Woolmark Success Emphasised

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31128, 3 August 1966, Page 22

Woolmark Success Emphasised

(N.Z. Press Association)

TIMARU, August 2.

“The world wants more wool and it is essential that we produce more in New Zealand. If there is a shortage of wool there is only the alternative of cotton and synthetic fibres,” said the chairman of the New Zealand Wool Board (Mr J. Acland).

Mr Acland, who is attending the board’s first meeting to be held in Timaru, said that the success of the wool symbol overseas had exceeded expectations. “We thought it would take three years to establish the symbol, but it has become well established in 18 months,” he said. It was now recognised in 21 countries, with a total population of 750 million.

The symbol which was registered in 95 countries, was now associated in people's minds with quality, said Mr Acland. More than 100 million Woolmark labels had been sold, including 70 million in Europe. To emphasis the success of the Woolmark, Mr Acland said that during a sale at Bradford, the Russians insisted that their purchases bore the Woolmark. There had been a dramatic increase in the use of the Woolmark in Britain where, in less than a year, it had i risen from 17 per cent to more than 60 per cent, he jsaid. At 80 per cent, the in- ; crease in Tokyo had been i even more marked. On the German market, the position of wool in the cloth-

ing sector had strengthened. “Many cutomers influenced by the Woolmark publicity are again using more pure wool products. “This became apparent in 1965 when the German wool clothing fabric weavers processed around 16 per cent more pure wool yarns than in 1964 and, on the other hand, six per cent less cellulose yarns,” said Mr Acland.

In Germany the consumption of fully synthetic yarn material had remained constant, but production by wool weavers in 1965 increased about 8 per cent.