Before that sweater keeps you warm, dozens of hands already worked to get it there.

Wool is a regenerative, biodegradable, and durable material, but it also happens to be one of the most labor-intensive materials on earth. Here are all the things that happen to a wool sweater before it reaches you:

✂️ Shearing: Skilled shearers’ work is fast and physically demanding. Shearing requires real expertise to do safely and with care for the animals` wellbeing.

🧹 Sorting and Skirting: Every fleece has to be sorted by hand, this means separating usable fiber from dirt and debris. This detailed work determines the value of everything downstream.

🧼 Cleaning: Raw wool is ‘greasy’, meaning that it is full of lanolin, dirt, and plant matter. Cleaning it takes time, water, and careful handling to avoid damaging the fiber.

🌀 Carding: Fibers get aligned and untangled through a mechanical process, but one that still needs skilled oversight to produce consistent, spinnable wool.

🧵 Spinning: Turning raw fiber into yarn is a craft in itself. Hand-spinners and small mill operators bring years of skill to get tension, thickness, and twist right.

🧶 Knitting: The final transformation into cloth occurs in the hands of craftspeople, artisans and textile workers.

When wool is sold cheaply, it`s usually because someone along that chain is being underpaid for their labor, not because the process got easier. Through our Wool Sweater Project, we’re ensuring each person that touches your sweater between the sheep`s back and your closet is paid fairly. Wool isn`t just a material; it`s the sum of a lot of skilled human effort. We are immensely grateful to the Unama’ki Cape Breton team of farmers, shearers, spinners, and knitters for working the wool of this Island into beautiful garments.