FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Wool blankets are generally not washed. Due to the natural residual fat content of approx. 1-2% in the wool, wool blankets hardly get dirty and have a natural repellent protective layer against soiling. In wool, the fat content of the wool is called lanolin.

Even body sweat is neutralized by the chemical properties of the wool.

Air drying in fresh air with high humidity, protected from direct exposure, is the best care for your wool blanket.

Here, the wool can develop its self-cleaning power, release unpleasant odors, and the fibers straighten up again.

Tip: Water spray

Before washing the wool blanket, try the following cleaning method:

Simply direct a water spray onto the stain. Usually, the water dissolves the stain and washes it away.

Gentle wash in the washing machine at 30 °C on a gentle cycle

Wool blankets can be washed at 30 °C on a gentle cycle.

Please wash the wool blanket individually to avoid unnecessary friction.

It is best to use a wool detergent or a common household conditioner (hair conditioner) instead of detergent.

The spin speed should not be higher than 600 revolutions/min. and should be stopped after 2-3 minutes.

Please do not use a dryer, as this will lead to unnecessary felting.

When unloading the washing machine, it is best to roll the blanket into a cotton towel to absorb excess moisture from the damp wool blanket, allowing the air-drying process of the wool blanket to proceed faster.

You can then air-dry the wool blanket on a clothes horse.

After the blanket is dry, you can beat the blanket with two people to remove any surface hairs and allow the blanket to regain volume.

Disadvantages of washing

After washing, the surface of the wool blanket will no longer be as beautiful as before washing.

The wool blanket will shrink by approx. 2-5% in length and width after washing.

In principle:

The finer the "wool", the warmer the blanket.

The heavier the blanket, the warmer it is.

The more voluminous the blanket, the warmer it is.

For the same blanket weight, the order regarding thermal properties should be as follows:

1. Eiderdown
2. Down
3. Cashmere
4. Camel hair and Yak
5. Alpaca
6. Wool
7. Silk
8. Cotton

Here is an attempt to derive the lifespan of a blanket

The lifespan of a wool blanket is roughly comparable to that of a car.

According to Statista, the average age of a passenger car in 2019 was 9.5 years.

Similarly, there are exceptions both above and below this average.

Considering the average sleep duration of Germans at approx. 7 hours/day, it is evident that duvets are generally exposed to a significantly longer period of use compared to the daily use of a car. (Smile)

In principle, the lifespan depends on the following factors:

• the actual duration of use
• proper care
• proper use
• the quality of the blanket in terms of raw material selection, construction, and manufacturing.
• proper storage
• as well as hygiene aspects

You can ask yourself the following questions:

• What properties should the blanket have?
• How much am I willing to spend on a blanket (budget)?
• How warm should the blanket be? Do I tend to feel cold or do I tend to sweat? (warmth requirement)
• Where and how should the blanket be used?
• We are happy to answer your questions regarding this.
• What size is right for me?
• Usage: more in the bedroom or in the living room, garden, travel, RV, boat
• Design
• Edging (velvet ribbon, structured ribbon, serging, fringes)
• Washability or care

The merino wools we process mostly come from the Chubut region in Argentina. For information on sheep farming practices, please find attached the “Dumfries Wool Declaration”. We, as a member of the IWTO, are committed to this.

We obtain our information regarding animal welfare from general publications by animal welfare organizations such as PETA, as well as initiatives like the "good Cashmere Standard" and other related activities.

We also follow internet publications from the press. We discuss this with our cashmere suppliers. Cashmere goats shed their warming undercoat in the spring when it gets warmer. This is initially a natural process. By combing out the fleece, the soft underhair is collected. The goats, which live with the nomads, are essential to them. It is therefore in the nomads' own interest to treat their animals carefully. Our buyers, who are also on site, have generally not found anything negative regarding animal welfare. However, it cannot be ruled out that there may be violations in individual cases. This is probably the case in many areas.

Paper offers no guarantee.

