Versatile wool products on display at Border Union Show

BWMB Marketing Manager Tim Booth who will be at the event said this year's BWMB display would help explain how wool from a sheep's back becomes one of the very many everyday items consumers know and recognise."Increasing demand for natural and sustainable fabrics means wool products are once again at the top of many people's agendas when it comes to buying new fashion and furnishings," he said.

"As a truly renewable product wool has many advantages over its manmade competitors and retains its unique insulating and cooling properties no matter how it is processed and used."

This year's BWMB stand at the Border Union Show will feature a range of Scottish wool products, including wool tops, yarn and a rug from Johnsons of Elgin as well as insulation products from local company Thermafleece.

"We will also have a bale of greasy and scoured Cheviot wool on show to help visitors see just how wool gets from its natural state to the finished products."

Visitors to the stand will also be guided through the work BWMB is doing to promote British wool to a worldwide audience through its involvement with Campaign for Wool, said Mr Booth. "The CfW is a truly unique collaboration of wool marketing organisations across the world and has yielded dramatic results in a very short space of time, helping drive demand for wool and wool products both at home and abroad."

A key focus for BWMB in the next 12 months and beyond is working with the next generation of sheep farmers, said BWMB chairman and Northumberland, farmer Malcolm Corbett.

"There are a number of limiting factors which are currently holding back a generation of eager young farmers making progress in the sheep sector.”These new entrants are the future of our industry and BWMB is keen to encourage them wherever possible," he explained.

Mr Corbett said young new entrants to sheep farming should speak to BWMB staff, at the Border Union Show. "We are actively working on a new entrant’s scheme and want to ensure we hear from as many new entrants as possible this season.

British Wool Marketing Board