“It’s a line in the sand moment for generic wool promotion.”

A wool marketing campaign which “exceeded all expectations” with 68 million views on social media must also produce a tangible price rise, industry leaders say.

A generic wool campaign which has garnered 68 million views on social media needs to deliver better prices, industry leaders say.

The Wear Wool, No Waste campaign, released by Woolmark last year, “exceeded all expectations” according to Australian Wool Innovation chief executive officer John Roberts.

“Wear Wool, Not Waste was viewed by millions internationally and it is boosting wool’s

perception among consumers,” Mr Roberts said.

“Messages around wool’s sustainability resonated, leading to increased consideration for wool as an environmentally friendly option.”

Mr Roberts said the goal was to lift the profile of wool when legislative changes were emerging to slow the fast fashion trend.

“AWI continues to invest in defending the fibre, ensuring wool’s benefits are understood and appreciated and that the wool is not disadvantaged in apparel rating schemes,” he said.

The Wear Wool, Not Waste promotion followed on from the Wear Wool, not Fossil Fuel series, which had nine million views on YouTube, and 150 million views across social media.

WoolProducers Australia president Steve Harrison said it had been a great campaign but needed to produce a tangible outcome for wool growers, given the spend.

“AWI has spent a lot of money on it (the campaign) and it should present a valuable opportunity for the wool industry,” Mr Harrison said.

“If we can’t capitalise on the awareness from this, then it’s a line in the sand moment for generic wool promotion.

“The high number of views is great but it must translate to price.”

Mr Harrison said the promising feedback on wool’s place in fashion needed to be reflected in what was paid to growers.

“We need to see an increase of 300c/kg for wool and that’s what you would hope a campaign like this which has generated so many hits on social media would deliver,” he said.

“Generic wool promotion needs to come under the spotlight, given the big spend AWI has on marketing.”

AWI reported some of the changes in consumers’ views after the Wear Wool Not Waste campaign included:

- a 29 per cent lift in the perception that wool was environmentally friendly

- 75 per cent of people who saw the campaign said they would “consider” materials or fabrics when buying clothes.

But brand appeal for Woolmark, the intention to buy wool and consideration of the environmental impact of buying clothes did not change as a result of the campaign.