Wool Academy with Elisabeth van Delden

IntroductionDebbie Luffman shares Finisterre’s love of wool and explains how in her work she approaches the realities of making the best product with the least environmental impact. She does this through passion, unravelling the supply chain and engaging with the modern conscious consumer. This involves also an apparel repair service which helps Finisterre reduce their environmental impact as well as learning and improving their products over time. Debbie shares Finisterre's approach to educating the consumer about wool and the challenges the brand faced when working with wool. Surprisingly many of Finisterre's manufacturing suppliers tend to be hesitant to work with wool. However, whenever a new wool fabric was developed together with Finisterre the results were phenomenal.

About Debbie LuffmanFinisterre is a Cornwall based clothing brand, born from needs of hardy British surfers, offering functional and sustainable product with a strong sense of style for those who share a love of the sea. Debbie has worked at Finisterre for 9 years after previously working as a designer in high street fashion brands. As Product Director at Finisterre, she heads up all areas of the Finisterre product, from design, fabric development, supplier sourcing through to buying.

IntroductionJen Hunter is a multi-passionate sheep farmer in the UK. At Fernhill Farm, she is building a business with multiple income streams based on the resources the farm provides her with. In this Wool Academy podcast episode, she shares her story on how she came to better understand the wool supply chain and how she implemented her knowledge in her business.

About Jen HunterJen Hunter together with her husband Andy are the owner of Fernhill Farm in Somerset, UK. On the farm they run over 3000 head of sheep in addition to beef cows, pigs and growing their own vegetables. Every year Fernhill Farm welcomes 15.000 visitors for shearing competitions, weddings and festivals. Jen is also highly engaged in selling her wool and creating her own wool products.

IntroductionIn this episode, Video Producer Ari Kuchar shares his knowledge about telling stories through video. Ari talks about why video is the number one form of communications going forward and how wool industry businesses can benefit from video. In this episode, you will learn which videos you can record yourself and which ones you would require some outside help with. Last but not least he gives some valuable tips on how to film sheep in a compelling way.

About Ari KucharAri Kuchar is a Video Producer with over 10 years of experience. He has worked in the Motion Picture, Television and Online video spaces with some of the world's biggest brands (Nickelodeon, National Geographic, The Woolmark Company) and has taken an active part in the evolution of video as it has traversed definition, dimension and medium.

IntroductionGoetz Giebel is a wool industry supply chain expert with technical know-how in sourcing, finishing, knitting and supply chain concepts. In this episode, Goetz shares his knowledge about yarn production and explains us the difference between worsted and woollen yarn. He also explains the benefits that certain blends of wool with other fibres can have. We also discuss with Goetz about the challenges wool manufacturing companies face today and what the future developments will be for the wool supply chain in regards to traceability. Goetz is also the President of Interwoollabs and explains the role this important wool industry body plays and why it is so important to measure wool consistently.

IntroductionIn this episode, cotton expert Dr Terry Townsend talks about the natural fibres industries in general. Terry gives brief introductions about cotton as well as other natural fibres. He points out why it is so important for natural fibres to connect and defend themselves against the synthetic fibres industry. Terry also expresses his high appreciation for farmers growing natural fibres. This episode is almost like a declaration of love towards farmers. Terry also explains how some of the so-called fake facts about natural fibres exist and rectifies some of the allegations made. These include destroying the environment and using too much land. The cotton and wool industry can learn a lot from each other as the economic challenges continue for natural fibres in the future.

IntroductionIn this episode wool grower and entrepreneur Philip Attard talks about the business he and his wife Alison created based out of their farm Gostwyck in Australia. Philip explains the different strategies he applied to create the Gostwyck Merino Wool brand to ensure a sustainable income for the business. One important aspect of Gostwyck Merino is traceability. This is key in a time and age where more and more consumer are eager to know where their wool is coming from. With the recently launched apparel label, Henry and Grace, Philip also gives insights into this new adventure of the Gostwyck Merino brand.

