Organic Sheep and Wool Standards:

Purchase Requirements:
Wool must be free of contamination from any sorts of plastics, baling twine and mothballs. Fleeces should be well skirted - no mats of hay, timothy heads, burrs, belly hair, manure, etc. There should be very little vegetable matter and no moth infestation. Fiber should be packed/stored in brown paper, cardboard boxes, or clean burlap sacks.

Scouring:
No carbonizing (a scouring process which uses carbonic acid to dissolve chaff), shrink-proofing (the use of strong chemicals to remove scales from the wood fiber), bleaches, or moth-proofing (adding a moth-proofing chemical to the wool as it is heated up in the water) is allowed. Only vegetable-based soaps are to be used.

Opening/Carding/Spinning:
All fiber lubrication, static controls, or wetting agents must be vegetable-based (in other words, petroleum-free).

Fishing/Storing:
Finished yarns/batting must be washed with vegetable-based soaps instead of chemical pesticides. Herbal sachets or cotton balls soaked in penny royal, eucalyptus, or cedar oil may be used to prevent moths. Fibers must be stored in an unscented atmosphere.

Sheep Raising Practices: Herds must be of a manageable size. Sheep must be free to roam, rotational grazing encouraged. Fresh food and water must be available to herd at all times. Daily visual checks of herd to inspect health and safety is mandatory. Farmers may worm only when necessary, routine fecal checks utilized to determine if needed. Non-toxic wormers are accompanied by free-choice minerals to enhance the immune system.

(Back to top)