Joint use of wool symbols favoured

Press, 21 June 1985, Page 24

Joint use of wool symbols favoured

PA Wellington The Wool Board has called for textile manufacturers to use the new national export symbol with the international woolmark, rather than develop a New Zealand woolmark. In an address on the board’s role in developing textile manufacturing in New Zealand, the chairman, Mr Doug Mcllraith, said it was “stupid to undermine the new export symbol’s potential success by looking at a separate Kiwi woolmark.” “Research clearly demonstrates the wool’s country of origin- is insignificant in an international consumer’s

product choice, compared to colour, style, fashion and price. “The greenness and cleanness of New Zealand is a much more important selling point for our agricul-tural-derived foodstuffs than it is for wool as an industrial raw material,” he said. “Few products anyway are made from 100 per cent New Zealand wool. Because of their quality and strength, our wools are the most expensive of their type in the world, and are used to help carry less processing efficient wools. “Consequently our wools tend to be used as the base of blends, rather than as-the total fipre content.” f