PRESS RELEASE

3 August 2009

THE FUTURE IS CHIC FOR CWT’S SHEEP

Cheshire Wildlife Trust has announced an exciting collaboration that will see its ‘wildlife friendly wool’ being transformed into designer clothing. Fleeces from its flock of Hebridean sheep will be knitted and felted into fashion items by eco-friendly design company Makepiece.

Though the Trust’s flock of native breed sheep is extremely useful for managing delicate habitats on nature reserves as part of the Conservation Grazing Project, their black, wiry wool is unfortunately not often so desirable when it comes to finding a practical home for the shorn fleeces each year.

Because it is dense, scratchy and dark (i.e. you can’t dye it to produce other colours of wool) the wool does not feature high on the list of commercial sources for clothing materials. Therefore, previous opportunities for the wool have included compost matting, hanging basket lining, stuffing for teddy bears and for a few brave souls, balls of wool for knitting socks.

“While these are thoroughly practical outlets for the wool, they do not particularly promote the unique origin of the fleeces – native breed sheep actively contributing to the conservation of wildlife in Cheshire,” said Jacki Hulse, Head of Estates & Land Management for Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

“So when we heard about Makepiece, a farmer–designer combo who rear native breed sheep in order to create fabulous handmade knitwear with sustainability central to its ethos, we asked if they might be able to do anything a bit more exciting with our special wool!”

Marvellously, they have risen to the challenge, and the 170-odd fleeces from this year’s shearing will be wending their way to Devon to be cleaned, carded, spun and then to Yorkshire-based Makepiece to be knitted and felted into a series of designer items to feature in the company’s fashion collection 2010.

“We have used Hebridean wool before for outer wear jackets and coats, where it keeps out the weather and looks stylish as well,” said Beate Kubitz, who manages Makepiece’s own sheep flock, “so we have experience of the particular requirements of this fibre and feel we can turn its features to our advantage.”

The collaboration is particularly exciting for the Trust, as for Makepiece the story of the wool’s origin is as important as the beautiful products that result.

“Makepiece is not just a designer label,” Beate explains, “it’s part of a story which knits a community with a landscape. We take natural yarns, raised sustainably, spin them as locally as possible, knit in our community, using the minimum chemical processes possible to produce a finished product that can be treasured for years and then composted when no longer wearable.

“We are delighted to be able to receive wool from CWT’s flock as we know the sheep have a great lifestyle and make a vital contribution to wildlife and the wider landscape.”

Responsible for creating the clothing for Makepiece, designer Nicola Sherlock adds: “If you think of what you’re wearing and you find it’s been round the world before you put it on for the first time, was manufactured out of cotton dripping with pesticides or sewn by people in shoddy conditions, it suddenly doesn’t feel half as glamourous.

“With Makepiece products you can look great and know you are supporting a genuinely environmentally-sound supply chain at the same time.”

To find out more about Makepiece and view its 2009 collections see www.makepiece.co.uk

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