How wool industry is fighting back against synthetics

The wool industry wants the world to know just where synthetics come from, and the news isn’t pretty.

The wool industry has tackled synthetics head on in a graphic advertising campaign due to start screening across the world today.

The slogan – wear wool not fossil fuel – alerts consumers to the use of petrochemicals in the production of synthetics, in footage of people swimming in a pool of oil.

Australian Wool Innovation chief executive John Roberts said the campaign would address the greenwashing by non-natural fibres.

Greenwashing is defined as when a company promotes it is environmentally conscious for marketing purposes but is not making notable sustainability efforts.

“Wool, especially Australian wool has facts on its side,” Mr Roberts said.

“AWI continues to work hard in Europe to correct misconceptions about the environmental footprint of different fibres.”

The advertisements will be shown in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and online and detail that an Olympic swimming pool’s worth of crude oil is used every 25 minutes to produce synthetic clothing, or 350 million barrels a year.

Mr Roberts said it could be a revelation for some consumers about the source of their clothing.

“If consumers want a natural, sustainable and biodegradable fibre, than wool is the best choice,” he said.

The Woolmark Company has done research which has shown that one-third of consumers said they were prepared to pay more for sustainably-produced clothing but that “fibre consideration

does not feature in the purchase journey at all”.

It also showed that consumers were not making the link between fossil fuels and synthetic fibres.

The campaign was devised by creative agency, 20something and strategy partner Fran Docx said the message is “timely and important”.

“Back in 1980, our wardrobes were filled with natural materials like cotton, wool and

cashmere,” Ms Docx said.

“These natural fibres made up 60 per cent of the market, far outstripping the relatively

new polyester and polyamide alternatives.

“We rarely make a wider ecological connection between clothes, the fibres they’re made of,

and the impact on the planet.

“Our ambition for our work with The Woolmark Company is to address that and raise awareness of the alternatives to synthetic fabrics.”

The campaign will run through September and comes on the back of Australian advertisements which have promoted the wool industry domestically.

AWI declined to nominate the budget for either campaign but said both spends were “modest”.