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Holistically-Raised Wool Capturing New Markets


Holistic Management practitioner, Jeanne Carver, of the Imperial Stock Ranch, has continued to work to get the regeneratively raised wool from Shaniko Wool out to companies wanting to weave their products with responsibly-raised wool. One such company is Defeet from North Carolina.

The Imperial Stock Ranch (as a ranch connected to Shaniko Wool) has gone above and beyond to monitor and demonstrate how their land management practices (in a high desert environment with less than 8 inches of annual precipitation) have resulted in a 3-year net impact on our ranch (the one with the most data) of capturing about 60,000 tons of carbon/year in the soil on the 32,000-acre ranch while producing beef, lamb, and wool. That means they draw down more than 218,000 Tons of CO2!

Defeet, who has a focus on fair labor, living wages, and purchasing from U.S. agricultural producers doing good work, is a small, regional manufacturer. While Shaniko Wool is grown in Oregon, it is processed in wool mills in the Carolinas. As they note on their website, "'Made local' casts an industrial shadow that puts food on the tables of the craftsmen and craftswomen who create the long-lasting goodness. Keeping business local for manufacturing will keep farmers in their fields, packing companies in their offices, and fiber companies in business."

Defeet is not the only manufacturing company using Shaniko Wool (which took off after Ralph Lauren used their wool to make the 2014 US. Olympic team's uniform--a decision that has continued through 2022). Other designers, brands, and manufacturers include: Janessa LeoneThe Checkroom, and KnitpicksMeridian Mill HouseDraper Knitting where all the "wool bar fabrics" are made w/ Shaniko Wool; and Driftless Goods. These products allow the public to vote with their dollars and support holistic and regenerative land management practices that create healthy lands and healthy lives!

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