by Clare Campbell, Founder of Prickly Thistle

Prickly Thistle is one of Fashion Roundtable’s strategic partners for our Regenerating British Wool programme. This week, we hear from owner Clare Campbell, the founder of Prickly Thistle, the only B Corp mill in the UK. Over the last few years Clare has been collaborating with academics and students in Scotland undertaking fundamental research into effectively taking coarse dense British wool fibres and making them suitable for apparel. Clare shares Prickly Thistle’s goal for social equity and offers insight into why as a country with over 30 million sheep, we imported 36.13 million kilograms and exported 20.5 million kilograms of wool in 2021 alone. A staggering fact as we move yet further into a state of climate emergency.

Why do we use so little British wool in UK apparel manufacturing?

This was a question I asked a lot in the beginning of the Prickly Thistle journey when looking to source yarns and cloth made in Scotland from Scottish fibres. That was a few years ago and fast forward to 2022 and in four years I have set-up the first and only B Corp certified textiles mill in the UK that is also the only mill in the mainland Highland region of Scotland. But this is just the beginning.

Since 2019, I have been working with various academics and students in Scotland undertaking fundamental research into native plant and animal fibres and in 2021 we started the first lab work on how to effectively take coarse dense British wool fibres and make them thinner without losing key properties necessary for making them into apparel items. This was the reason as to why so much of our wool was being exported and at the same time we were importing wool from other countries. Noone had really looked into this and so we set out to see how we could use 21st century knowledge and science to not only restore absolute provenance to Scottish textiles but at the same time tackle intolerable climate damage arising from the textiles industry.

It is with such pride that we have partnered with Johnstons of Elgin, the largest and oldest textiles mill in Scotland and also with the world leading scientific skills of Professor Dominic Campopiano at The University of Edinburgh. All made possible thanks to the supportive team at IBioIC.

Our collective aim is to vastly increase the homegrown use of wool fibres in textiles primarily, and then beyond. The one thing life is showing us all right now is that you always need to expect the unexpected, spot it and take action, especially when your core values and mission is one of justice for planet earth and all those who share it. Textiles are hugely damaging to both people and the planet, I have learned this at breakneck speed these last few years. The solution in many respects is a paradox, the past holds the principles to the future and making less with natural resources, as close to home as possible, to be loved for longer is paramount.

The solution in many respects is a paradox, the past holds the principles to the future and making less with natural resources, as close to home as possible, to be loved for longer is paramount.

We have now identified key enzymes for next stage testing, and this phase will be the most exciting as we look to scale lab experiments into processes that can be adopted in industry. Wool is truly a wonder fibre, and we all know that much is yet to be discovered about how this material can be a key fibre to accelerating circular economy developments not just in what we wear but every sector. Could a future car be made from recycled wool coats? I say why not?!

The message we hope to share with all is, nothing is impossible and sometimes it takes the ‘black sheep’ in the family to be a rebel for good and change the game. Seek out the rebel makers of our times, with your support they will make the world a better place, buy from them, champion their existence, as they build social equity for all.

Prickly Thistle’s Journey Championing British Wool