Apparel Wool Research Articles

Chemical residue trends for Australian and New Zealand wool

Textile consumer trends towards improved product safety and high environmental standards have significantly influenced regulators in key consumer markets. The apparel wool industry sector has responded to regulators, and for three decades the Australia and New Zealand wool industries have managed advancements in ectoparasiticides and improved sheep treatments targeting high environmental, animal health and welfare standards leading to safe wool products. Australian and New Zealand chemical residue data from greasy wool have been consolidated and analysed for organophosphate, synthetic pyrethroid, insect growth regulator, neonicotinoid, macrocyclic lactone and spinosad active. Trend analysis has been applied to time domain data to evaluate advancements in ectoparasiticide technology after revising environmental, animal health and welfare standards. Analysis shows impacts from technology improvement, regulatory change and compliance by sheep farmers meeting or exceeding published European Union residue limits for regulated ectoparasiticides namely organochlorine, organophosphate, synthetic pyrethroid and insect growth regulators. Implications from advancements in ectoparasiticide technology, industry management and regulatory measures, include healthy sheep growing in clean pastoral environments with evidence of reduced wool residue levels which complement high and rising proportions of Australian and New Zealand wool fibre meeting European Union Ecolabel criteria.

Wool, paper, dye: 1917 and the roots of the synthetic fibre revolution

In the Great War, wool was as essential to success as steel and gunpowder. All combatant nations tried to ensure continuing supplies of this vital resource, but none so successfully as Britain, whose Australian and New Zealand dominions were key sources of the apparel wools sought after for military uniforms and blankets.

Resource use and greenhouse gas emissions from three wool production regions in Australia

Australia is the largest supplier of fine apparel wool in the world, produced from diverse sheep production systems. To date, broad scale analyses of the environmental credentials of Australian wool have not used detailed farm-scale data, resulting in a knowledge gap regarding the performance of this product. This study is the first multiple impact life cycle assessment (LCA) investigation of three wool types, produced in three geographically defined regions of Australia: the high rainfall zone located in New South Wales (NSW HRZ) producing super-fine Merino wool, the Western Australian wheat-sheep zone (WA WSZ) producing fine Merino wool, and the southern pastoral zone (SA SPZ) of central South Australia, producing medium Merino wool. Inventory data were collected from both case study farms and regional datasets. Life cycle inventory and impact assessment methods were applied to determine resource use (energy and water use, and land occupation) and GHG emissions, including emissions and removal associated with land use (LU) and direct land use change (dLUC). Land occupation was divided into use of arable and non-arable land resources. A comparison of biophysical allocation and system expansion methods for handling co-production of greasy wool and live weight (for meat) was included.Based on the regional analysis results, GHG emissions (excluding LU and dLUC) were 20.1 ± 3.1 (WA WSZ, mean ± 2 S.D) to 21.3 ± 3.4 kg CO2-e/kg wool in the NSW HRZ, with no significant difference between regions or wool type. Accounting for LU and dLUC emissions and removals resulted in either very modest increases in emissions (0.3%) or reduced net emissions by 0–11% depending on pasture management and revegetation activities, though a higher degree of uncertainty was observed in these results. Fossil fuel energy demand ranged from 12.5 ± 4.1 in the SA SPZ to 22.5 ± 6.2 MJ/kg wool (WA WSZ) in response to differences in grazing intensity. Fresh water consumption ranged from 204.3 ± 59.1 in the NSW HRZ to 393.7 ± 123.8 L/kg wool in the WA WSZ, with differences primarily relating to climate. Stress-weighted water use ranged from 11.0 ± 3.0 (SA SPZ) to 74.6 ± 119.5 L H2O-e/kg wool (NSW HRZ) and followed an opposite trend to water consumption in response to the different levels of water stress across the regions. Non-arable grazing land was found to range from 55% to almost 100% of total land occupation. Different methods for handling co-production of greasy wool and live weight changed estimated total GHG emissions by a factor of three, highlighting the sensitivity to this methodological choice and the significance of meat production in the wool supply chain. The results presented improve the understanding of environmental impacts and resource use in these wool production regions as a basis for more detailed full supply chain analysis.

