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Wool v. Synthetics


There was an interesting piece in the DT on 12 Jan 2019. Prince Charles investigated whether wool or synthetics wouldbreak down when buried. Some years ago he buried an old woollen jumper and a similar one made of synthetic material, in a flower bed at Clarance House. He wanted to illustrate that wool was biodegradable.


In the DT magazine in 2016 he recalled that six months later, the synthetic jersey was intact (and fit to be washed and worn) whilst the woollen jersey had rotted away.


He also set fire to a pile of similar jumpers, to test their flammability. The synthetic pile produced a dramatic and disconcerting blaze; the woollen one smouldered in relative safety.


When the price of wool fell he pointed out that some farmers were receiving less for their wool than the cost of shearing the sheep.


He started the Campaign for Wool in 2010 to encourage greater understanding of its usefulness.


ND, habitat21




Note - if you decide to compost woollens, don't put entire pullovers on the compost heap. They need to be chopped up and mixed in well with the other materials being composted.

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