ASWGA welcomes the positive step by Italian luxury fashion label Ermenegildo Zegna into the Australian wool production industry, with its joint venture with Achill, a 175 year old sheep property in the NSW New England Region.
Zegna have been supportive members of ASWGA for 40 years and were initial ASWGA mill members in the 1970s. ASWGA promotes the production and sale of high crimping merino wool, as used in Zegna production, because the quality of this wool and its burst strength results in the most elegant and top quality finished garments.
The annual Zegna Fleece competition, run through ASWGA, seeks to reward and recognise Australian wool-growers who produce these high crimping superfine wools and meet sustainability and animal welfare credentials in wool production.
Zegna's support of the superfine woolgrowing industry in Australia, and ASWGA superfine woolgrowers in particular, shows true commitment. The Australian wool production industry is economically suffering from the high Australian dollar and lack of competition from international buyers. Many producers of high crimping superfine wool have sold out of their genetics in favour of other production. Zegna's positive step into Australian wool-growing production demonstrates that customers want to know the eco-credentials and source of the fibre they are wearing, and that sourcing such wools will become increasingly more difficult in the future.
