Raw Materials for Wool Blankets and Natural Hair – Why Are They So Sought After?

Wool and Hair

Wool and hair are exquisite raw materials with very special properties.

Wool and fine hair are keratin fibers of animal origin with a complex structure and very special properties. Their unique characteristics make them so sought after.

What are these properties and why?

Over millions of years, evolution has ensured that animals are optimally adapted to their respective habitats and can survive through natural selection.

Wool and hair, as external protection with their special features, must therefore fulfill several functions to best withstand the respective climatic conditions such as cold, snow, rain, ice, wind, humidity, heat, temperature, and sun, and to enable the animals' survival.

On the one hand, they must provide, reflect, and store warmth for the body without overheating it; on the other hand, they must be able to absorb, neutralize, and release the body's sweat and moisture to the environment.

They must regenerate as quickly as possible, be self-cleaning and dirt-repellent, and must not feel wet when absorbing increased moisture. They must drain rain and snow downwards, which is ensured by the coarser outer and guard hairs. At the same time, the fat content of the hair and wool provides hydrophobic properties and resistance to dirt.

On the other hand, they must protect the body from external heat and sun rays with their insulating properties.

They must be elastic, durable, resilient, and fluff up and regenerate themselves after pressure. They must provide sufficient insulation and thermal regulation when the animals sleep on cold ground.

High Demand, Limited Supply

The proportion of textiles made from virgin wool worldwide is only 5%. By definition, virgin wool or wool is the term exclusively associated with sheep.

The proportion of textiles worldwide made from fine hairs such as alpaca, cashmere, camel hair, silk, angora, or yak is only 0.5%!

This shows how exclusive these products are.

Textiles are produced annually worldwide from

In this context, it is easy to see that, hypothetically, a light sweater made of virgin wool could be produced for every person.

However, most of the wool is probably too coarse for today's context and is processed, for example, for the production of carpets in China.