Opinion
32 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – March 22, 2021
Why wouldn’t you use wool? Alternative View
Alan Emerson
THE Vision and Action for New Zealand’s Wool Sector document was released mid-2020. It is a good document. Sadly, since then we’ve had a lot of talk and little action. We recently had the Strong Wool Action Group (SWAG) formed amongst great fanfare but I’ve yet to see much come out of it. I’ve spoken to farmers about the issue and they’re grumpy. I’ve heard them say: “They have no runs on the board, the current price of strong wool is witness to that.” “It’s ridiculous when we must earn money from other parts of the farm to pay for our shearing.” “They’re disappointing from a farmer’s point of view. We don’t have time to muck about. If we don’t get major improvement in the next few years the entire industry is at risk.” “Compulsory acquisition should be revisited” “The future seems to be with Wiltshires and Dorpers.” And, there are many more comments of a similar ilk. Speaking to the industry was also interesting. They said: “We put money into it. We weren’t given much information.” “We’ve asked for a strategic document. It hasn’t happened.” “We’ve put money into every farmer wool outfit over the years
and got nothing out of it.” I googled Strong Wool Action Group and there was much heat and little light. They came out of the 2018 Wool Summit that bred the Wool Action Group (WAG) that morphed into SWAG. They’ve raised $500,000, appointed a chief executive and plan to “lift strong wool out of the doldrums”. There’s been an American design thinking research company appointed to undertake research there and they’re recruiting a business analyst. The chief executive says “they’re getting tremendous support”, that “outside thinking is critical” and that “SWAG is off to a promising start”. His words not mine. I became a tad grumpy after reading how synthetics produce microplastics that pollute the oceans. There was an average of 40 plastic particles for every cubic metre of sea water and that is massive. Reading further, I found out that polyester fibres also pollute the air creating a danger to human health. Polyester also encourages fashion overproduction and waste. It is made from fossil fuels and can’t be recycled. It isn’t biodegradable and sheds toxic microfibres. It’s said eight million tonnes of microplastics enter the ocean each year. Microplastics have entered the food chain and on average, people ingest five grams a week, equal to the weight of a credit card. According to the World Wildlife Fund microplastics “harm marine and human health, litter beaches and landscapes and clog streams and landfills”. Microplastics are
EDUCATION: Alan Emerson says the public needs to be educated about the origin and uses of wool to help them make informed purchasing decisions.
Wool is versatile and can be used in insulation and niche market products, it is carpets that will be the salvation of our strong wool industry. also silently choking our planet. Seventy million barrels of oil are used annually to create polyester. What that tells me is that with nylon carpets and polyester clothing you have a huge use of fossil fuels, massive pollution and threats to human health. Conversely with wool you have a natural fibre that doesn’t pollute but breaks down in the environment. It is fire resistant,
durable and repels moisture. It is comfortable to wear, wrinkle resistant and insulates the wearer. Why wouldn’t you use wool? Simply because synthetics are and always will be cheaper and that’s the challenge and that’s where I have a problem. Everyone wants to save the planet. The Government is encouraging electric vehicles and subsidising them. They still cost a lot more than a conventional car. The aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce our reliance on fossil fuel and make the world a better place. You can achieve all of those aims with the use of wool. People rave about farmers polluting while hypocritically encouraging far more pollution with their clothing and carpets. While wool is versatile and can be used in insulation and niche
market products, it is carpets that will be the salvation of our strong wool industry. So, to get wool carpets back in fashion. Dispel the myth promoted by SAFE that sheep have to be killed for their wool. Explain how wool is a natural fibre grown on grass-fed sheep. They produce a new fleece each year making wool the most sustainable product ever. Discarded wool composts, it doesn’t pollute. Ask the Government to save the planet by encouraging wool carpet in all government facilities. Mount an international online campaign showing the environmental advantages of wool over synthetics. Those are my views only but were created without the assistance of an American consultancy or hot shot business analyst. One bright spot was talking to Cavalier Bremworth who had pledged to just make wool carpets. Their marketing communications manager Padgett Johnson told me the company had “received overwhelmingly positive feedback from staff, customers, the general public and our rural farming communities. Wool carpet and rugs are the optimum offer for consumers. Not only is wool the best fibre for design, innovation and performance on the floor, it’s also 100% natural, biodegradable and renewable.” It’s great to have someone with runs on the board.
Your View Alan Emerson is a semi-retired Wairarapa farmer and businessman: dath.emerson@gmail.com
Win or lose, at least try it From the Ridge
Steve Wyn-Harris
I WRITE this on the evening we are all basking in the reflected glory of Kiwis once again batting outside their league and winning the America’s Cup. Not that the great majority of us had anything to do with it other than involuntarily having contributed some tax money to the project, it reminded me of my own inglorious sailing career. Our family bought a Laser when I was a teenager, which is a good boat to learn to sail in. We didn’t have it very long when we heard about the inaugural Laser sailing championships at Taupo. I think it might have been 1976. My mate Quinny, who had also bought one, and I thought it would be fun to compete, despite
still being uncertain on how to rig them, let alone how to sail properly. That long ago, morning on the southern shores of Taupo was very still and peaceful. Most of the other competitors on the beach looked like they knew what they were about, so Quinny and I decided to go out early to get some practice. It was terribly slow going because of the complete lack of wind as we headed out to the course, but we chatted away from our respective craft and compared sailing skills. We still hadn’t got to the course when we saw a flurry of activity from the shore as the other sailors launched their boats. We and they realised at the same time that they weren’t going to make the start line in time. When the starting gun went off, even Quinny and I hadn’t quite got there, but when we went over the line we whooped with delight as we were leading the fleet by a considerable margin and at the very least, one of us might be runner up and even better, one of
us would be a national champion before the morning was over. The pace was glacial, and we watched the fleet cross the starting line as we were already on the second leg. A little later, I had the edge on Quinny although the better sailors were making ground. One of them was coming towards me heading to the marker I’d already rounded. He kept yelling “starboard, starboard” but I had no idea what he meant. I was soon to find out as just after our boats gently banged into each other, he told me that it was to tell me that he had the right of way and I had to give way. My penalty was to now go completely around twice apparently. This is not an easy manoeuvre when there is no wind and after wallowing around for quite some time, I found myself in the middle of the fleet and crossed the line towards the back of the field. Thus, the pinnacle of my yachting career was in my first and only race when for a time, I was the leader of a yacht class at the national championships. No Peter
Burling, but we take what we can. I can’t remember Quinny’s placing, and while it was better than me, there was no podium finish for him either. It must have been winter because my other memory of that weekend was that we drove up to Ruapehu for a day of skiing now that we were over sailing. Two Commodore station wagons with a boat each on the roof rack looked somewhat incongruous in the car park of a ski field. What looked even worse when we returned was Quinny’s boat had collapsed in on itself, much like your cheeks do when you suck them in. The bung was still in and turned out his boat lacked a small breather hole that it should have had, so the difference in pressures and temperatures had produced this startling result. Quinny, a panicker at the best of times, freaked out. When the bung was removed, the air rushed in and the boat popped back into its usual shape with a satisfying clunk.
MEMORY LANE: Commentator Steve Wyn-Harris recalls his own run at a sailing championship title. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
These are the sort of sailing stories that sadly didn’t make America’s Cup coverage.
Your View Steve Wyn-Harris is a Central Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer. swyn@xtra.co.nz
