Middlebury, Vt.-based Vermont Organic Fiber Co. (VTOF), a provider of organic wool yarn, fabrics
and blankets, will launch its line of O-Wool® Washable fabrics at the Outdoor Retailer Winter
Market, to be held January 22-25 in Salt Lake City. According to the company, the fabrics, made
with organic Merino wool produced and certified to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic
livestock standard, are the first such fabrics produced in the United States.
O-Wool is available in weights of 120-, 220- and 250-grams per square meter; and, according
to VTOF, will not shrink or felt during washing thanks to its 3e-WOOL® ecological, essential,
easy-care processing, which uses hydrogen peroxide and mechanical action to shrink the wool instead
of chlorine. The Oeko-Tex Standard 100-certified process also requires only one-third the amount of
water used by chlorine-based processes. VTOF reports its own testing also has shown that O-Wool is
superior to conventional washable wool with regard to anti-pilling properties.
“As the market for sustainable fibers grows, more and more companies were asking us for
washable wool fabrics made with organic wool, so we created a product that would have the least
environmental footprint and the best quality possible,” said Matthew Mole, president, VTOF.
O-Wool yarns and fabrics are spun, knit, woven and finished at plants in Massachusetts,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina. Woolen spinning in the United States and worsted
spinning produced with partner mills in China are certified to the Global Organic Textile Standard.
January 13, 2009