QTL and association analysis for skin and fibre pigmentation in sheep provides evidence of a major causative mutation and epistatic effects

The pursuits of white features and white fleeces free of pigmented fibre have been important selection objectives for many sheep breeds. The cause and inheritance of non-white colour patterns in sheep has been studied since the early 19th century. Discovery of genetic causes, especially those which predispose pigmentation in white sheep, may lead to more accurate selection tools for improved apparel wool. This article describes an extended QTL study for 13 skin and fibre pigmentation traits in sheep. A total of 19 highly significant, 10 significant and seven suggestive QTL were identified in a QTL mapping experiment using an Awassi×Merino×Merino backcross sheep population. All QTL on chromosome 2 exceeded a LOD score of greater than 4 (range 4.4-30.1), giving very strong support for a major gene for pigmentation on this chromosome. Evidence of epistatic interactions was found for QTL for four traits on chromosomes 2 and 19. The ovine TYRP1 gene on OAR 2 was sequenced as a strong positional candidate gene. A highly significant association (P<0.01) of grandparental haplotypes across nine segregating SNP/microsatellite markers including one non-synonymous SNP with pigmentation traits could be shown. Up to 47% of the observed variation in pigmentation was accounted for by models using TYRP1 haplotypes and 83% for models with interactions between two QTL probabilities, offering scope for marker-assisted selection for these traits.

Genetic improvement in the Australasian Merino – management of a diverse gene pool for changing markets

SummaryThe Australasian Merino population has declined significantly over the last 15 years in response to a decline in the price of apparel wool, both in absolute terms and relative to the price of sheep meat. Over the same period, a national genetic evaluation system based on BLUP methods has been introduced, that is achieving steady growth in adoption by breeders. Genetic parameter estimates for the population provide evidence for considerable genetic diversity for all recorded traits, providing ample opportunity for genetic improvement. More recently, there is considerable evidence for increasingly rapid progress, both in fleece traits and a range of meat production and adaptation traits. The Merino population is evolving towards two broad types – one focused on high quality apparel wools finer than 19 µm and used in enterprises with a wool/meat income ratio of about 3:1, and the other a more dual-purpose animal producing 19–21 µm wool and an enterprise wool/meat income ratio between 1.5:1 and 1:1. Underlying these trends is a growing focus on adaptation traits including worm resistance; reduced need for veterinary interventions; and increased early growth, fertility and mothering ability. Together these trends point to increasingly ‘easy-care’ sheep and exploitation of the available genetic diversity to rapidly increase profitability.

Molecular Characterisation of Nilagiri Sheep (Ovis aries) of South India Based on Microsatellites

Genetic variation in Nilagiri sheep, the only apparel wool breed in South India was studied using 25 FAO recommended ovine-specific microsatellite markers. The number of observed alleles ranged from 3 to 8 with a mean of 5 across all loci. The size of alleles ranged from 72 to 228 bp. The frequency of alleles ranged from 0.0104 to 0.5781. In total, 125 alleles were observed at the 25 loci studied. The effective number of alleles ranged from 2.18 to 6.49. The mean number of effective alleles was 3.84 across all loci. All the 25 loci were found to be highly polymorphic. The PIC values ranged from 0.4587 to 0.8277 with a mean of 0.6485. Of 25 microsatellites studied, 17 were in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium proportions. The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.4222 to 1.000 with a mean value of 0.7610 whereas the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.5415 to 0.8459 with a mean value of 0.7213. Except six loci, the other loci revealed negative within-population inbreeding estimates (F IS ) indicating excess of heterozygotes in the population ofNilagiri sheep.

The potential impact of climate change on the Australian wool industry by 2030

By 2030, climate change is likely to have implications for the Australian wool industry, principally through effects on forage and water resources, land carrying capacity and sustainability, animal health, and competition with other sectors, in particular cropping. The nature and scale of these impacts will vary between the wool growing regions, depending on the manifestation of the climate change. The growth and quality of pasture and fodder crops may be affected by changes in rainfall amounts and variability as well as higher CO 2 concentrations. Water resources in many regions are projected to decrease and become more variable. Animal health is expected to be adversely affected by rising temperatures and a greater incidence and range of pests and diseases. There is likely to be greater stress on the landscape principally brought about by rainfall deficits and increased climatic variability. There is also a strong possibility of increased competition for water and land resources from other agricultural activities, particularly cropping and meat production. The combination of these effects is likely to have an impact on both wool production and quality, with reduced productivity in marginal areas, possibly increased productivity in higher rainfall regions, increases in vegetable fault and dust contamination and changes in mean fibre diameter and staple strength. National and international markets could also be affected, with reductions in demand for apparel wool fibre in response to a more temperate climate. International production and supply markets might also shift, with the wetter wool growing areas of both New Zealand and China potentially being advantaged by climate change, and the drier wool regions of these countries being disadvantaged. A preliminary qualitative scenario analysis suggests that although the wool industry will be significantly affected by climate change, as a whole it is likely to be relatively robust to it. Early adaptation, for example through efforts to produce low emission grazing systems, more sustainable management especially in the rangelands, and improved management of the effects of climate variation, could significantly reduce the downsides of climate change impacts.

