E-WOOL managing director Peter Vandeleur has warned there is still considerable global demand for wool from un-mulesed sheep from the growing active-wear market, and that there is a danger of losing this market if customer needs are not met.
But a largely upbeat Mr Vandeleur told Rural Press this week that the demand for Merino was building in the outdoor leisure market, and he linked the prospect of further Merino wool sales to the natural light weight characteristics it contained.
Mr Vandeleur comments came after he spent two weeks in the United States, including four days at the outdoor retailer exhibition in Salt Lake City, seeking out opportunities for his NewMerino branded wool supply.
NewMerino wool is supplied from wool growers who adhere to a strict code of practice so traceability can be achieved.
Mr Vandeleur said every outdoor clothes retailer he spoke to had "at least" some of its program using Merino, a marked difference from three years ago.
"What I am confident about is they are almost all looking to Merino as a way of improving their range and image," Mr Vandeleur said.
He said the term Merino was used to describe Merino wool and 18.5-19.5 micron wool was the most common wool type used in the next of skin performance and special purpose garments.
He cautioned Australian wool growers against assuming retailer angst towards surgical mulesing was a phase, and that the market would work itself out.
Mr Vandeleur said that although Merino appeared to be making ground in the active wear and leisure wear market and had exhibited "vast improvement" over the past 12-18 months, he warned retailers had "all made" decisions to have certified non-mulesed wool and this had been stipulated to suppliers.
"I didn't meet one (retailer) who didn't say this," he said.
"They want certainty, they want trace back that is legitimate and to say that it is not mulesed is not good enough," he said.
Mr Vandeleur's optimism for the active wear market echoes sentiments shared by Australian Wool Innovation’s global manager sports/outdoor, Lars Ulvesund, who said the AWI team was now writing up new business and expanding its supply chain network following the successful global launch of Merino Perform outdoor trade shows in Salt Lake City in January and Germany last month.
"As a consequence of this and other selling activity over the past 10 years, Merino is now heavily featured in the majority of the world’s sports brands," Mr Ulvesund said.
Mr Ulvesund said there was an unprecedented growth trend for Merino wool in active wear in all major apparel markets and capturing this market growth was a key part of AWI’s new strategic and operational plan.
He said growth in demand for Merino wool in the active wear segment, particularly in Europe and the US, was bucking the global trend of a decline in the overall apparel segment.
Mr Ulvesund said brands which had traditionally favoured synthetic fibres were switching to wool, recognising the fibre's superior natural qualities of breathability, insulation and next-to-skin comfort.
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