Knitwear firm hopes to revive ailing wool industry

Less than three years after setting up her knitwear company, Izzy Lane, eco-entrepreneur Isobel Davies has found a new spin-off for the wool from her North Yorkshire sheep sanctuary.

The founder of the award-winning clothing label has joined forces with models Lily Cole and Katherine Poulton to launch The North Circular – a new knitwear accessories label.

"The North Circular is working to regenerate the ailing wool industry and support British manufacturers and craftsmen," said Katherine Poulton.

Under the slogan "knitted by grannies, supported by supermodels", the new knitwear company is employing 40 knitters from around the region to make designer beanie hats, hoods, cuffs and leg warmers using the wool from Isobel Davies's own flock of rescued rare breed Wensleydale and Shetland sheep in Richmond.

Isobel Davies explained: "Katherine and Lilly approached me to see if I'd be interested in doing a joint project using the Izzy Lane wool because they wanted to use ethical wool."

A committed vegetarian, Isobel's original idea was to save sheep that would otherwise be sent to slaughter, including male lambs or lame and infertile ewes.

She set up her sheep sanctuary just three years ago with four Wensleydale sheep. The flock has since grown to 200 Wensleydales and 400 Shetlands which skip through her 40-acre pasture land overlooking the Swale Valley.

"It's very undulating and the Shetland sheep love it there; it's not too dissimilar to the Shetland Isles," she said.

"We have another site a bit further down for the Wensleydales because they are not as tough as the Shetlands and we've built barns and pig arcs for shelter."

Davies, who also runs Farmaround, an organic box delivery business, said she was horrified to discover a few years ago that many Yorkshire sheep farmers were burning their

wool because the sale price did not even cover the cost of shearing.

At the same time, around 80 per cent of the wool in this country is imported, predominantly from Australia and New Zealand.

"People don't realise when they go down the high street that they will not find a British wool product," said Isobel. "Even if they find something made in Britain, it won't be with British wool."

The North Circular, alongside Izzy Lane, is also helping to revive the supply chain of traditional spinners and dyers in West Yorkshire.

All of the wool is spun and dyed within a 120-mile radius of the farm.

Katherine says the North Circular – which launched in October – may look into the possibility of using other fibres and expanding into a range of jackets and dresses.

"We're playing it by ear," said Isobel. "The idea is that hopefully we'll rescue more sheep and we're also looking at other ethical fibres like Alpaca."

Most of the knitters are women in their 70s and 80s, with the exception of Luke, a 21-year-old man from London.

"He's super keen," said Katherine.

Animal welfare is at the heart of everything Izzy Lane does. Isobel picked up an RSPCA Good Business award in 2008 alongside the New Designer of the Year award.

And now she is battling to bring about the first ever animal welfare label for clothing following a request by Tesco to help launch a new collection using the wool from British sheep.

Her concern for animal welfare means she insists on tough new standards for the clothing label.

These include banning the transport of sheep for further than 120 miles or three hours, with the exception of breeding stock and forbidding the sale of sheep in a livestock market.

But these strict rules have hit a snag with the British Wool Marketing Board which by law, has to approve the sale of all wool sold in Britain. A spokesman from the Wool Marketing Board in Bradford said it did not want to create a double standard for the sale of British wool.

He said: "The opinion of the board is that British wool is already animal welfare friendly because British sheep are kept at very high standards. The board felt that some producers would be unable to comply – for geographical reasons – with some aspects of Izzy Lane's own Shepherd's Pledge."

Isobel said she was now looking into the possibility of using wool from Ireland which would be outside of the controls of the British Wool Marketing Board.

"I've been dropped by the British Wool Board but I will find a way to do it," she said. "It's a fantastic platform for the animal welfare message."

Animal welfare comes at a price for customers

Desirability comes at a price. A cable knit scarf costs 200 on the North Circular website, while a pair of cuffs sell for 30.

"The wool is a very expensive product because of its nature," said Katherine. "The production itself is quite high because we are paying a premium to stay in England and to stay eco instead of buying the cheapest. You're not paying for slave labour that is costing the earth to be shipped around the world; you're paying for something that's supporting your country and traditional crafts."

It costs around 60 to keep one sheep per year, and that is before the costs of processing, shearing, scouring, combing, weaving and spinning are factored in. But one Shetland sheep will only provide enough wool for one skirt a year.