Inspired by the advancements in softening treatments for human hair, a first-of-its-kind project is looking at ways to make typically thick, coarse Scottish sheep fleece more suitable for use in clothing and other textile products.
Evanton-based sustainable weaver and zero-waste clothing maker, Prickly Thistle Scotland has joined forces with Johnstons of Elgin, the luxury woollen mill, to explore a new process that could see natural, eco-friendly Scottish wool fibres used more widely in the Scottish textiles industry. The research project is being supported by the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) and the University of Edinburgh.
As part of the feasibility study, chemistry researchers aim to use enzymes that naturally decompose wool to treat the fibres in a controlled way to achieve a thinner, softer material. Variables such as the temperature, quantity of the enzyme and length of time the fibres are treated for will be tested to deliver the best outcome.
Despite there being more than six million sheep in Scotland, homegrown wool fleece can cost farmers more than it is worth to shear and is most likely to be used for carpeting or hard-wearing upholstery instead of clothing. In some cases, it is disposed of on the farm site.
As well as increasing the value of the natural material, the project could also have environmental benefits. The impact of fashion is widely reported: globally, less than 1% of fabrics are recycled as clothing and more than 60% are derived from petrochemicals. Less than 2% of textiles come from animal fibre and, in Scotland, the majority of the yarn used in luxury clothing such as cashmere and Merino wool is imported from overseas.
The Prickly Thistle mill is one of the youngest in Scotland and recently featured in the Channnel 4 series, Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland, where Alan Cumming and Miriam Margolyes designed their own bespoke ‘Aliam’ tartan.
