Every sheep in the UK has to be shorn for its welfare. There is no choice. Yet the heartbreaking reality is that it often costs more to shear a sheep than the fleece is worth. So tonnes of beautiful British wool are treated as waste, burned, buried or composted, while we fill our wardrobes with synthetic fibres made from oil that shed microplastics into our rivers and seas. It feels as though somewhere along the way we’ve forgotten the value of the things nature gives us so generously. British wool is warm, breathable, biodegradable, renewable and grown every single year by animals already grazing our countryside. It deserves to be treasured, not thrown away. Perhaps the answer isn’t to produce more. Perhaps it’s to remember what we’ve always had, and start valuing natural materials, skilled craftsmanship and the people who produce them once again.

The irony is that wool has many qualities we are actively looking for today: Renewable and biodegradable. Naturally breathable and temperature regulating. Flame resistant without chemical treatments. Durable and repairable. Able to absorb moisture while still feeling dry. Stores carbon for the life of the product because it’s made from a renewable natural fibre.

@GardenerFliss I’ve knitted all my life, since I was five and there were workshops in every high street or I could buy mail order from the mills. Not easy to find now. Over half the stuff sold as knitting wool isn’t. It’s acrylic or polyester.

@GardenerFliss Wool shops not workshops!