Myth: "I only wear vegan fabrics. Better for the animals, better for the planet."
Let's check in on Doris's annual contribution.
Once a year, in late spring, Doris is sheared. The procedure takes approximately three minutes. Doris does not enjoy it. Doris does not, by any visible measure, suffer from it. Doris is, immediately afterwards, a noticeably more comfortable animal in the British summer.
The fleece weighs approximately 3 kilograms. It is sold to the British Wool Marketing Board for, depending on the year, between £0.40 and £2.50 per kilogram. The shearing costs more than the wool fetches. Brian is shearing Doris at a loss.
The wool is then:
- Naturally flame-retardant
- Naturally antibacterial
- Moisture-wicking
- Biodegradable
- Renewable, annually
- Carbon-storing while in use
The replacement, in performance fabrics:
- Polyester
- Polyamide
- Acrylic
- Polypropylene
- All petroleum-derived
- All shedding microplastics on every wash
- All requiring fossil fuel inputs to produce
- All non-biodegradable, with a typical landfill lifespan of 200-500 years
A single wash of a polyester fleece can release up to 700,000 microplastic fibres into the water system. These fibres are now in: every tested water source on earth, every tested human placenta, every tested rainfall sample, the deep ocean, the Arctic ice, and the lungs of marine mammals.
A single wash of a wool jumper releases: nothing. The wool, when eventually disposed of, returns to soil within a few years.
The fabric being marketed as the "ethical" alternative to wool is plastic.
The plastic is "ethical" because nobody has been asked to slaughter the polymer.
The polymer also has not been asked.
Doris, by being a sheep on a fell, is producing the most thoroughly sustainable performance fabric humans have ever made.
Brian is selling it at a loss.
The fashion industry, meanwhile, is selling petroleum at a profit and calling it ethical.
Reject plastic. Wear wool.
Doris is, this morning, growing next year's batch.
Thank you to all who joined our July WBW Caucus on ‘Innovative Women: Disrupting, Designing & Delivering the Future of Business’ 💡
Powerful ideas, global voices & action plans ahead of #WBWDay2025.
📄 Read the recap: https://t.co/smeixxF13o
#InnovationWithPurpose#Savvitas
Thank you to the awesome chairs & delegates who contributed to our #WBW July Caucus Planning for #WBWDay Amazing ideas -from a Savvitas Shadow Senate, to inclusive AI training, & innovation as a tool for endurance and integration. A high impact session! #InnovativeWomen
What an unforgettable afternoon celebrating 18 years of #Savvitas! 🌟
To the 100 Phenomenal Women in the room — and our incredible partners around the world who continue to lift, lead, and support — thank you. Here's to the journey ahead. 💫
#Savvitas18#WomenInBusiness
Thanks to all who joined WBW Caucus: Investing in Women: Unlocking Potential, Driving Growth. Incredible insights from speakers + lively breakout discussions = real action to support women-led businesses.
📄https://t.co/on7y6qruvD
#InvestiInWomen#Savvitas#WBW#1MBW
Looking forward to @SavvitasGlobal#1MBW Capital Roundtable sharing ideas with key experts as we take a deep dive into the core issues, for our blueprint to unlock bold capital markets that work for women, by women #InvestInWomen#WhitePaper