SOME woolly visitors flocked to Taunton to celebrate Wool Week UK.
Bridgwater College and Fox Brothers held an event at Castle Green to create awareness of the wool and the process it undertakes, from farming to fashion.

Wool Week UK aims to celebrate everything that is great about the British wool industry. The United Kingdom is home to over 31m sheep at any one time, producing 22,000 tonnes of raw wool each year.

Some well-known British brands are already on board with the message that ‘wool is cool’ – Jack Wills, Savile Row, Hackett – but there is so much more that we need to do if we are to safeguard the future of British Wool and support further research.

Rebecca Pow, MP for Taunton attended the event and said: “This is such a good exercise to highlight the important link between sheep, their wool and the fashion industry. With the right support I hope to see this industry expand in the future.”

Marty Simmons, Director of the Woolly Shepherd said: “We were delighted to be asked to join the event on Castle Green. Our company uses wool to make acoustic room treatments with the aim of supporting British Farmers by helping to increase the value of the coloured and low grade fleeces, which otherwise may be disregarded.”

Working in partnership with Bridgwater College, Fox Brothers of Wellington are setting up The West of England Wool Centre, to try and bring together the two industries at each end of the wool production spectrum: our farmers, and our fashion designers, manufacturers and retailers.

Bridgwater College will be focusing on the wool industry within its Land-based and Fashion and Textiles curriculum, offering students knowledge and skills in a range of subjects from sheep husbandry through to spinning, weaving, and garment design/manufacture. They will even have an opportunity to help design and produce their own Somerset cloth.

Douglas Cordeaux, Managing Director at Fox Brothers of Wellington said: “I am delighted to support the link between the communities of agriculture and commercial cloth weaving. I hope, by bringing sheep to the county town of Somerset, Taunton, we will raise awareness of the wool industry and members of the public will appreciate and have a respect for the guardians of our fields.”

To find out more information about Agriculture and Fashion and Textiles courses please telephone Bridgwater College’s Information and Guidance team on 01278 441234 or visit www.bridgwater.ac.uk. Fox Brothers can be contacted at their Wellington office on 01823 662271 or via their website, www.foxflannel.com.