Jim Watts (SRS) disputes this saying Itochu are using the wool (ABC report) but does not say how much or for what.

Perhaps it is being blended with other Merino wool?

However, as pilling is a serious limitation on wool, Dr Watts needs to produce independent scientific evidence proving that the wool from SRS bred sheep does not pill if his assertions are to be taken seriously.

There must be some reason that these sheep have not replaced the traditional merino!

Presumbaly Bill Jones is responding to the ABC report on the agreement Jim Watts has signed with Instyle, another furnishing company, to sell this wool to be labelled EthEco wool for furnishing fabrics worldwide.

One can only assume Instyle was unaware that the wool pills, which seems to be the point of Bill Jones comments - get the true facts out there and provide evidence to support them.

Bill Jones has supplied evidence the wool pills but where is Dr Watts evidence that it does not?

I am astonished with the negative comments made by Bill Jones about the wool quality from SRS sheep.

My company Instyle Contact Textile was introduced last November to Dr Jim Watts and several SRS farmers by Leah Paff – General Manager and Geoff Robinson – Technical Manager of The Woolmark Company.

The SRS wool was presented by The Woolmark Company as not only excellent quality wool but highly suitable for commercial furnishings.

After visits to several of the SRS farms in NSW we were proud to have recently signed Australia's first ethical supply agreement in the furnishing industry with The SRS Company.

Instyle has been a Woolmark licensee for some 20 years and a Key Partner for some 10 of these years and I am a founding member and current director of The Commercial Textile Association of Australia and New Zealand (CTA).

As the major contract furnishing supplier in Australia we have been successful in supplying to major corporations such as Qantas, Telstra, Commonwealth Bank, numerous Government Departments and major public buildings such as The World Congress Centre in Melbourne, Sydney Entertainment and Convention Centres in Sydney and the Brisbane Convention Centres – in all project Instyle supplied wool upholstery fabrics.

Instyle has been nominated in 2006 and 2007 for Banksia Environmental Awards in the Sustainability category, won three awards at the 2008 NSW Government Green Globes Awards including the Industry - Environmental Sustainability award, Small Business Environmental Sustainability Award and the Major Award The Premier’s Sustainability Excellence Award.

In May Instyle was nominated for a United Nations of Australia - World Environment Day Awards 2008 in the Business Sustainability - Environmental Best Practice Program.

My business has taken a leadership role in protecting the interests of the wool industry including positions we have taken against the discrimination against wool (in favour of recycled polyester) in the initial Green Building Council’s Green Stars eco preferred criteria.

We are once again proud to take a positive leadership role in supporting the movement for the cessation of mulesing and look forward to launching beautiful and high performance upholstery textiles produced from SRS wool.

Regards

Michael Fitzsimons

Managing Director

Instyle Contract Textiles

The Merino wool industry might gain more from working together and finding the strengths that fine and superfine low crimp and high crimping wools have.

Bill Jones has, I assume, quoted results from the "fibre to fabric study" funded by the CSIRO, which found several positives for low crimp wools such as lower noil or wastage when processing and softer handle.

The study was done on 19-23 micron wool and the results regarding pilling of the fibre to fabric study may have been due to factors other than curvature.

Deakin University has since (2006) published a study on "Measuring the influence of fibre to fabric properties on the pilling of wool fabrics" which found that crimp, or curvature, was a negligible factor in pilling.

They ranked fabric cover factor as having the most effect on pilling followed by yarn count and thin places, fibre length and yarn twist.

Since when has a blog like this become free advertising? Shame on you!

Mr Fitzsimons 'article' should be restricted to facts about the issue not a blatant promotion of his company.

It is time the spin was left at home and cold hard facts supported editorial.

Bill Jones refers to facts so to post a comment suggesting they are defamatory is irresponsible.

It is facts that are needed not just the views of employees of the Woolmark Company, of whom Instyle is a major client.

Comment from AWI would be welcome, particularly if substantiated by facts!

I thought Deakin studies were on alpaca.

Can someone direct me to a link to the Deakin study 'an observer from WA' refers to please?

It is amazing to me that the wool industry refuses to progress research that links finished garments to on-farm measurements.

The first and only reasearch of this type was done about 6 or 7 years ago and was not progressed because of the potential damage to the stud Merino breeding industry.

It is way past the time that the industry accepts the need to produce wool for the consumer rather than self interests in breeding.

Finally a processor's comment has been published.

Regardless of Bill Jones, Woolly Sheep and Bemused - aka Sustainable Living, Instyle will proceed to launch contract upholstery textiles produced from SRS wool.

Similar to every other textile, Instyle ranges SRS upholstery designs will go through the CTA industry stardards testing that covers abrasion, pilling, colourfastness to light and seam slippage.

That really is all the proof required.

Regards

My studies of low and high crimp superfine wool, when in pure form or when blended with cashmere in knitwear fabrics do not support the comments attributed to Bill Jones.

However, caution is needed in interpreting my results and in the attributed comments.

There are several issues that impact on this discussion including fabric structure, test method, test duration and fibre attributes.

In my controlled, replicated studies, low crimp wool knitwear has more resistance to pilling and change to appearance than similar fabrics made from higher crimp wool.

My work identified differences between testing methods when evaluating the resistance to pilling and appearance change and also effects of wool type on fabric mass loss during the testing.

I understand that Bill Jones was referring to woven fabrics.

Test duration does impact on the assessment of resistance to pilling and appearance change.

Some of my work has been published and a final article is in preparation. References include: McGregor, B.A. (2001) The quality of cashmere and its influence on textile materials produced from cashmere and blends with superfine wool. Ph.D. Thesis. Department of Textile Technology, Faculty of Science, pp.253 + xviii. (The University of New South Wales: Sydney). McGregor, B.A. (2005). Influence of superfine wool fibre curvature and blending with cashmere on attributes of knitwear. Sheep Updates 2005: 29-30. (Department of Agriculture WA: Perth) McGregor, B.A. (2006). A comparison of the ICI Pill Box and the random tumble methods in assessing pilling and appearance change of worsted spun cashmere and cashmere-wool blend knitwear. International Journal of Sheep and Wool Science 54: 66-73. http://sheepjournal.une.edu.au/sheepjournal/vol54/iss3/paper 5 McGregor, B., and Postle, R. (2008). Mechanical properties of cashmere single jersey knitted fabrics blended with high and low crimp superfine Merino wool. Textile Research Journal 78: 399-411.

Bill Jones's comments are not helpful. My own work at CSIRO and the bulk of the work that he refers to shows that the apparent effects of crimp or curvature on pilling are related to changes in other fabric and fibre properties, particularly fabric weight. When wools and the resultant fabrics are well matched for all other properties then very little effect of curvature is seen. Crimp recovery in wet or steam treatments does lead to bulkier, stiffer, heavier fabrics that tend to pill less when using high crimp wools, particularly in knitwear. However, minor changes in processing can generally adjust for any such side-effects. The bigger concern should be that there is still a premium in the market-place for high-crimp superfine wools when the processing research indicates that low-crimp wools offer a number of advantages. If breeding to achieve high crimp frequency leads to smaller animals and lower fleece weight, then the grower is being doubly penalised.