Fieldays® Sector Spotlight – It’s Wool

Your place to rediscover wool

Location: Site PC47

New to the event, the Fieldays® Sector Spotlight, in association with the Ministry for Primary Industries, is shining a light on New Zealand's thriving primary industries, and focusing on a topical or under-represented area.

This year the focus of the Fieldays Sector Spotlight is New Zealand Wool

Fieldays® Sector Spotlight – It’s Wool will showcase the raft of product possibilities that draw on the versatility and quality of the country’s wool; from flooring, to filters, to furniture fill. It will provide a place to connect the producers, brands, and consumers, building a vibrant future for this timeless natural resource.

Visitors are invited to explore the versatility and quality of the country’s wool.

On the site, consumer brands, manufacturers, innovators, and sector supporters will showcase the product innovations, building demand and value for New Zealand wool and reinforcing the fibre’s role as a natural ingredient in a sustainable future.

Exhibitors featured on the site are:

Wool Impact
WRONZ / Wool Source
Wools of New Zealand
Wise Wool
FLOC

Wool facts and figures:

New Zealand produces around 100,000 tonne of strong wool per year.
NZ wool is known globally for its consistently good colour (nice and white) and low levels of contamination. This is a result of generations of farmers selectively breeding to produce quality wool.
Typically, wool from the Merino breed of sheep is soft enough to be worn next to skin and is found in apparel (typically finer than 24 micron – a human hair is around 60 micron).
Stronger wools are produced by other breeds. Because these wools are thicker they are high performers in home interiors, like carpets.
Around 15% of the strong wool produced in Aotearoa New Zealand is used right here. The remainder is exported.
Terrific New Zealand brands are growing the volume of strong wool used on shore in traditional product categories; carpets, insulation, fabrics.
Wool’s benefits are diverse. The fibre can manage thermal comfort and moisture, absorb / filter indoor air pollutants, resist ignition in a fire, absorb odour. These benefits are valued in many product categories.
Innovative brands are introducing wool to new categories; acoustic products, tennis ball felt, filtration, bags, yoga mats, hygiene products, personal care products, dyestuffs.
Globally we are seeing a shift to preference for natural, renewable products. This is stimulating new demand for wool.