Wool Production and Quality in Indian Perspective

Abstract

Wool, nature’s gift to sheep, enjoys the status of being luxury fibre! The luxuriousness is owing to unique properties and thereby the higher cost of the fibre. The superior warmth, comfort, and flame retardancy are some of the well-known properties of the wool fibre. Due to these properties, wool is being used for manufacturing premium apparel, carpets, and upholstery since the early civilization of our society. With the change of time, synthetic fibres dominated the natural fibres including wool. The cheaper price and high production rate of synthetics gradually replaced wool in various applications. However, wool is still an important basis of textile industries, especially in the decentralized sector. Wool harvest and processing have remained a livelihood source for many families since their generations. Further, the petroleum crisis and increasing sustainability awareness highlight the importance of wool fibre. Besides textile production, wool has been used in technical applications such as industrial felts where synthetic fibres failed to perform. This article briefly describes the global scenario of wool production and quality and mainly focusing on the Indian context.