The states of Tasmania and Western Victoria are famous for producing amongst the whitest wool in the country, as the sheep in those regions have the best genetics and right weather conditions for breeding white wool.
According to Dr Keith Millington, research scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), if Australia can produce whiter wool, it will open more avenues in the form of tran-seasonal clothing.
Tran-seasonal apparels are worn between summer and winter. In the northern hemisphere, where the weather is cold throughout the year, people would prefer to wear bright coloured woolen tran-seasonal clothing, rather than the dark woolens they wear in winter.
In a related development, The Wool and Sheep Cooperative Research Centre is experimenting with a new nano-technology to protect wool from ultraviolet rays. Wool tends to yellow when it's being processed and after washing and wearing in daylight.
According to Program leader, David Tester, it is possible to prevent whiter wool from yellowing during processing and wearing and if it is achieved it would be possible for wool to compete with cotton and man-made fibre garments.