The driving force behind new standards in this regard is partly goodwill, meaning a genuine interest in animal welfare, but also market-driven considerations. Be it to achieve a higher price or to create moats to gain a competitive advantage. I cannot offer a holistic representation here. We will delve deeper and critically into this topic and process further information. Unfortunately, it has been shown that topics, depending on the interests at stake, are assessed and presented very differently.

To ultimately form one's own reliable opinion here, one would have to be present during the combing process oneself. I do not have this experience and therefore can only relay what our cashmere suppliers say about it.

Fundamentally, we are interested in animal welfare and also donate blankets to animal welfare organizations in Germany.

I would not process cashmere if I were convinced that the animals suffered excessively. According to my research, this is not currently the case.

Sincerely,
Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Christian Ritter (Owner, Managing Director)

Our camel hair mostly comes from Inner Mongolia and the Alashan Desert.

The animals are kept on huge, sprawling pastures and can move around freely there.

Since the pastures are in the most remote areas, the animals hardly come into contact with people.

Sometimes the animals even live as nomads with their herders.

The herders only need to provide "watering spots" for the animals; additional food only needs to be provided in the rarest of cases.

In the past, the animals were often used by nomads as beasts of burden.

Nowadays, they are mostly bred for their meat and milk production, with the fiber being merely a "side business."

For fiber extraction, the animals are herded together at the watering holes in spring.

The camels automatically shed their winter coat, so entire fleece parts fall off the animals.

The herders collect most of the fibers from the ground, and the rest is combed off the animals without much effort or disturbance.

Once the fiber has been collected, the fleeces are sorted by quality and then washed.

After washing, the fiber is "dehaired." In this process, the coarse guard hair is separated from the fine undercoat.

The coarse guard hair is used in the country of origin for mattresses and insulation, while the fine undercoat mostly goes into the outerwear and blanket industry.

We maintain a long-standing cooperation with our suppliers and can therefore guarantee that human and animal welfare are always maintained.

Before Covid, we visited the sites at least once a year and were able to get our own impression during farm visits.

Currently, this is still being done by our buyer.

To our knowledge, there are currently no recognized certifications for camel hair.

Animal Husbandry and Certification:

Our qualities come from various small farmers. These are scattered across the high Andes of Peru.

The animals live freely and are only kept in stone enclosures overnight (traditionally as in Inca times) to protect them from pumas.

Attached you will find here a general statement, which all our customers receive upon request.

For the natural coloured alpaca tops and the South American combed slivers, we also have an Oeko-Tex certificate from our supplier.

Shearing:

Below you will find a YouTube link from our supplier showing how the shearing takes place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DeSz3er0dY

Since alpacas are flight animals, they must be restrained during shearing.

This is done primarily so that they do not injure themselves!

Shearing is mostly carried out by the farmers themselves, otherwise by professional shearers. However, it is less piecework than with sheep in Australia!

Depending on the possibilities, either scissors or shearing machines are used – in parts of the Andes there is still no electricity, where scissors are used.

In case of injuries, the animals are subsequently cared for by their shepherds, just as with sheep.

Most shepherds have a very close relationship with their animals, as they are their only source of income in the harsh Sierra.

Not only do they care about the animals, but they also depend on them.

For us, gentle manufacturing means:

We consider the ecological aspect, meaning no chemicals are used that unnecessarily burden our environment and people.

After washing, the blankets are merely acidified to approx. pH 5.5 in the isoionic range with natural acetic acid. In this range, the wool feels most comfortable, is minimally damaged, and the lower pH value (slightly acidic) prevents bacterial infestation and mold formation. Therefore, they smell fresh and natural.

After washing, the wool blankets are roughened particularly gently on various raising machines in a damp state.

No bleaches, softeners, or carbonized wools are used in the manufacturing process, and we use low temperatures in the washing process. The same applies to drying.

Our wool blankets are dried gently no later than after 3 days. The lower energy consumption benefits the environment and protects the wool during the drying process. We dry the woven and washed pieces at a gentle 95 °C.

