Meters prove merino wool hits the soft spot

TWO pioneering machines are set to change the way woollen clothes are sold and marketed around the world.

James and Caroline Street at their property 'Blaxland' near Uralla, NSW. Picture: James Croucher

TWO pioneering machines invented by Australian scientists to better test the softness, comfort and handling properties of fabrics made from superfine merino wool are set to change the way woollen clothes are sold and marketed around the world.

The breakthrough Wool Comfort and Wool Handle meters accurately measure and rate the comfort, feel and handling properties of lightweight wool garments.

Used together, the two machines — which will each retail for about $25,000 to major Chinese and European textile and clothing manufacturers — provide an effective method of assuring skin comfort for con­sumers wearing merino garments, particularly in the baby-wear and elite-athlete markets.

The Australian-led development, funded by woolgrowers and the public purse, has proved to manufacturers that superfine merino can be as soft and comfortable to wear as its more expensive cashmere cousin.

Dev­el­oped by Australia’s Co-operative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation based at the University of New England, the technology is now set to revolutionise the production and marketing of wool garments.

Even superfine woolgrowers like James and Caroline Street of Uralla, NSW, whose wool was used in prototype testing of the comfort meters in the early stages of development, are excited about the extreme softness and handling qualities of their wool. “(The measurements) have dispelled a few myths for me as well,” Mr Street told The Australian .

“I always suspected our wool was as fine and soft-handling as cashmere, but it’s gratifying to have that feeling confirmed by the technology.”

He now hopes that will translate into better prices for superfine wool.

Ian Ashman, raw wool general manager at the Australia Wool Testing Authority, said there was already keen interest in the machines from leading fashion and sports brands, as well as wool processors and mills.

The industry-owned AWTA has been exclusively charged with commercialising, manufacturing and retailing the meters, although the intellectual property behind their development is retained by the Sheep CRC and the CSIRO.

“It’s been an exciting six months,” Mr Ashman said. “We did a commercial pilot trial using the two machines here in Australia and in our jointly owned laboratory in China late last year with some of China’s largest textile companies, and the interest since then has been overwhelming. This is a tool that allows manufacturers to be able to say objectively on their garments and labels, using stars or some sort of rating, exactly just what wool is in their clothes and how they will perform.”