Humans have been using wool for thousands of years. This is the reason that there are now so many different types of wool.
Wool today is differentiated by the animals from which it comes and by the manner in which it is obtained. New or virgin wool is a very special type of wool, which has unique qualities that synthetic materials cannot match. In this article, we will explain what the difference between new wool and other types of wool is, as well as what other types of wool there are in addition to sheep's wool.
What is new wool and how is it different from wool?
New wool differs from other types of wool mainly in the way it is obtained, as new wool is shorn exclusively from live sheep. In addition to new wool, there are also other types, such as regenerated or shoddy wool, which is made from reused old wool and is therefore a recycled product; tanner's wool, which comes from slaughtered animals; and fallen wool, which comes from animals that have died naturally.
About 2.2 tonnes of new wool are produced annually in about 100 countries. Wool sheep are shorn once a year and provide about 4 to 4.5 kg of raw wool. After the shearing, the wool is sorted and its quality assessed. The following qualities are evaluated:
- The fineness of the fibres
- Pure wool content (as wool is contaminated by dirt and wool grease)
- Fibre length
- Fibre strength
Fibre fineness is mainly influenced by climatic and genetic conditions. German wool has an average fineness of 28.5 to 38 microns, whereas Australian wool has a fineness of 19.5 to 21.5. Australian wool is therefore of higher quality and finer than German wool. The best quality new wool generally comes from New Zealand.
What exactly does the term “wool” mean?
The term “wool” generally refers to the fine hairs of the animal’s coat, which come from various mammals. “Wool” refers to the spinnable hairs of the undercoat. According to the Textile Labelling Act, “wool” refers only to the fibres from the sheep's coat or the mixture of sheep's wool and wool obtained from other animals. The term “wool” says nothing about the quality of the fabric, however.
If the fabric consists exclusively of sheep’s wool, the term "100%", "pure" or "whole" is often added.
The different types of wool and their origin
Besides sheep, wool also comes from other animals, such cashmere goats, angora goats, angora rabbits, camels, alpacas, llamas, musk oxen and yaks.
Sheep’s wool
The various sheep's wool are distinguished by their origin, their properties or characteristics, and finally by their quality. Merino wool is the finest wool and has a length of 40 to 120 mm. Due to Merino wool’s wave-like structure, it can absorb moisture very well and has an insulating effect. In addition, it has high elasticity and does not scratch the skin.
Crossbred wool has a length of 50 to 180 mm and is somewhat more robust than Merino wool. It comes from the crossing of merino and coarse wool sheep. Long wool is up to 400 mm long and hardly crimped, which is why it has a higher lustre. Coarse wool is almost not crimped at all and is not suitable for hand spinning. It is often used as insulation material.
Quiviut Wool
Quiviut is one of the rarest types of wool and is one of the finest natural fibres. It comes from musk oxen, which live mainly in cold areas such as Greenland, Canada and Alaska. The musk ox can provide about 2.5 kg of quiviut wool per year. However, the oxen are not shorn but combed in order to obtain the wool, which is a particularly labor-intensive process.
The fibre itself, at 10 to 20 microns, is incredibly fine and very sought after. Quiviut wool is around eight times warmer than sheep's wool and is extremely comfortable to wear. Furthermore, it is odour repellent and, due to its low fat content, perfectly suitable for allergy sufferers.
Goat’s wool
The wool from goats is divided into mohair and cashmere wool. Mohair comes from Angora goats and cashmere from cashmere goats.
Angora goats originally come from the Turkish province of Ankara, though nowadays the animals can be found in countries such as South Africa, Australia, Lesotho and Madagascar. The curly, long, spiral hair of Angora goats is called mohair.
Angora goats are shorn twice a year and produce three to six kg of mohair wool annually. The fineness of the fibres depends on the age of the shorn animals. Young animals that are shorn for the first time produce the finest wool, which measures 24 to 29 microns. The fineness of the fibre from adult angora goats measures between 34 and 40 microns. Due to its exquisite fineness, mohair wool also feels incredibly soft on the skin. Mohair wool is also water repellent and has an antibacterial effect.
Cashmere goats mostly live in China, Mongolia or the Middle East. Cashmere wool comes from the undercoat of the cashmere goat and is available in white, grey, brown or black. The highest quality cashmere comes from Inner Mongolia, as the fur grows best here due to the region’s extreme climatic conditions.
Cashmere is also considered precious wool, as it has a fineness of 15 to 19 microns. The wool used for cashmere is obtained by combing out the coat in spring, when the animals change their coat. Only 150 g of the fine cashmere fluff can be combed out per animal.
Alpaca and camel wool
Alpacas originally come from Peru, but are now also bred in parts of Germany. The wool of alpacas is divided into two types: Huacaya and Suri. Huacaya have fine and crimped wool fibres, while fibres from Suri have a curly but smooth surface. Alpaca wool is hollow inside and can store body heat, which is why it is extremely good at protecting its wearer from the cold. The animals are shorn once a year and produce three to five kg of alpaca wool.
Camels are mainly found in Asia and Africa. With camels, a distinction is made between the coarse top coat and the fluffy downy hair. When it changes its coat, a camel loses about five to seven kg of undercoat. Fine camel wool is only 17 to 22 microns thick, which is thus comparable to cashmere. Camel wool can have a cooling effect on the skin in summer and protects against the cold in winter.
What are the properties of new wool and other types of wool?
Compared to synthetic fibres, natural fibres have unique properties. Since wool fibres have free spaces between the fibres, they can insulate heat and cold particularly well. Furthermore, natural materials rarely absorb odours and can be made odourless if you air them out regularly.
As the various types of wool presented in this article are pure and renewable natural products, they can be composted and therefore do not contribute to the environmental pollution which comes from the textile industry. Another difference between new wool and other wools is the fineness of the fibre. New wool is usually thicker than other types of wool and is strongly crimped. It can therefore absorb a lot of moisture and is often used as a filling in bedding products.
Whether it is new wool or other types, wool can be used in an incredibly wide variety of ways. Wool is not only used to make clothes, but also carpets, knitwear and also has technical uses, such as in the insulation for airplanes. As wool is very difficult to burn, it is used to make workwear. In addition, low quality wool is often used as insulation material.
New wool in blankets and sleepwear at Zizzz
Our new wool comes directly from happy sheep raised in the beautiful Swiss Alps. At Zizzz, we swear by the unique properties of new wool, which is why we use it as a filling material in our wool duvets, wool pillows, baby blankets and baby sleeping bags. At the same time we support Swiss farmers in the preservation of the landscape, as controlled grazing helps to prevent erosion.
The new wool in our wool duvets has temperature-regulating properties, which prevent excessive sweating and heat accumulation. We’ve also thought of the very youngest in the production of our goods, which is why we offer sleeping bags for babies and children filled with new wool. Our sleeping bags are very durable and can be used all year round.