Wool is Not Waste: Why the EU Needs to Reclassify Raw Wool

A new Copa-Cogeca position paper calls for the EU to change an outdated classification. IWTO agrees. Every year, European farmers shear their sheep, absorb the cost, and then pay again to store, transport, and dispose of the wool because of a little-known regulation. Designed to prevent disease transmission, EC 1069/2009 is also applied to wool from healthy animals, with dire consequences for European wool growers and rural families.

A new position paper from Copa-Cogeca, representing farmers and agri-cooperatives across the EU, calls for that to change. IWTO agrees. Here’s why:

1. The wool/waste regulation was not designed with wool in mind EC 1069/2009 was introduced in the wake of the mad cow disease crisis and foot and mouth outbreaks. Conceived as a public health measure, the regulation was not designed with wool realities in mind.

Raw wool from healthy animals carries none of the risks the regulation is concerned with. But healthy wool is caught up in the same regulatory net as carcasses and blood.

The result: European farmers have to shoulder disposal costs for a raw material that could be generating income. That’s the real waste story in this situation: the lost opportunity for farmers and families who produce it, and the loss of products that wool could become.

2. Wool is a globally traded commodity. Under the current regulation, European wool loses out

Across the world, raw wool is sold at auction every week and traded globally. Every part of a sheep’s fleece carries documented commercial value.

As a raw material with its own international trade infrastructure, commodity pricing, and technical standards, wool is far from a waste material.

3. Wool’s applications span the textile, industrial, and technical sectors

Wool is well known for its textile applications. But there’s also an active demand for wool for industrial and technical uses.

Wool is used in aircraft interiors, acoustics, pianos, and air filtration systems. Wool base layers were chosen by NASA for ISS missions. First responders rely on wool because it doesn’t ignite or melt on the skin in hot temperatures.

Lanolin, a natural by-product of wool, is a high-value ingredient in the cosmetics industry.

All of these demonstrate wool is an asset, and the more European farmers can get their wool to market, without outdated storage costs and moving fees, the better.

4. The wool/waste classification hurts rural businesses and communities According to the World Organisation for Animal Health, the world’s poorest families depend on small numbers of sheep or goats for their livelihoods. Regulatory barriers than suppress the ease of getting wool to market hit these families hardest.

In areas where land can’t support other agriculture or livestock, sheep are one of the few viable sources of income and selling their wool can make a difference in putting food on the table or supporting higher education for a child.

5. Discouraging wool means discouraging innovation and the bio economy. The wool sector is advancing. Eco-friendly processing, reduced use of water, and new technical applications are all areas of ongoing development. Copa-Cogeca’s position paper (available here) highlights wool’s potential as a natural fertiliser, a moisture retainer, a slow-release nitrogen source, and erosion control material. All of these agricultural uses are technically feasible but currently blocked by the current regulation.

Classifying wool as a by-product subject to waste handling requirements deters the investment innovation depends on. Even more, it runs counter to the EU’s stated goals for a competitive, future-facing agricultural bio economy.

The time for change is now

The tragedy here is that valuable wool is going to waste across the EU. Not because there is no market for is, but because regulation prevents the wool from getting to market.

This isn’t what the regulation intended, but it is a waste story indeed.

Do you want to see a different future for wool in Europe? IWTO’s new European Wool Task Team wants to hear from you! Regulatory reform is on our agenda, and the more voices at the table, the better. Write to us at iwto@iwto.org.

By: Jeannette Cook Communication Manager at International Wool Textile Organisation