CH or gas fire?

[denso13]

We effectively throw the wool away.

The Ultimate Guide to UK-made Knitwear Brands

If you're looking for the best UK-made knitwear brands, you'll love our ultimate list. Perfect for Autumn weather - every piece is made here.

makeitbritish.co.uk

 

[denso13]

We effectively throw the wool away.

Black Sheep Knitwear, British Knitwear using 100% British wool

British Knitwear made from 100% British wool dyed and undyed natural colours. Shawl collar cardigans, crew neck sweaters, traditional handknitted arans, hats, scarves and gloves. Womens and mens knitted sweaters, many styles are Hand knitted by local Norfolk women. sixes XSmall to XXL.

www.blacksheepknitwear.com

 

[denso13]

We effectively throw the wool away.

About Glencroft Countrywear | British Countrywear Specialists

Glencroft was established in 1987 by Richard and Justina Sexton to provide classic British countrywear made from natural fibres including British Wool & Sheepskin.

www.glencroftcountrywear.co.uk

 

[denso13]

We effectively throw the wool away.

Emerald Design Knitwear | Manufacturers and wholesalers of 100% British wool garments | JM Cooper Knitwear

JM Cooper Knitwear | The manufacturers of Emerald Design Knitwear | 100% British wool garment manufacturers

www.jmcooperknitwear.co.uk

 

[JobAndKnock]

We effectively throw the wool away.

The main point (which you have missed) is that we are wasting our own cheap and abundant resources whilst enriching other countries.

We actually use a lot of sheep's wool in building insulation. It has advantages in some circumstances, but I believe that the reason it gets used is because the price per fleece is so low.

Sheep's wool Insulation absorbs moisture from the atmosphere during damp seasons and releases it during the dry seasons and for this reason, a vapour barrier is less important, It can be placed between the joists, directly on top of the ceiling below. It is sustainable, dampens sound and is relatively fireproof whilkst being naturally resistant to mould, but it does need to be treated against moth by the manufacturer. The downside is a lower u-value than materials such as PIT-R and mineral wool

 

[andy11]

Those are very small scale, high end wool operations Denso, and not representative of the wool trade. Ask a sheep farmer about it.

 

[fillyboy]

No, we sell it. You are wrong, plain and simple.

Here's one in the Midlands who buys wool and manufactures wool garments, https://woolawayknitwear.co.uk/. Probably all illegal immigrants though, get your gun out...

And another, https://www.thewoolcompany.co.uk/collections/all-british-knitwear

I know one of the companies well, and the staff and products. Very high end stuff. Fleece is very cheap, for some farmers with smaller herds the cost of a shearer will outweigh the price obtained for the wool, that's why we're now seeing 'self shearing sheep' that lose their coat by rubbing along fences or each other, saves smaller farmers money. My niece's daughter is married to a sheep farmer, he shears his own and does a few small herds for other farmers as a sideline, you really do need to be young, fit and strong to do it.

Finished sheep skins are another product on the wane, very few tanneries left in the UK so more reliance on imports.

Sheepskins and wool are useful by products of sheep, but the main purpose of breeding sheep is meat, and meat consumption is falling rapidly. It's not economically viable to breed sheep for wool and skins.

 

[JobAndKnock]

Fleece is very cheap, for some farmers with smaller herds the cost of a shearer will outweigh the price obtained for the wool, that's why we're now seeing 'self shearing sheep' that lose their coat by rubbing along fences or each other, saves smaller farmers money. My niece's daughter is married to a sheep farmer, he shears his own and does a few small herds for other farmers as a sideline, you really do need to be young, fit and strong to do it.

A minor point, I know, but sheep have FLOCKS, not HERDS. Otherwise very true

 

[fillyboy]

A minor point, I know, but sheep have FLOCKS, not HERDS. Otherwise very true

Noted.

 

[JobAndKnock]

That's what being brought up in the countryside does for you...

...loads of useless gen...

 

[denso13]

Those are very small scale, high end wool operations Denso

Perhaps, but your claim that we "throw it all away" is nonsense.

 

[JobAndKnock]

I sometimes go into the old heavy woollen district from time to time (I live near the edge of the area). Compared with even the 1970s, when the woollen trade was already in major decline, it is a an area of industrial decay and dereliction these days. A lot of the mills and sheds have been flattened or redeveloped for housing. At least some of this (a lot of this) is down to decades of the mill owning families sucking the businesses dry, rather than investing in new technology. Fairly typical of the moneyed classes in the UK

They attempted to make businesses profitable by recruiting cheap labour from the Indian sub-continent in the 60s and 70s instrad of investing in modern plant and machinery. They also ran twilight shifts. All this failed, as it inevitably would, staving off closures by at most a decade or two.

So to get this going again, Andy, would require massive long term investment. I can see city shysters like Jacob Rees-Mogg doing that, can't you? Nope. Thought not

 

[fillyboy]

At least some of this (a lot of this) is down to decades of the mill owning families sucking the businesses dry, rather than investing in new technology. Fairly typical of the moneyed classes in the UK

Most towns I've lived in in have all benefitted from philanthropic businessmen from the turn of the century. Housing, parks, public buildings.
I don't' witness it happening today.

 

[Mottie]

When was the last time anybody bought a sock, a blanket, a jumper, a jacket, a carpet, or a suit?

Bought some socks today. Renting a place with quarry tiles throughout and it’s too cold for Mrs Motties feet. Wool.

 

[JobAndKnock]

Most towns I've lived in in have all benefitted from philanthropic businessmen from the turn of the century. Housing, parks, public buildings.
I don't' witness it happening today.

Pretty much all pre-WWI. Towns may have benefitted from the first, second and maybe third generations (but remember, some families were notorious skin flints, too) - these were the generations who actually lived in the towns where their mills and factories were - but when subsequent generations moved away from the town, much, if not all, of that philanthropy ceased and in many cases the businesses became mere cash cows for their later owners. How many of these civic good works were there after WWI, for example? Not a lot!

This is evidenced time and again by firms which paid good dividends after 1900 whilst failing to invest in improved manufacturing technologies, training, etc and subsequently went to the wall when competition became too much or economic circumstances too harsh. Many of the firms in the heavy woollen district and the Lancashire cotton belt were just like that