About Philip AttardPhilip took an interest in growing wool late in life. After over 30 years in the computer industry, he and his wife Alison turned their attention to Gostwyck Farm, the wool they were growing and the management of the farm. Over the past 17 years, Gostwyck has had many changes, notably the grazing management, animal welfare and wellbeing, and producing merino that is totally comfortable when worn next to the skin. Some of this merino is now used in the recently launched maternity and baby wear brand Henry and Grace.

IntroductionIn this episode, Dalena White, Secretary General of the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) introduces the services that the IWTO offers towards the wool industry. Dalena lays out the strategic focus areas the industry body is focusing on. Focus areas include scientific research in areas such as health and wellness as well as sustainability. In the discussion, Dalena also points out the importance of educating young professionals in order to win the best talent for the industry in the future.

About Dalena WhiteDalena White is the Secretary General of the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO). IWTO is the recognized global authority for standards in the wool industry and has been representing the interests of the wool textile trade since 1930. IWTO is a member organisation and represents 60% of the total wool production pipeline. IWTO does not trade for profit. Dalena has 20 years’ experience in textile manufacture and sourcing, working closely with retail. For the past eight years, she has been involved with brand development and product design in wool and finding sustainable solutions for designers wanting to work with wool in South Africa. Dalena moved to Brussels and the IWTO office in June 2016.

IntroductionIn this episode, Life Cycle Design expert Kjersti Kviseth, talks about the importance of designing products with the 2nd and 3rd life of the product in mind. This is important in order to save resources and protect the environment. She explains how life cycle thinking today also known as the circular economy works and why it will become more and more important in the future. Last but not least she also shows that wool is an excellent fibre to use when it comes to making long lasting products that can transform into new products after its first use phase. Kjersti also shares insights about how the textile industry is working hard to improve the product footprint of the clothes we wear by creating systems based on LCA data.

About Kjersti KvisethKjersti Kviseth runs the product design consultancy 2025design, doing Life Cycle thinking in design and development of materials and products, as well as sustainability assessments and strategies. She has a Diploma in Product design and 15 years of experience in the Norwegian furniture industry of which 10 as Environmental Manager. She has competence in eco-management, Life Cycle Development and “Cradle to Cradle” thinking related to design, product development and manufacturing.

IntroductionSouth African Wool Grower Geoff Kingwill, shares insights into what it is like to run sheep in the semi-desert of the Karoo. He explains how holistic management of sheep and land helps reverse desertification. Geoff also explains what all there is to achieve and gain when working together with all parts of the wool industry supply chain. Learn why there is never a typical day in the life of a wool grower, what the Geoff's different income streams are and how nature is challenging him and his sheep. 

About Geoff KingwillGeoff Kingwill is Chairman of the IWTO Sustainability Committee and serves on the Working Groups dealing with Animal Welfare and the Environmental Credentials of Wool. He runs a farm producing Merino sheep, Angora goats and beef cattle. Mr Kingwill is a past Chairman of both Cape Wools South Africa and the Western Cape branch of the National Wool Growers Association and is currently Vice Chairman of the board of BKB, a Wool Broker Business.

IntroductionIn this episode, Angus Ireland from the Woolmark Company, speaks about the latest research happening in the area of health and wellness as well as wool's environmental credentials. Angus talks about how super fine wool next to skin products improve the skin health of people suffering from eczema and how this will apply itself to the market. Another topic Angus shares is the work on wool's environmental credentials.

About Angus IrelandAngus is the Program Manager – Fibre Advocacy and Eco Credentials for Australian Wool Innovation Limited. From the NSW tablelands, he studied Wool and Pastoral Science at the University of NSW and completed a Post Graduate Diploma of Business at Deakin University. Angus has considerable experience in raw wool specification and management of wool research and testing operations. He has contributed to the development of automated wool sampling and testing instrumentation for characteristics including, staple length, staple strength, dark fibre, colour, diameter variability and yield. Angus’ current focus is on extending the scientific basis for wool’s wellness and environmental attributes, including support for new product categories. These activities largely involve partnering with research institutions in Australia and overseas in the conduct of specialist human wellness research, environmental research, and in facilitating international advocacy activities through organisations such as IWTO. Prior to employment with AWI, Angus worked in a variety of research and operational roles at the Australian Wool Testing Authority Ltd.