The Biella Consortium The Wool Company is comprises of a group of Biella-based companies, each specializing in its wool-related sector, which together form a textile supply chain for the farmer who wants to enhance his wool by turning it into niche products increasingly in demand by the final consumer.
WOOL BACK HOME
For over a thousand years the inhabitants of Biella, an Italian town located at the foot of the Western Alps, have dedicated themselves almost exclusively to the production of woolen items.
The Biellesi have available the three most important elements for the production of woolen articles:
- wool: in the past only that of local shepherds, but now Biella imports the best wools and other fine fibers existing in the world to transform them into products of the highest quality
- water: which comes down from the mountains of Biella, used over time not only for washing, dyeing, finishing, etc, but also as a great driving force at the beginning of textile industrialization
- hard-working people: capable of providing both labor and entrepreneurship
Let’s take these 3 historical elements and add:
- modern communication systems: providing access to a consumer more inclined to purchase natural, ecological and sustainable products
- a breeder: who has an entire textile supply chain under the BIELLA THE WOOL COMPANY brand
- a continuously developing retail distribution system through farm structures, national parks, etc.
so the end result is perhaps, for the first time in centuries, is a breeder who is able to “bring his wool home“.
PRELIMINARY WORKINGS
We offer the sheep breeder, local or not, the opportunity to transform their own small batches of wool (greasy or washed) into yarn or finished products such as knits, scarves or fabrics.
Washing
The small batches of wool are washed in the waters of the Biella mountains, which has the perfect hardness for this. A traditional wash is used incorporating biological and biodegradable detergents based on coconut and palm oil sourced sustainably. Waste water is treated in full compliance with the current EEC law, at internal and external plants built specifically for treating residual water from wool washing. Biella is the European province where the highest percentage of waste water is treated in this way.
Dyeing
This operation is carried out with full regard to the environment by applying the EEC law in force. The products used are those with the least environmental impact. Natural dyes are also available.
Spinning
The spinning process transforms the wool into carded or combed thread, ready for subsequent processing.