Wool content logos

Press, 5 August 1981, Page 15

Wool content logos

Goods bearing the Woolmark or the Woolblendmark belong to a select group. Created by the International Wool Secretariat in 1964, the Woolmark identifies a product in pure, new (not recycled) wool that has been tested against international quality standards. Woolmark products must be 100 per cent pure wool, with a tolerance of only 0.3 per cent for accidental impurities. Five per cent of non-wool fibres is allowed if this is for decorative purposes only. Certain rare animal fibres, such as camel hair, mohair and cashmere, may also be included as long as these do not exceed 20 per cent of the weight of the goods. To qualify for the symbol, products must also meet international standards of manufacture. These are administered in this country by the New Zealand Wool Board, which carries out the required tests in its own laboratories. The Woolmark is now in licensed use by 14,000 companies in more’than 50 countries and licencees use Woolmark labels at the rate of more than 360 million a year.

They appear on clothing, carpets and other home furnishings, knitting wool, blankets, duvets, mattresses and sheepskin products. Since 1971 the Woolmark has had a companion symbol, the Woolblendmark. for which users must hold a separate licence. It denotes a product that is at least 60 per cent wool. The one exception to this percentage requirement is a light-weight, woven, wool and cotton blend in which the wool content is at least 55 per cent. The brand name most widely known in this category is probably “Viyella." The Wool Board points out that the Woolblendmark symbol does not apply to adult outer knitwear, knitting wool, upholstery fabrics or blankets.

What it does apply to is a range of woven and double (two-sided) jersey goods, including garments such as dresses, skirts, coats, trousers, blouses and protective clothing. It also applies to a narrower range of single jersey garments, such as socks, tights, blouses and children’s sweaters and cardigans.

In last month’s sewing and knitting page it was stated, wrongly, that the knitting yarns produced by the Christchurch firm, Tinctorial Arts, qualified for the. Woolmark symbol. The Tinctorial yarns contain a small quantity of nylon, so the Woolmark could not apply, and Woolblendmark licences are not granted- for knitting wools.