First European Wool Day, 09.04.2021
organized by EWE - European Wool Exchange
Wool at Manufaktur Haslach, photo: Christina Leitner
EWE (European Wool Exchange) is a philanthropic foundation, established in Cyprus, aiming at a better coordination of the many associations and groups that in Europe are interested in the circular economy of wool and in its return to our society as a precious resource for many uses rather than as a neglected organic waste.
It is calculated that more than 100 million sheep (mostly ewes) are currently grazing the grass of several countries of the European Union and of the UK. Some are expressly bred for their milk, some for their meat, some for their wool. They all need to be sheared at least once a year but most of the resulting tons of wool are sadly abandoned or buried or burned because there is no market for this important natural resource and no coordination for its processing with a re-cycling attitude.
A lot of greasy wool is certainly exported mainly to China and India and then processed in these countries to be re-exported again in different forms. Very little wool remains in the European country of origin for textile purposes, since we have less and less scouring plants and a lot of transports are required to complete the whole process.
The European Wool Day on 9th April 2021 is an original initiative of the EWE Foundation, but totally open to anybody interested in the issue of European wool. Everybody can participate and organise events in her/his country.
The aim is to gather as many actors as possible who deal with wool (processing, craft, history and tradition, ...) in Europe, to offer them a platform for presentation and to build up a permanent European network.
There will be two kinds of “studios”, one in Cyprus and one in Rome, open from 10.00 in the morning to 16.00 in the afternoon, presenting in streaming local reports, demonstrations, special procedures, knitting groups and at the same time we will be able to connect internationally to also exchange comments and information among our countries.
More information:
https://www.ewe.network/post/9-april-first-european-wool-day
Application:
https://www.ewe.network/home