At drying temperatures above 100 °C, the strength of the wool decreases, and it begins to lose its soft, supple feel and can feel brittle, which should be avoided.

Only when the blankets have cooled sufficiently for about 14 days after the drying process and have absorbed enough moisture from the ambient air, they are further roughened in a dry state with low settings and shorn several times to a defined shearing height.

Camel hair uses the fine undercoat and is available in 2 natural colors: natural camel and natural blonde.

Camel hair is similar in character to cashmere, though slightly coarser. The feel is not quite as slick and soapy as cashmere.

Alpaca comes in 24 different natural colors and is sorted accordingly at the source. Alpaca hair is not quite as fine as camel hair, but it stands out due to its softness, noble sheen, and hair character. To create a beautiful pile, alpaca blankets are generally heavier than camel hair blankets.

The supply of natural blonde camel hair is extremely low compared to the supply of camel-colored camel hair. This explains the higher price of natural blonde camel hair.

Subjectively, I would draw the line at an average fineness for wool at approx. 20.5 microns. In general, fine wools are not perceived as scratchy. Ultimately, however, your personal sensation should always be decisive. We would be happy to send you a free sample.

1. Qualitative aspects

Better integration of the weft yarn with different qualities.

Particularly homogeneous connection between different weft qualities and the virgin wool warp. Due to the higher scale edges and the better felting ability of wool, a very homogeneous connection between warp and weft is achieved.

Better anchoring of the weft material with the warp.

This homogeneous connection provides an ideal prerequisite for further processing, thus ultimately an advantage in technical construction as well as a qualitative advantage.

2. Economic reasons, higher efficiency.

Different qualities can be produced with one warp or warp setting. In principle, like in the automotive industry: one platform - different models.

Thus lower changeover costs, reduction of yarn positions in the warp, time savings and therefore lower labor costs. Shorter downtimes.

Fewer warp breaks, the virgin wool warp is stable and has good tear resistance. We pass on the cost advantage to our customers.

3. Labelling

Pile articles can be labelled separately according to pile content and base material.

For example, common for carpets. Pile or wear layer: 100% virgin wool, backing material or base: e.g. 100% jute. Also very common for e.g. double plush weaving processes.

4. Because it has proven itself for decades.

Wool blankets and the topic of moths

Camel animal welfare

Alpaca animal welfare

Dear Customer,

Natural hair blankets are, to my knowledge, no longer treated against moth infestation today. Most customers do not want additional chemicals in natural hair blankets.

I remember the term (Eulanisation) from earlier times. Eulan or Mitin can be industrially applied to the fabric in a water bath before it is dried. I have been working in the textile production of natural hair blankets for 26 years now and am no longer aware of any actual application of Eulan or Mitin in Germany.

Eulan (Bayer AG) was produced until 1988

Mitin (Ciba Geigy) similar product to Eulan

These ingestion or contact poisons do not prevent feeding damage!

The larvae feed first, a bare spot appears, then the larvae die. Therefore, (regardless of the potential health risks for humans) the use of these aforementioned agents makes little sense. This insight was, as I recall, presented by Professor (Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Finnimore) in her lectures at Coburg University of Applied Sciences, specializing in textile production.

This is an ingestion poison that directly affects a digestive enzyme and interrupts digestion. The animals starve quickly. Actually a great thing. Which also explains the enormous and rapid spread.

But unfortunately, these substances are chemically and thermally very stable. They remain for a very long time and accumulate. This is especially true in house dust (into which they enter through treated carpets) and especially in water.

How dangerous the dusts, which can also accumulate in the human body through inhalation, ultimately are, has never been conclusively investigated. Bayer AG stopped production in 1988 without giving reasons. EULAN (and especially the metabolite PCAD) belongs to the same group of insecticides as Lindane, PCB, and DDT. These substances have since been banned in the EU. At higher temperatures (above 100°C, e.g., during dyeing), dioxins can form, which are carcinogenic.

Source Filzwalker Bruno