Now let’s talk about WOOL. I am a huge proponent of all-natural fibers and rarely do I consent to a synthetic substitute. Silk is my favorite natural fiber, but certainly wool is a close second. Wool is also readily available to me.

Benefits of Wool Fiber

In my climate of wind, rain and chill, wool is a great fiber to wear, because it is:

  • Warm
  • Insulating
  • Absorbent (controls the evaporation of perspiration)
  • Sheds dirt easily
  • Has great elasticity and recovery
  • Resistant to wrinkles
  • It breathes!

Fortunately, I have never had to test its flame-resistant quality, but I certainly appreciate that as well.

All this compared to its downsides: moths love to eat it, it has rather poor resistance to sunlight, and it can felt (is THIS really a bad thing?!) Actually, these are things that I can exercise some control over in my care and use of wool things, so they are not such a worry for me.

Then there is the “oh, but I am allergic to wool!” I have some doubts about this but have no basis on which to argue about it: my guess is that the chemicals used in the industrial processing of wool, of which there can be many, are what really causes the irritation. I am still looking for research on this…