Alternative marketing systems for the apparel wool textile supply chain: filling the communication vacuum

Analysis of secondary data and information gathered from interviews with downstream wool supply chain members suggests that problems exist with the sourcing of raw wool for the apparel textile industry. Specific problems relate to ‘hard’ attributes, such as contaminated fibres and fibre diameter, as well as ‘soft’ attributes, such as origin of the wool and the nature of wool production systems. These problems may arise due to inadequate communication of quality attributes between chain members. The authors argue that more effective communication in the apparel wool supply chain requires the removal of ‘functional silos’, where supply chain members fail to look outside (upstream and/or downstream) their specific sectoral interests, and the continued dominance of the auction as the primary marketing system. The authors conclude that the apparel wool industry needs to co-operate to compete in dynamic, global markets increasingly dominated by synthetic fibres, in which vertically co-ordinated supply chains are the norm, auctions non-existent and communication is seen as a strength, rather than a weakness.

Measurement of medullation in wool and mohair using an Optical Fibre Diameter Analyser.

We conducted three experiments to evaluate the Optical Fibre Diameter Analyser (OFDA) for estimating medullation (med [M], kemp [K], and total [T] medullated fiber content) in mohair and wool produced by Angora goats and sheep, respectively. Medullation can be a beneficial characteristic in certain types of wool, but it is highly undesirable in mohair and apparel wools. Current techniques for evaluating medullation in animal fibers are laborious, slow, and expensive. The OFDA had been modified by the manufacturer to measure fiber opacity distribution, a characteristic known to be indicative of medullation in white fibers, and was capable of providing such measurements in a very short time. Measurements made on magnified fiber images produced with a projection microscope (PM) were used as a reference for M, K, and T in fiber samples. An initial experiment with 124 mohair samples (T = .10 to 9.10%) seemed to indicate that OFDA estimates of M, K, and T were only poorly correlated with corresponding PM values (r2 = .5409, .1401, and .5576, respectively). However, a second experiment using wool and mohair samples containing a wider range of medullation (T = .58 to 26.54%) revealed that OFDA estimates of M, K, and T for wool were highly correlated with PM measurements (r2 = .9853, .9307, and .9728, respectively). Evidence was also obtained indicating that the low r2 values associated with mohair relationships were likely due to a combination of factors: 1) high variation among the standard PM measurements and 2) the relatively low M, K, and T contents of the mohair samples compared with wool. In a third experiment, greater accuracy was obtained in the PM measurements by evaluating many more individual fibers per sample (10,000). In this case, OFDA estimates of M, K, and T for mohair were highly correlated with corresponding PM measurements (r2 = .8601, .9939, and .9696, respectively). However, the two sets of linear regression equations obtained for wool and mohair were somewhat different, indicating that separate calculations should be used to estimate PM measurements from OFDA data. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that the OFDA instrument is capable of providing relatively fast, accurate, and potentially less expensive estimates of medullated fiber characteristics in mohair and wool.

PROFITABILITY OF INCREMENTAL EXPENDITURE ON FIBRE PROMOTION

In this paper the impact of changes in wool promotion expenditure and changes in expenditure on the promotion of competing fibres are examined using an equilibrium displacement model. The emphasis is on examining impacts on producer profits net of promotion expenditure and on benefit‐cost ratios measuring changes in producer surplus relative to changes in promotion expenditure. It was found, for example, that incremental expenditure on apparel wool promotion on the domestic market is unprofitable but incremental expenditure on promotion of apparel wool on the export market is generally profitable. Further, it was found that increased promotion of cotton and man‐made fibres on the export market, with promotion of apparel wool unchanged, would reduce profits to apparel wool producers. Finally, a case is made for improved data availability in order to allow more comprehensive ex‐ante and ex‐post evaluations of promotion programs, thereby increasing the intensity of scrutiny of promotion programs to a level more in line with that for investment in rural research and development.

THE MERINO EXPORT EMBARGO — A COMPARATIVE STATIC ANALYSIS

The genetic changes which would occur in overseas flocks as a result of the export of merino rams from Australia are unknown. Even so, Australia recently relaxed the merino export embargo and may go further. A comparative static model is presented to assess changes in annual wool income resulting from increases in the supply of apparel wool emanating from possible levels of the genetic effect.

WOOL POLICY IN THE UNITED STATES: ITS DIRECT IMPACT ON AUSTRALIAN EXPORTS

Australian apparel wool exports to the United States are less than they might be because of two protective policies of the U.S. government: a fixed tariff and a system of direct price.support payments to U.S. wool producers. Dismantling these policies, though difficult, could mean $10 million to $21 million worth of additional Australian wool sales to the United States, over 1966 levels. Most of the increase would come from tariff cuts. Such amounts are worth negotiating for but would not solve the industry's problems.

