Sleep Like a Lamb

(Page 2 of 4)

November/December 2003
By DANIELLE FOX 
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Shopping for Wool Bedding

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Before making a purchase, ask yourself these questions:

AM I ALLERGIC TO WOOL? Request a tester kit or buy a pillow before jumping into a big ­purchase such as a comforter.

HOW HAS THE WOOL BEEN TREATED? Some manufacturers treat wool in a mild sulfuric acid bath that consumes carbon-based contamination such as seeds, hay, and fecal matter. Another practice is using glues and plastics to help bind the wool. For contaminant-free sleep, buy bedding that was washed with vegetable-based, biodegradable soap and has never been bleached or otherwise treated. Some manufacturers call their wool “organic,” but this catch phrase can mean different things because no certification criteria exist in the wool industry.

WHAT IS THE SHEEP’S QUALITY OF LIFE? Ask for a manufacturer’s cruelty-free statement before buying any products. Find out if the sheep are free to roam, if they graze in pesticide-free pastures, if they eat chemical-free feed, and how they’re cared for when ill. The manufacturer should also disclose whether the sheep were sprayed for lice or fed prophylactic antibiotics, practices that aren’t allowed in natural wool production. Vegans should be aware that most wool comes from ewes whose lambs are slaughtered for meat and who themselves are killed once they are past breeding age.

HOW WERE THE SHEEP SHEARED? Find out if skirting was practiced to remove the belly, leg, and rump wool, which is full of impurities. If not, those impurities are often cleaned with toxic chemicals. Shearing done by natural wool producers is relatively humane, with an eighth to a quarter inch of wool remaining, although cuts do occur at the hands of inexperienced sheep shearers.

WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF THE WOOL? Long, strong fibers come from the neck, back, and sides of the sheep, while lesser quality wool is shorn from the legs, belly, and skirt areas. A price difference between two products could be because of the type of the fibers. Some companies use merino wool, a very fine, soft, strong wool.

WHERE ARE THE PRODUCTS MADE? While Europe has been in the forefront of producing fine wool bedding for centuries, fans of American-made products will be happy to know that a number of U.S. companies are helping establish wool production in this country.

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