LONDON — The wool sector is under pressure, but there are still opportunities to be explored in 2025, according to Peter Ackroyd, who succeeded Nicholas Coleridge as chairman of Campaign for Wool last December.
The industry veteran, who has served as president of the International Wool Textile Organization, and as global strategic adviser for the Australian Wool Innovation/Woolmark Company, said the wool industry faced headwinds in 2024, particularly in China’s luxury market, but saw growth in Japan and South Korea.
“It’s quite obvious that the big luxury brands and some of the what we would call ‘mail order’ operations are suffering at the moment, and that has its effect on the pipeline. If there is anything positive we can get out of this, it is that more people are asking if [a certain item] is made of wool. I think there is a good chance that fiber is going to be the most important part of luxury goods,” he said.
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Ackroyd pointed to the recent Loro Piana takeover at Harrods as an example of how wool has become synonymous with luxury.
As part of its 100th-anniversary celebrations, Loro Piana narrated its history through 36 windows and two pop-ups at Harrods. The windows featured goats floating on cashmere clouds, little flocks of sheep, old-fashioned wooden mills and bales of wool everywhere.
“It was quite extraordinary. They spent all the time talking about the luxury of fiber, and the sustainability of fiber. And I think that’s the message we have. Wool is probably the most sustainable fiber,” he said.
Burberry is another major luxury brand that has the potential to build its narrative around wool amid a transformation led by new chief executive officer Joshua Schulman, according to Ackroyd, who lives midway between the two major Burberry operations in Yorkshire, England.
One is in Cross Hills, which is near Keighley, an old industrial wool-making town, while the other is the trenchcoat factory in Castleford.
“I do hope that Burberry will be one of those brands that’s going to emphasize fiber content. I was at an event not too long ago with Burberry and Johnstons of Elgin [maker of Burberry’s cashmere scarves]. One doesn’t talk about where the Burberry scarf comes from, but it is British-made, although the wool might often be merino from Australia and South Africa,” he said.
It’s not just the luxury brands that are focusing on the quality of the fibers going into their clothing and accessories. Fast fashion players including Inditex and Marks & Spencer are emphasizing textiles, too.
“I was in Barcelona recently looking at some of [the Spanish fast fashion] operations. Some of the fiber content of companies like Massimo Dutti, for example, is very good indeed. It is a very strong statement. In the U.K., at Marks and Spencer, there is wool in many forms, and I hope that will continue. Certainly, the efforts made by the buying team to champion quality fiber is something that we very much welcome,” he said.
Demand for wool outside fashion, and in the hospitality sector, is going strong, according to Ackroyd. Companies that run hotels, casinos, cruise ships, restaurants and nightclubs are eager to work with wool because it provides comfort and meets housing safety regulations.
“This is what we call contract wool, which is normally from Britain and New Zealand. It has been very popular over the last two years, due partly to the increase in building and refurbishing hotels. In London, new and upcoming luxury hotels like The Peninsula and The St. Regis [which will open on Conduit Street later this year], the carpets, blankets and curtains are nearly all wool because of the non-flammability,” said Ackroyd.
The activity in fashion and hospitality has led to a renewed demand for yarn. Demand returned to pre-COVID levels in 2022, and has been growing since, Ackroyd said.
“If you look at the knitwear brands in the U.K. and then across the European Union, you’ll see a lot of merino knitwear that’s been very strong. Have a walk on Jermyn Street, look at Charles Tyrwhitt, Marks & Spencer, or Next. These companies have a very good supply of knitwear. That level has been maintained. There was a very good return to suits and formal wear. And if you look at the mills in Yorkshire and Scotland, they’re pretty happy with the steady demand,” he said.
Priorities for the second half of 2025 will depend on the feedback gathered at Pitti Uomo, where Campaign for Wool hosted a reception at the British Institute alongside Cape Wools, to highlight South African merino wool.
“South Africa is an important part of the Campaign for Wool, and this is a special event, where we showed how South African merino wool is traced from the source all the way through to the garment. We also brought Mmusomaxwell, the brand that won the Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation in 2022, and Gerber, a knitwear brand that uses pure South African merino, to Pitti for that,” added Ackroyd.
Wool traceability and sustainability have been at the heart of Campaign for Wool since its formation in 2010 on Jan. 26, Australia Day.
British Wool, The Woolmark Company, Cape Wools, and Campaign for Wool New Zealand are affiliates of the organization, which also counts Anderson & Sheppard, Christopher Raeburn, Johnstons of Elgin, Vivienne Westwood and many more brands, as its supporters.
According to Ackroyd, the core belief of Campaign for Wool can be traced back to King Charles’ statements in 1974 about the impending dangers of petrochemical fibers. The British monarch has been a patron of the not-for-profit organization from Day One.
“He’s massively committed to environmental excellence, and I think he sees wool as being one of the great champions of it. When he was Prince of Wales, he had this ambition to connect the farm with fashion. I think what the king would say is that if you buy wool, you have an investment with a return on capital. He is known not only as a champion of wool but a champion of ‘buy well but don’t buy too much’,” Ackroyd added.
In 2024, the organization hosted more than 20 events and activities with more than 3,000 guests in attendance. The Campaign for Wool has also launched a three-year-long collaboration with Aardman, highlighting the benefits of British and New Zealand wool for flooring.
Aardman is the animation studio behind Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run and Morph. The collaboration has Shaun the Sheep promoting the benefits of wool carpets and rugs, with slogans such as “Shaun Loves Wool” and “The Perfect Carpet for Ewe.”
Upcoming events hosted by Campaign for Wool include a showcase with British retailers in October and educational initiatives for fashion students, including Making It in Textiles, which sees fashion students and tutors visit mills in Yorkshire to hear about the industry in the region.
