The Woolmark Company will showcase a selection of Merino wool innovations, trends and industry services at SpinExpo Shanghai that will take place from 3-5 September.

On display will be the latest edition of The Wool Lab, produced each season in Italy. This is a tool which is widely used by the industry, which selects the best wool products worldwide and identifies the emerging trends from fashion, design, art, pop culture, music and other fields.

A new way to dye Merino Vintage will also be presented, along with the Sculptured Merino innovation.

Latest highlights

Merino wool product innovations, created by Woolmark partners will be presented at Spin Expo. These will include Merino Air, developed in collaboration with Consinee Group. 

According to The Woolmark Company, this yarn combines bulk without weight by adding air to the yarn without compromising strength and integrity. This pure new wool yarn uses special spinning technology which 'knits' wool into a continuous length with enough strength and extensibility to be knitted into coarse gauge knits.

Another feature is Distressed Merino, the yarn, that builds on the success of the Merino Retract innovation developed previously where the principle is to use the unique felting propensity of wool to contract and create new texture.

The innovation, developed in collaboration with specialist space dyers Sundeli, is that the yarn has been randomly treated along its length to create sections that felt and sections that don’t felt. The result when knitted and 'boil washed' is a random felt/no-felt effect that is unique to wool.

Looking For Wool

The Woolmark Company Project Manager Knitting Zhu Mei will also be hosting two seminars on the latest edition of The Wool Lab at SpinExpo Shanghai. The latest edition presents seven inspirational themes proposed for the upcoming Autumn/Winter 2014-15 season.

Another development by Woolmark is the launch of a new service for all companies involved in the wool production pipeline. The Looking For Wool sourcing guide is an online directory which will enable businesses to source wool and wool-rich products for both the apparel and interiors sectors.

The guide provides one central location for buyers to source all types of wool-related products, including raw wool, tops, yarns and fabrics. It is designed to enable global companies – suppliers and manufacturers – to easily and freely promote their products.

www.woolmark.com