As National Wool Week draws towards a close, Henry Poole & Co celebrates and whole-heartedly endorses the values of wool. This natural, sustainable fibre has survived since the Stone Age as the most effective all-weather protection. In our view, it’s also the best-looking fibre and science has yet to produce anything that comes close to matching it.
What you might not know about your wool suit.
Wearing wool means helping save the planet because:
• It’s renewable, so long as there as sheep with grass to graze on.
• It’s also biodegradable because it decomposes fast, releasing valuable nutrients into the soil
On an entirely selfish level, nothing will ever beat wearing a wool suit because:
• Wool is breathable: wool fibres are tightly packed together to form millions of tiny air pockets that can absorb moisture vapour up to 30% of its own weight next to the skin.
• It’s resilient: fibres can be bent back on themselves 20,000 times without breaking.
• It has a crimped structure, meaning it’s naturally elastic and will stretch with the wearer then allowing the fibres return to their natural state without sagging or wrinkling. A wool suit will therefore have a long lifespan.
• Wool is hydrophilic, meaning it is very absorbent and retains liquid, so can be richly dyed and will remain colourfast without the need for chemicals.
• Because of its hydroscopic qualities, wool will adapt to the wearer’s body temperature making it ideal in cold and warm weather. It’s the ultimate multi-climate convenient clothing.
• Wool fibres have a natural waxy coating, making a wool suit anti-static and resistant to stains and dust.
• Wool is even odour-resistant because it’s efficient at absorbing then releasing sweat into the air before it’s had a chance to smell.
• It’s safe, won’t cause allergies and does not promote the growth of bacteria. It’s far more flame-retardant than synthetic fabrics and has a naturally high level of UV protection.
So is it any wonder that at Henry Poole we take such pride in making our finest suits from wool? The mark of a Henry Poole suit is that it’s made to last so of course we use wool and we create our jackets with invisible stitching and no glue or artificial substances. Our customers are confident that investing in a Henry Poole jacket is to invest in an heirloom, made to last a generation and beyond.
It’s no coincidence that the Campaign for Wool’s official launch took place ten years ago in Savile Row, which was transformed into a pasture full of sheep. After all, Savile Row prides itself on being at the epicentre of beautiful, sustainable gentlemen’s clothing. Since then, with HRH The Prince of Wales as Patron, the Campaign has gone from strength to strength, launching internationally and involving key figures in the worlds of fashion and design.
Back in 2016 HRH Prince Charles and Alex James (musician, writer, and presenter of the film Slowing Down Fast Fashion) buried a John Smedley Merino sweater alongside a synthetic replica to highlight wool’s superb biodegradability. After four months both were dug up and it was clear from the results that the sweater had decomposed considerably whilst the synthetic replica was still very much intact highlighting how such man-made fibres will overflow landfill sites for many years to come.
We’d like to add our support to the Campaign and invite all our customers into the store to see the benefits of our beautiful wool clothing for themselves. If you can’t get to Savile Row you can now order up to 10 complimentary swatch samples from our website. Please
click here to be taken to the swatch section.
