Journal of Natural Fibers

The Application and Economic Viability of Wool for Unconventional Purposes

Sheep wool, as a natural animal fibre, has been known to mankind since ancient times. For centuries, wool has been used for the production of apparel, blankets, carpets, and other valuable textile products. In recent years, the global wool market has been dominated by fine wool, primarily sourced from Merino sheep. Wool obtained from other sheep breeds raised locally in various countries in the world is met with less interest. This wool is often disregarded and not rationally utilised. The wool became a troublesome by-product of sheep breeding, and its economic value dropped below the cost of shearing the sheep. In many places, the wool is not processed at all. A significant amount of local wool resources is unnecessarily stored, burned, or wasted through deposition in local and often illegal dumps.

The local wool is much coarser than fine Merino wool. The wool is non-uniform, often highly medullated and contains a significant amount of kemp. Thus, the wool is unsuitable for the production of high-quality apparel textiles and is difficult to process using traditional textile techniques. Despite this, the wool, even though it is coarse and non-uniform, is a sustainable raw material, recyclable, and obtained from renewable resources, exhibiting several unique beneficial properties. Due to its properties, it can be used for the production of valuable products.

To avoid wasting local wool resources and bring them back into circulation, several concepts for using wool in unconventional ways were developed. The ideas aimed to expand the applications of wool and enhance its functionality beyond traditional textile uses. Among the new applications, the most tremendous popularity gained thermal and acoustic insulating materials designed for insulating pitched roofs, walls, and ceilings. Other applications include products intended for medical use, oil and heavy metal absorbers, geotextiles used to accelerate the greening of recultivated areas or to control water erosion on endangered slopes and embankments, slow-release organic fertilisers, and mulch. Another example is using wool as reinforcement for soil or as an additive to polymer composites for use in interiors, the automotive and aerospace industries. Unconventionally utilising wool minimises wool waste, lowers waste management costs, enhances the value of wool, and boosts the profitability of sheep farming.

This Article Collection is devoted to all aspects of the science and technology connected with alternative innovative wool products and other wool uses in unconventional ways. It showcases current achievements in the application of wool in various fields, including technology, construction, vehicle engineering, medical technology, cosmetics, environmental engineering, and agriculture, beyond the sphere of clothing and textiles designed for residential interiors. This Collection showcases wool as a valuable, environmentally friendly, and sustainable natural fibre that can be utilised under the principles of the circular economy and zero waste strategy.

In addition to seeking articles on the unconventional uses of wool, we are looking for articles that address the economic viability of utilizing wool for unconventional purposes. Cotton or jute, abaca, coir, kenaf and sisal (JACKS) have hundreds of uses, but none have moved the needle toward increased production and use. We ask contributors to address whether wool is any different.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• acoustic and thermal insulating materials
• wool geotextiles
• fertilisers
• wool composites
• oil and heavy metals absorbers
• production and economic viability of wool

Keywords:

1. sheep wool
2. local resources management
3. insulating materials
4. technical textiles
5. wool in soil

­­All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts.

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is March 6, 2026.

Please contact Kara Roberts at kara.roberts@taylorandfrancis.com with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.

Journal of Natural Fibers accepts the following types of article: research articles, brief reports, and review articles.

Jan Broda is a Professor at the University of Bielsko-Biala (Poland), Faculty of Materials, Civil and Environmental Engineering. He completed his M.S. in Textile Engineering in 1982 and then obtained a Ph.D. in Textile Engineering from the Technical University of Lodz in 1991. In 2022, he was awarded the title of Professor of Technical Sciences in the discipline of Materials Science. Throughout his entire professional career, he has worked at the university, where he has combined research and teaching. His educational activity concentrated on fibre science and polymer modification. His research interests include the structure and properties of natural and man-made fibres, the formation and modification of polypropylene fibres and the functionalisation of textiles. Recently, his research has focused on the management of textile waste and valorisation of waste wool obtained from mountain sheep. In his scientific career, Professor has led several national and international research projects and published over 75 scientific papers.

Katarzyna Kobiela-Mendrek works as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Materials, Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Bielsko-Biala (Poland). She is a graduate of the Lodz University of Technology, branch in Bielsko-Biala. She received a Ph.D. in textile engineering from the University of Bielsko-Biala in 2006. Her scientific interests have evolved from issues related to aesthetic properties to the hygienic properties of textiles, and then to fatigue research on composites based on textiles. She has participated in international projects on applying waste fibres and geotextiles made from them for soil reinforcement and erosion control on slopes and embankments. More recently, her scientific interest has focused on the management of locally produced waste wool in textile materials and fertilisers. She has authored or co-authored 25 scientific papers. She lectures on the technology and properties of textiles and clothing, as well as measurement in materials science.

The Guest Advisors declare no conflict of interest.