Studies on Magra (Indian) Wool

A detailed physicochemical examination has been made of Magra wool, which is obtained from one of the principal sheep breeds found in the dry, northern region of India. In order to obtain more uniform materials to study, the wool was divided into fine fibers devoid of medulla, averaging about 56s quality (MGAF), and heterotypic fibers of about 44s quality containing fragmental medullae (MGAH). The hairs and kemp present in this breed were not examined. For comparative purposes, parallel studies were made also on 64s Merino wool. There are three major structural differences between MGAF fibers and Merino wool. The former possesses a much lower cystine content, contains more amorphous material, and has a different ortho- and para-cortical cell distribution. Although physical mea surements indicate that MGAF fibers may constitute a good-quality wool, these differ ences must be borne in mind, and it would be essential to ensure that improved breeding methods, which would diminish the heterotypic fibers and result in the loss of the valuable "carpet wool" qualities, will in fact be followed by the development of a high- quality apparel wool.

U.S. WOOL POLICY AND ITS EFFECTS ON APPAREL WOOL IMPORTS

The United States occupies a rather unique position in the world wool trade - besides being one of the world's largest apparel wool producers, she also needs to supplement her requirements by sizeable imports from wool surplus countries. However, wool imports into the U.S. have a strong competitive advantage over domestic wools, not only price-wise but also on account of their uniformity and generally better preparation. For this reason the ability of the wool exporting countries to enlarge very substantially their markets in the U.S. by displacing some domestic wools is largely dependent on the American policy of sheltering and fostering the domestic wool industry. For decades, the traditional means of achieving this has been by levying specific tariff duties of varying height on fine apparel wools which proved to be a potential threat to finer Territory (i.e. domestic) grades. Non-competitive carpet wools, on the other hand, imported mainly from Argentina and Uruguay, have been exempt from duty. More recently, with the aim of stimulating wool production to a level compatible with the strategic raw material needs of the U.S., an incentive subsidy program administered by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture has been superimposed on the existing tariff structure. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the rationale of the new wool program against the background of the traditional American wool policy, and at a later stage, to explore its implications for American apparel wool imports in general and from Australia in particular.

The Elasticity of Import Demand for Raw Apparel Wool in the United States

The Elasticity of Import Demand for Raw Apparel Wool in the United States

54—CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CORTICAL STRUCTURES OF KERATIN FIBRES BY UREA-BISULPHITE SOLUBILITY

The urea-bisulphite-solubility test has been examined to determine its utility for characterizing the cortical structures of keratin fibres with respect to their ortho-para natures. Low values for urea-bisulphite solubility (ca. 15%) are exhibited by human hair, previously considered a para fibre; intermediate values (45—55%) by crimped, apparel wool fibres, previously considered ortho-para with bilateral asymmetry; and high values (ca. 75%) by kid mohair, previously considered chiefly ortho. The results of measurements of rates of fibre attack by the urea-bisulphite reagent and of microscopical observations of the treated fibres are in accord with these views. The urea-bisulphite solubilities have also been measured for B.A. fleece and Lincoln wools, cashmere, vicuna, and alpaca; the results are discussed. The effect of prior heating of a crimped, apparel wool has been found to be that of decreasing urea-bisulphite solubility; the solubility decreases smoothly with increasing times of heating, and the ef...

Properties of Apparel Wools

Mechanical properties derived from the force-extension curve, and including tensile recovery, have been measured for single strands of steamed worsted yarn throughout their aging at 65% R.H. and 70°F. None of these properties appears to change significantly throughout an aging period of several months. Measurements on single strands of unsteamed yarn which are permitted to untwist prior to test indicate a progressive change in physical properties with time of aging. This is caused by a slow setting-in of the twist similar to that provided rapidly by a steaming treatment.

Properties of Apparel Wools

The aging of top and roving produced on the French worsted system has been investigated by measuring the dimensional changes and the mechanical properties of these fiber assemblies. The experimental results indicate that one consequence of aging is a relaxation of stresses in the fibers caused by deformation of the fiber crimp during previous processing. A brief high- temperature, high-humidity treatment of the top balls or roving bobbins has many of the same effects on the properties of the top and roving as a long aging period at 65% R.H. and 70° F.

Properties of Apparel Wools

Properties of Apparel Wools

Properties of Apparel Wools

Several physical parameters derived from force-extension curves of wool fibers have been studied for a selected group of fibers from sheep representative of each of four wool grades. The results from an incomplete factorial design have been treated by analysis of covariance to evaluate the regressions of the measured physical properties on the fiber cross-sectional area and on the fiber crimp. The observed dependences are interpreted qualitatively on physical grounds. Sources of variability of the physical properties have been determined from analyses of variance of the adjusted means.