Sheep wool, natural heritage and sustainable fiber. 

Its origins, production processes and the industrial revolution. 

Humans domesticated sheep at least 9,000 years ago. In fact, they are the first animals that were domesticated along with dogs. The ancestors of the current sheep are the Asian mouflons of Mesopotamia. The ancient sheep were more like a goat than the soft-fleeced specimens we know today. From Asia, nomadic tribes brought sheep to Europe. Over the centuries, human beings developed selective breeding, leaving the best specimens for reproduction and the rest for food.

Wool fibers correspond to the category of fiber of natural and animal origin, as is the case with silk. The filaments of wool fibers are shorter than those of other fibers of natural origin, such as linen, and on average they can measure up to 12 cm in length. The thickness of the fiber is measured in microns and is directly related to the quality and softness of the final fabric.  Sheep traditionally have different shades of wool, including: shades of white, gray, and brown. However, the industrialization of this fiber was selecting the whitest fibers since they allowed dyeing in a better way. 

Selective breeding of sheep has resulted in a number of fine breeds: Corriedale, Dual Purpose Merino, Suffolk, Romney Marsh. Regarding the processing of the fiber, whether carried out by hand or industrially, the first step is the shearing of the sheep and then the selection and classification of the fleeces. Depending on the area of ​​the animal's body where the wool fibers come from, they will have different lengths and thicknesses. Once this selection is made, the wool is washed, a process in which it loses about 15% of its initial weight, which is dirt and tallow, then it is dried, and it is separated according to its quality and ends between carded wool and combed wool. The tallow, in other words the fat from the wool, called lanolin and is used to make a series of derived products. 

Again the selected wool to be later carded or spun. The best quality is left to be spun and woven into fine clothing textiles. Carded wool is used to make thicker textiles such as blankets, rugs, and upholstery. Regarding the production process and in simplified terms, carded wool is spun, stretched and rolled while combed wool is combed, separated, taut and squeezed. The type of yarn will depend on the quality of the wool, with merino wool being the finest and most valued on the market. 

The industrial revolution not only transformed production processes but also installed new social, cultural and economic dynamics that still persist to this day. Without the culture of wool that Europeans developed during the Middle Ages and before cotton from the colonies fed the new machinery, wool was the protagonist of the first factories, in that noisy environment, full of lint and wet floors. For centuries, wool was the queen of natural fibers. Only to be displaced by cotton and then, towards the middle of the 20th century, by the mass use of synthetics, which displaced it, especially in the segment of home textiles. 

Wool in Chile: history and local culture. 

The first flock of sheep that arrived in the country was imported by the Spanish during the 16th century. This breed of sheep is known as criollas and they are found throughout the national territory, especially from the central zone to the south of the country. The sheep that later arrived in Patagonia were the Merinos, which, although of Spanish origin, were introduced by the English during the 18th century and imported from the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands.

The development of wool spinning and weaving is especially notorious in cultural terms on the island of Chiloé. After centuries of evolution, the Chilota sheep is recognized as a breed in itself. Highly valued for its meat but also for its hair, which has been creatively worked by local women on large looms located inside the homes of different towns, which has allowed an aesthetic flourishing that is part of the traditional Chilota culture. 

Wool was the protagonist in the incipient Chilean textile industrialization. From the mid-19th century onwards, the first two textile industries that can be considered as modern factories in the country produced woolen cloth. The El Salto Textile Factory, located in Conchalí, was founded by the State itself in 1850 to meet the needs of the army and other government institutions. The second was installed in 1865 in an old mill in Tomé by Guillermo Délano Gibson whose story tells that he traveled to California, United States and exchanged a shipment of wheat for 24 looms. Bellavista Tomé continues to be the most important cloth factory in the country and it would not be unwise to point out that it is the most important in South America. In addition, the installation of Bellavista Tomé gave way to two other important factories in the city: the Oveja national cloth society and the Italian-American cloth factory, better known as FIAP. The development of the wool industry in Chile was only overshadowed by the cotton industry that settled in the capital with contributions from the State and focused directly on the national market towards the middle of the 20th century. 

An ancestral fiber that looks to the future.

Today, the wool industry seeks to establish itself at the center of the discussion around sustainability in fashion. But... Is the wool sustainable? My humble opinion is yes. It is true that, like other fibers of natural origin, it requires many resources for its production: animals, land, water, care, etc.  However, in the wear phase of the garment, wool is the winner in terms of sustainability over all other fibers. First, because it is known that garments made of this animal fiber are the ones that stay the longest in people's closets and the ones that require less washing. In other words, it is rarely washed and should not be tumble-dried, therefore energy expenditure during this phase is very low. Other advantages are that it is biodegradable, anti-flammable, recyclable and hypoallergenic. We can look from the present towards a future that does not have to be distant, in fact it is not, because our wool history is still recent, we have an abundance of resources and with a little help from new technological processes that can enhance its manufacturing multiple new products, such as textiles for sports. Our beloved wool can return in all its glory and occupy the podium it deserves within the oldest and noblest textile fibers that is renewed to continue giving us warmth and shelter for centuries to come.