At CC we love natural fibres; we love way they feel when you wear them, we love that they last a long time and get better with age, and we love that they’re kind to the planet.
This month is The Campaign for Wool's Global Wool Month so in celebration of this noble and ancient fibre we thought we’d share some thoughts about wool.
Mankind has been using wool to make clothes since the stone age. We’d argue that as a material, man and science has never been able to better its unique properties. It is renewable; as long as the rain falls and the grass grows, sheep will produce wool. Modern wool farming has been developed to the point where its environmental impact is incredibly small. Wool has the second smallest carbon footprint of any textile fibre - half that of polyester, a third that of acrylic, and a quarter of that of nylon (only linen has a lower one). Wool is naturally biodegradable - at the end of its life it can be put back in the soil where it will decompose releasing valuable nutrients back into the soil. Wool fibres are naturally abrasion resistant, making woollen garments very durable, and its natural elasticity, along with its ability to absorb moisture, makes it extremely comfortable to wear. In short, nature has created almost the perfect fibre from which to make clothes.
So why doesn’t everyone use this miracle fibre?
Well in short, price. Great quality wool is expensive; between five and ten times the price of synthetic alternatives. Wool is better in so many ways but when compared to those blended synthetic jumpers that most brands sell it might seem unaffordable for many.
That’s where Community Clothing’s unique business model comes in. We want to sell great quality everyday clothing at affordable prices so we came up with a whole new way of doing things, cutting out many of the usual costs of designing, making and selling clothes.
Our 100% British Wool Boot Socks are knitted in Leicestershire from wool exclusively sourced from UK farms. We wear tested them last winter and can promise that they are incredibly warm, incredibly durable and get better and softer with every wear and wash. And at just £8, they are incredible value too (maybe a third of the price of similar quality woollen socks).
Or our pure lambswool crewneck jumpers, knitted in Scotland from yarn spun in Derbyshire from the finest quality merino wool sell for just £65, well less than half the price of a similar premium quality jumpers, and not much more than a low quality ‘wool rich’ jumper (that’s fashion speak for a cheap blend of synthetics like acrylic or nylon with wool).
Because of the way we work almost 80p in every pound we receive goes to the makers and growers, compared with less than 30p in normal clothing brands. You’re paying for great quality clothes, not highly paid influencers, or teams of buyers scouring the globe for cheaper factories, or fashion shoots in expensive sunny locations (we shoot our clothes where we make them).
All of this is great for you the customer, it’s great for the farmers and manufacturers who make our clothes, and with low carbon biodegradable local materials like wool it’s great for the planet too.
Read more about Wool Month on the official Campaign for Wool website here.
At CC we love natural fibres; we love way they feel when you wear them, we love that they last a long time and get better with age, and we love that they’re kind to the planet.
This month is The Campaign for Wool's Global Wool Month so in celebration of this noble and ancient fibre we thought we’d share some thoughts about wool.
Mankind has been using wool to make clothes since the stone age. We’d argue that as a material, man and science has never been able to better its unique properties. It is renewable; as long as the rain falls and the grass grows, sheep will produce wool. Modern wool farming has been developed to the point where its environmental impact is incredibly small. Wool has the second smallest carbon footprint of any textile fibre - half that of polyester, a third that of acrylic, and a quarter of that of nylon (only linen has a lower one). Wool is naturally biodegradable - at the end of its life it can be put back in the soil where it will decompose releasing valuable nutrients back into the soil. Wool fibres are naturally abrasion resistant, making woollen garments very durable, and its natural elasticity, along with its ability to absorb moisture, makes it extremely comfortable to wear. In short, nature has created almost the perfect fibre from which to make clothes.
So why doesn’t everyone use this miracle fibre?
Well in short, price. Great quality wool is expensive; between five and ten times the price of synthetic alternatives. Wool is better in so many ways but when compared to those blended synthetic jumpers that most brands sell it might seem unaffordable for many.
That’s where Community Clothing’s unique business model comes in. We want to sell great quality everyday clothing at affordable prices so we came up with a whole new way of doing things, cutting out many of the usual costs of designing, making and selling clothes.
Our 100% British Wool Boot Socks are knitted in Leicestershire from wool exclusively sourced from UK farms. We wear tested them last winter and can promise that they are incredibly warm, incredibly durable and get better and softer with every wear and wash. And at just £8, they are incredible value too (maybe a third of the price of similar quality woollen socks).
Or our pure lambswool crewneck jumpers, knitted in Scotland from yarn spun in Derbyshire from the finest quality merino wool sell for just £65, well less than half the price of a similar premium quality jumpers, and not much more than a low quality ‘wool rich’ jumper (that’s fashion speak for a cheap blend of synthetics like acrylic or nylon with wool).
Because of the way we work almost 80p in every pound we receive goes to the makers and growers, compared with less than 30p in normal clothing brands. You’re paying for great quality clothes, not highly paid influencers, or teams of buyers scouring the globe for cheaper factories, or fashion shoots in expensive sunny locations (we shoot our clothes where we make them).
All of this is great for you the customer, it’s great for the farmers and manufacturers who make our clothes, and with low carbon biodegradable local materials like wool it’s great for the planet too.
Read more about Wool Month on the official Campaign for Wool website here.
Maybe it’s because we’ve been into wool for at least six thousand years? Or maybe it’s because whilst pretty much everyone else on the planet switched to trying to make the cheapest clothes they could, we stuck to trying to make the best ones.
Our latest collaboration is with Sheffield based ReTribe, a brand that upcycles tents. Together we have created a limited edition Pack a Sacks made from abandoned festival tents.
Community Clothing says No! to Black Friday. Instead we say Yes! to a great deal for everyone, every single day of the year.
