A Cumbrian company is running a project to help provide financial support to farmers struggling since the Covid-19 outbreak.
Maryport-based Chimney Sheep Ltd is running Operation Wool for the third year in a row, with it being particularly crucial as the wool industry has declined since the global pandemic.
The global wool market closed in February resulting in vast volumes of wool lying unsold in depos, causing the price of wool to crash and making it financially unviable for farmers to sell their sheep fleeces.
The company will be collecting around 22 tonnes of Herdwick wool throughout August from Cumbrian farmers which will be used to create its chimney draught excluder, the Chimney Sheep.
Sally Phillips, founder of Chimney Sheep Ltd, said: “There has been no better time than right now to support the British wool industry and the farmers that supply it. It is so important that we buy this fantastic material because if we don’t it will either get thrown away or burnt which is a heart breaking thought and will of course negatively impact the environment.
“Herdwick wool has brilliant properties like durability and breathability which makes it perfect for making our Chimney Sheep® draught excluder.”
The project has been upped from 16 tonnes last year, it now equates to wool from over 20,000 sheep, a fifth of the UK population and will fill five lorries. Unable to viably sell through British Wool, Chimney Sweep are buying direct from Cumbrian farms, who will be paid a better rate with middle-men being cut out.
