Wool’s biogenic message will hit home
Biella-based developer of high-end wool and wool-mix fabrics Vitale Barberis Canonico has said it is already in discussion with its customers about new studies that show wool to be a low-impact fibre.
Earlier this year, peer-reviewed journal Agricultural Systems published new research on wool’s environmental impact. The International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) said that the research demonstrates that, when biogenic carbon flows are accounted for, wool’s emissions are significantly reduced.
Vitale Barberis Canonico says it has worked hard for years to make its fabric production as sustainable as possible. It now uses only renewable energy, from solar and hydro-electric sources, at its production site in Valdilana, 15 kilometres from Biella.
The company is also recycling 40% of the water it uses and recycling wool waste from its production operations. It currently employs around 500 people there.
Speaking at the Intertextile Shanghai exhibition in March, the company’s managing director, Alessandro Barberis Canonico, told Sportstextiles that research into the difference between biogenic carbon and emissions from fossil fuels would continue. Already, though, he said the new studies were indicating that sheep on pasture land can be carbon-neutral and that wool can be carbon-neutral. “We are already communicating with brands about this,” he said.
He explained that the luxury brands that Vitale Barberis Canonico works with have a high level of interest in what happens on the farms that many natural fibres come from, suggesting that messages explaining why biogenic carbon is different will capture the attention of the textile industry.
“The problem with the Higg Materials Sustainability Index is that it has tried to use one model to calculate the impact of different fibres,” Mr Barberis Canonico said.
He added that he would also like to see the durability and longevity of fibres and garments to be part of the way the industry assesses environmental impact. Longevity matters to the company of which he is managing director. It has been in operation since 1663.
