When dressing for the upcoming winter, there's nothing better than a thick cozy sweater to keep the cold away. And it is even better when this sweater is ethically made. I don't want to wear clothes made by children's hands or by women who are being paid significantly below the norm for their work. And often they work under appalling conditions. But the process from the cotton fields to the factory is hell for animals too. Sheep that are kept for their wool are not always treated well. It's often overlooked that these are sentient living beings, not goods.
Back in the days
The first use of a sheep's wool goes back a long time, probably along with the domestication of sheep. The latter, however, can be disputed. In Iran, or ancient Persia, archaeological finds indicate woven goat hair and wild sheep hair from around 6500 BCE. Nowadays sheep are less wild due to domestication than they used to be and their wool also changed with it.
Domestication gone wrong
Like many wild animals, wild sheep used to shed their thick winter coat when temperatures rose. Think of it as you changing your coat for a t-shirt in summer. You do this to prevent overheating. The same goes for wild sheep. However, mankind bred them selectively to provide an even thicker woolen skin and coat that continues to grow without natural shedding. A profit in wool for us but a choking burden for sheep.
A sheep has no say about its overproduced winter coat and cannot lose it naturally. A modern farmer therefore shears their fur after winter. A sheep is likely to be happy (we are not that far in understanding animals' emotions) with its new short locks, despite the brief stress of shearing.
Another drawback of this genetically thickened skin is flies. Flies love a sheep's urine and feces. The fur under the tail, on which his feces linger, is a good breeding ground for the fly eggs. Within the day of being laid, maggots emerge from the eggs. They feed on the host's flesh, making it most painful for our furry friends. We call this flystrike. Over the centuries, the skin of sheep has been manipulated to grow thicker and therefore even more attractive to these flies.
A sheep with flystrike starts to kick and gnaw at the affected area and his wool begins to discolor. The skin tissue can also die and toxic substances can be released by the maggots, not even speaking of infections. If not properly looked after, the sheep can die. In terms of economical costs, flystrike provides a loss of wool and livestock. Therefore a solution was sought.
A short-term solution?
Intended as a solution, the practice of mulesing was introduced in Australia, today's largest market leader in wool production. Mulesing is done to avoid flystrike. The skin under the sheep's tail (and often the tail itself as a precaution) is cut away and hairless scar tissue grows in its place. Here flies are no longer attracted as they are unable to burrow. A short-term solution, just cut away the hair follicles and you're done.
The fight for mulesing with anaesthetics is still going on. Not using anesthesia during these practices is not a rare case in 2020. That says enough about the scale of production and the concern for the sheep's welfare on these farms.
"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself." - George Orwell
Mulesing-free wool
Fortunately the first steps towards animal welfare in the wool industry has already been taken. Certain organizations such as RWS (Responsible Wool Standard), ZQ label, New Merino® and SustainaWOOL provide certificates to farmers, spinners and retailers whom respect animal welfare. As a customer you can easily check a brand or farm in their labeled lists. Most of these certified companies are against mulesing. Since 2016, for example, it is impossible for a farm that performs mulesing without pain relief to obtain an RSW certificate. But beware, SustainWOOL on the other side does allow mulesing if done with pain relief. This once again shows that animal welfare is a relative concept.
And last but not least, there is also the National Wool Declaration (NWD). This is a declaration methode for Australian exporters, processors and retailers to get a certain status. For example, the M stands for Mulesed and NM for Non Mulesed. Or PN for Pain Relief. These statuses give more clarity and transparency on their production.
100% transparency
I do like to think that these initiatives are a positive start. Nevertheless I don't want to be too enthusiastic because how reliable are they? You can't exclude animal abuse when you buy products from animals. Unless you monitor the process closely and regularly. And that is almost out of question in this highly industrialized world.
Such a break in reliability happened to the outdoor brand Patagonia. They were shocked to find out that what they thought were ethically wool farms were not at all meeting the ethical standards. A PETA representative was able to film how sheep were maltreated at a wool supplier from which Patagonia got their wool.
You can't exclude animal abuse when you buy products from animals. Unless you monitor the process closely and regularly.
Wool is overrated
All in all, there are plenty of reasons not to choose wool ánd plenty of alternatives for that thick cozy winter sweater. Organic cotton or linen for example. Or thrifting (your wallet will thank you). There are great alternatives so is it worth to put animal welfare to the test by buying wool?
Do you agree? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter in the comments! x
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