For wool growers hoping to supply to important therapeutic market sector, myth-busting research is defining the skin health and comfort benefits of superfine Merino wool and the fibre parameters. According to Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), clinical studies are showing the therapeutic benefits of wearing superfine Merino wool that is useful for those suffering from skin diseases such as eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis (AD).
Eczema typically results in itchy, red, cracked and painful skin. It often starts in childhood with an estimated 12-28 per cent of children born in western countries affected. Separate clinical trials conducted by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and by the Queensland Institute of Dermatology are challenging and breaking the significant myths that wool is not good to wear for those with AD and wool is a possible source of allergy, AWI said.
Program Manager of Fibre Advocacy and Eco Credentials with AWI, Angus Ireland said that AWI was keen to develop a specification for wool that is suitable for sensitive skin. It is likely that that will evolve into a swing tag that brands would then put next to the Woolmark logo on their products. Trials were conducted using light weight, 150 gram per square metre superfine Merino wool garments with a micron range finer than 18.6 microns, but there are a number of fibre, fabric and garment characteristics that affect the overall level of comfort of a wool garment.
