Prince Charles to push NZ wool

Prince Charles has leapt to the aid of Australian, New Zealand and British wool producers, launching a project to increase demand for fleece reports The ODT. Concerned about the low prices farmers have been receiving for wool, the prince has teamed up with growers from the three nations and UK retail giant Marks and Spencer to make wool fashionable again. Launching The Wool Project on Tuesday, Prince Charles said wool had many benefits, including sustainability, but the future of the material was "looking very bleak indeed". "Its capacity to retain warmth, even when wet, has made it the clothing material of choice for our species -- as well as for sheep -- since the Stone Age," he said. "The sad truth is that around the world farmers are leaving sheep production because the price they get for their wool is below the costs of actually shearing it." The prince also highlighted the fire retardant and insulating properties of wool. He encouraged people to think twice about "the seemingly trivial decision about whether to buy a wool carpet or its manmade alternative, or the decision to buy a wool coat as opposed to a polyester jacket". "The wool industry is truly international, and I am particularly glad that The Wool Project is now a partnership that includes the wool-growing organisations of Australia, Britain and New Zealand," he said.