British Wool and Yan Tan link up for sustainable knitwear collection

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Jul 5, 2022

Another day, another important sustainability collaboration. British Wool has teamed up with eco fashion brand Yan Tan “to help promote the environmental benefits of wool".

It looks to be a good match too. Yan Tan, which says it was inspired to use only locally-sourced wool “to create stylish, sustainable jumpers and to help tackle the falling price of wool in the UK”, joins up with farmers’ body British Wool, which works on behalf of 35,000 UK sheep farmers.

The new collection uses wool sourced from accredited sheep farmers in the UK who must meet the government’s strict animal welfare standards. Unlike many high street knits, the wool isn’t mixed with manmade fibres, making it completely biodegradable, and is made in small batches to avoid wastage, British Wool said.

Jules Von Hep, co-founder of Yan Tan, said: “The UK has a huge number of sheep, yet we see brands importing wool from overseas into the country. Our main focus with Yan Tan is to raise demand and in turn the price of British wool for the farmers, but we also can’t stand waste or unwanted product, so we operate in low batches to avoid leftover yarn."
 
Von Hep added: “British wool is known for its durability as a renewable and recyclable fibre source, and we have access to it in abundance in the UK. Knitwear has its heritage within Great Britain, which is why you’ll see our love of cables, nepps yarns, vintage inspired details and designs knitted to last.”