Sustainable Wool
Where does your wool come from?
We source our wool from suppliers around the world. We have purchased wool from flocks in Europe, the UK, Uruguay, the U.S., and of course, our own backyard in Waterloo County, Ontario.
Our wool co-ops only mill local wool to keep our carbon “hoofprint” minimal.
Meet Romy one of our Shepherdess from Revolution Wool. https://www.revolutionwoolco.com/
Along with Moss Creek’s Cat & Dog wool balls, Romy’s wool is also used to make duvets and mattress toppers, which we highly recommend!
Why don’t you use only Canadian Wool?
Most sheep raised in Canada are for meat, so their wool is not fine enough for felting. Although we’ve partnered with local producers who have flocks of heritage sheep with the fine wool fibers we need, they can only supply small amounts.
How are the sheep Treated?
Our wool co-ops all adhere to the following standards:
- Absolutely no mulesing. Mulesing is a cruel practice where parts of the sheep’s skin are cut away while raising them.
- Sheep must have adequate free-range time outside the barn. This improves the quality of both the sheep’s life and the wool.
- No harmful chemicals can be used while processing the fleece into wool roving. The sheep are never exposed to chemicals, including sheep dips.
- The sheep are only raised for their wool, not to eat.
The best way to ensure sheep are treated humanely is to ask questions and educate the livestock industry that there is a demand for sustainable and ethically raised wool.
How is the wool processed?
During the felting process, we use a pH-balanced unscented fabric wash called Forever New to remove residual lanolin from the wool.
Aren’t all wool dryer balls the same?
No — a wool dryer ball’s performance comes down to the quality of the wool itself. Finer wools make softer and tighter wool balls.
A softer ball is more gentle in your dryer. A tighter ball won’t fall apart as they bounce around your dryer.
To get more specific, a micron rating refers to the fiber’s thickness. The lower the micron rating, the tighter the fibers bind together during felting. We only use wool with a 25-micron rating at most.