The coronavirus pandemic is both a terrible health crisis and a major economic shock to the world economy. Here AWI CEO Stuart McCullough provides an important update on how AWI has adapted to these challenging times and is getting on with its business of R&D and marketing for the benefit of Australian woolgrowers. This was first published in the June 2020 edition of AWI’s Beyond the Bale magazine. AWI REMAINS O... Read More

British Wool held an auction this week in which they offered 1.681m kgs of wool and they sold 1.120m kgs or 66.6% of it. Prices where comparable to BW101; Fine: Hoggs No1 – 3% cheaper. Hoggs No2 – fully firm. Ewes No1 & No2 – firm. Lt Grey – buyers favour. Romney: Firm where sold. Medium: Hoggs No1 – buyers favour. Hoggs No2 – 5% dearer. Ewes No1 – buyers favour to 2% cheaper. Ewes No2 – buyers favo... Read More

Product environmental footprint: how will wool hold up? For the next two years, IWTO will be part of the European Commission’s project to define the rules for calculating environmental footprints for all types of apparel and footwear. Known as the “PEF,” this is a comprehensive measurement that will cover 16 impact categories. It is likely that the tool will be used to create consumer-facing labels. One of the go... Read More

Woolgrowers are being asked to complete an online survey on where they think the wool industry should be in 2030 as part of Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) long-term planning. COVID-19 travel bans and different restrictions in different States on holding public meetings has meant AWI’s Woolgrower Consultation Group (WCG) has had to resort to asking woolgrowers across the country to take 15-20 minutes to complete... Read More

Research funded by AWI has shown that machine-washable wool fibres as well as untreated wool fibres readily biodegrade in the marine environment, in contrast to synthetic fibres that do not. The research found no evidence to support the idea that the polyamide resin used as part of the machine-washable wool treatment forms microplastic pollution. It is estimated that 0.6-1.7 million tons of microfibres are releas... Read More

Increasing the use of wool in the built environment is a major 2020/21 priority for the Campaign for Wool, whose Patron is HRH The Prince of Wales. “The Campaign’s New Zealand team pioneered a local initiative with a group of architects to investigate and codify wool’s environmental and safety attributes in housing and public buildings late last year. Work is in progress in UK to advance the group’s findings and ... Read More

In the first quarter of 2020, the orders intake of Italian textile machinery registered a sharp drop. The Covid-19 pandemic impacts heavily on the sector. The consequences on the orders will be more negative in the second quarter. The index of orders intake for textile machines drawn up by ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, for the period from January to March 2020 fell by 31% com... Read More

China’s economy grew 3.2% in the second quarter following a record slump. The world’s second biggest economy saw a sharp decline in the first three months of the year during coronavirus lockdowns. But figures released this month show China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) returned to growth during April to June. The numbers are being closely watched around the world as China restarts its economy. The figure ... Read More

The monthly comparisons of Total Lots, Bales and Weight for June 2020 compared with the same period last season are: +0.6%, +3.7% and +4.4% respectively. The progressive comparison of Total Lots, Bales and Weight for July 2019 to June 2020 compared with the same period last season are: -9.6%, -7.4% and -7.0% respectively.  AWTA Ltd has tested 295.8 mkg (million kilograms) this season compared with  317.9 mkg f... Read More

A British Wool statement issued on 5 June said that as it ‘enters its 70th year of operation the UK, and indeed the world, faces the most severe recession in its history due to the Covid-19 epidemic.  The global market for cross bred wool has been shut since February and remains closed.  February to May is normally the busiest selling period of the year.  As a result we have circa 9m kgs of unsold stock out of a tot... Read More

India and the United Kingdom are exploring a limited trade agreement to lower tariffs on a few goods and easing rules for select services in what is being widely perceived as preparing ground for a free trade agreement (FTA). The issue was recently discussed by the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), co-chaired by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and the UK secretary of state (SoS) for internation... Read More