The IWTO Green Book: Wool Reclaims Its Sustainability Story

Wool’s environmental benefits have been consistently overlooked by assessment and ranking tools. With the new IWTO Green Book, the industry finds its voice.

For centuries, wool has clothed and protected humanity from the elements. Growing naturally on sheep, wool products are long-lived, and the fibre highly valued for numerous benefits and qualities. Even while being used by the most prestigious brands and designers, wool is entirely at home in nature’s own cycles. And yet, by measure of today’s most widely used environmental rating tools, wool is routinely ranked as more damaging to the planet than synthetic fibres spun from fossil fuels.

With the launch of its new Green Book, the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) intends to change that.

Unveiled at the IWTO’s 95th Congress in Dalang, China, the Green Book aims to provide wool stakeholders with verified data to support product claims, combat misleading narratives, and make informed decisions about natural fibres.

Developed by the Industry, for the Industry

“The Green Book establishes wool’s environmental credentials in one comprehensive source,” says Dr Paul Swan, Green Book lead author.

“Wool’s story should not be dictated by others, nor without respect for natural or terrestrial systems which are fundamentally different to linear industrial processes.”

From the outset, the Green Book was envisioned as a project that would benefit the global wool industry. Developed with lead funding from the Italian trade association Confindustria Moda, and co-investment from partners including Cape Wools SA, WoolWorks NZ and Australian Wool Innovation, the Green Book covers five areas:

• Wool’s biogenic, biodegradable, recyclable and energy-efficient properties.
• Why conventional LCA tools systematically overstate wool’s carbon footprint, and the science that corrects them.
• From photosynthesis to soil systems, how wool sustains ecosystems and stores carbon.
• How responsible grazing practices improve soil health, biodiversity and carbon balance.
• Supply chain transparency tools, from farm to finished product.

Wool’s Next Chapter

“The Green Book is a game changer. It presents an incredible opportunity to discuss wool not only in terms of emissions, but also regarding its importance in carbon sinking,” says Francesco Botto, Chairman of Reda S.b.p.a. and representative of Confindustria Moda’s Wool Section.

“We are just at the beginning of telling this story. We must work together to give wool a new life and open a new era for our industry. As the industry’s standards body, IWTO is uniquely placed to steward the Green Book and its biogenic accounting model. In keeping with IWTO’s longstanding commitment to open access, the methodology will become freely available.”

Intended as a living resource, brands, retailers, and supply chain partners are invited to use the Green Book as they navigate an ever-more complex sustainability landscape. Wool producers are encouraged to apply to join IWTO’s global biogenic LCA programme, which is building an evidence base for biogenic carbon accounting under ISO 14067:2018.

Download the Green Book here.