campaign’s most frequently made claims regarding wool’s benefits: firstly, that it is a supremely safe fibre thanks to its natural fire retardant properties and that secondly, wool quickly biodegrades in soil ¬ a key ecological benefit, the day centred around two tests and an immersive wool fashion and interiors presentation.
To demonstrate one of the key ecological messages around wool, a wool sweater and a synthetic lookalike were buried side by side in one of the Clarence House flowerbeds.
Each person produces an average of 500kg of waste each year, 25kg of which are textiles. The recent practice of waste going to landfill is not a sustainable solution, which is where natural fibres such as wool play an important part. For example, garments made out of polyester and nylon take about 40 years to degrade, whereas those made of wool take only one year.
Visitors to Clarence House throughout the summer will also have the opportunity to learn about the project via a plaque which marks the burial site. The sweaters will be dug up four months later during Wool Week in October, to demonstrate that the wool sweater will be well on its way to decomposing compared to the acrylic alternative, which will appear almost unchanged by four months in the ground.
As part of the initiative, an edit of the best wool items from the AW collections of Campaign for Wool brand partners in fashion and interiors were exhibited at the launch, showcasing a selection of the finest wool pieces under the umbrella of the ‘Campaign for Wool Collection’.
Tags: Campaign for Wool, Clarence House, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, Nicholas Coleridge
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