Why Local Wool Matters-Fiber Arts Blog-My Local Wool

wool and spinning

Jul 25

Do you support the small wool farm industry? Discover why it is important to make sure that wool breeds remain sustainable and gain locally sourced benefits of wool as a fiber. Visiting a farmers market, supporting local farms and even direct sales of fleeces are just some of the ways we can help keep this industry alive.

Small, locally owned wool farms are an important part of the rural economy and help to keep agriculture alive. Supporting small, local sheep farms and their shepherds not only supports families, but also helps in keeping our rural communities happy and healthy.

Wool can be produced in many different ways, and the supply chain can be extremely complex. In order to guarantee that your wool is being sourced ethically, it is important to know how your blanket or sweater was produced. Small farms are often more sustainable as they use less resources and do not clog production lines with unnecessary finishing steps such as dyeing. In addition, these small producers also tend to use local fibers which supports the local economy and minimizes transportation pollution.

It is important to support small sheep farms, especially in the USA. There are many benefits of locally sourced wool, including supporting less known breeds of sheep which are often under threat. By buying local wool you can help a farm stay afloat and ensure them a way of life for another generation.

Small wool farms are important to the future of sheep farming. Because of the scale of small farms, they can be more experimental with their stock and this helps to add variety to the industry. Locally sourced wool means that you get a higher quality product, ethically produced by farmers who work with nature, not against it. Supporting local farmers and businesses is so important right now in order to preserve our local ecosystems and economies and keep them thriving, especially as global climate changes threaten our earths resources.

Locally sourced wool is a major benefit of supporting small farms. Unlike big commercial farms, small wool farms offer high quality wool with their own unique breeds of sheep that are not as well known. This means we have the opportunity to support less popular (but equally valuable) breeds of sheep that farmers may otherwise be tempted to sell for meat. Another benefit is that these smaller operations tend to be pesticide free which leads to healthier animals and environment..

We hope you’ll join us in our efforts to support and love on the small farms and fiber artist both near and far. You can look close to you on our map or search for breed or type in our fiber index. Many of our farmers or artist are set up and happy to ship straight to you!

If you’re a fiber farm, mill, fiber artist or teacher/ guild we would love to feature you on our map as well as our newsletter and social media. We’re here to help you make connections with customers and interested fiber friends!