Educating the youth on wool

Leading Australian wool association, Woolmark has initiated with its efforts to impart the knowledge of wool as a fiber which has been long forgotten, also never seen as a viable material in the country. Talking up the strategies in place, Stuart McCullough, CEO, Australian Wool Innovation on his first visit to India, said, “Indian market for us is an exciting option, considering the high-volume population and also the ever-rising affluent mass in the country, we are confident of coming out with our partners and ensuring that the importance of the fiber is brought into the picture again”.

The brand has its affiliation with the likes of Giorgio Armani in Italy and Paul Smith in UK to name a few. “As the new Indian consumer is coming strongly in the market with an increased capacity to spend more with high disposable income, Woolmark is keen to invest in this growing market to educate consumers for premium quality wool products and meet their demand,” he added. The association generates its revenue from the Australian farmers which constitutes as much as 80% of the total raw material sourcing across the globe and their budget comes about to $70 million out of which Woolmark has allocated $50 million as part of this marketing and research strategy.

The initiatives that have been taken globally to market wool at the consumer level are ‘Campaign for Wool’ and ‘Merino and No finer feelings’. ‘Wool Celebration’ is a consumer education program that will be rolled out in the month of November in India this year. They also view the importance of designers when it comes to tie-ups. The top players in the country are also under their consideration and they are undertaking the process of finalising, as we speak.