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Project title

Regenerative Value Systems for Irish Grown Wool in Ireland

Primary Funding Agency

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

n/a

Lead Organisation

University College Cork (UCC)

Lead Applicant

Archishman Bose

Project Abstract

The European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan, stress that accelerated actions must be taken to improve the sustainability of key sectors including food, textiles, packaging, and construction, as they represent some of the top resource intensive and polluting sectors in the European Union (EU). Wool is a renewable biomaterial, opportune management and use of which can result in sustainable production of both food (such as sheep meat) and biomaterials (wool as bio-based textile/ packaging/ construction material). Ireland currently produces in the region of 7 million kilogrammes of wool from approximately 4 million sheep (35,000 flocks). Irish wool, typically characterised as ‘strong wool’ (diameter greater than 30 microns (μm)) can have wide applications in textiles (carpets, filled products and rugs), packaging (insulated filler material), environmental (oil sorbent), and high-value (lanolin, keratin, ceramides) materials. However, due to low wool prices and lack of market demand and lack of information and validation of the front-end environmental, social and economic impact of the Irish grown wool, it continues to be categorised as Category 3 (low risk) waste material arising as animal by-product from sheep meat production and remains a financial burden to sheep producers. Additionally, Irish wool is industrially scoured abroad; this not only results in loss of value to Ireland, but also means that the returned clean wool may contain other wool varieties and currently cannot be termed ‘Irish Grown Wool’. Therefore, the proposed project, Regenerative Value Systems for Irish Grown Wool in Ireland (REVEIRE), by undertaking a comprehensive sustainability assessment of Irish grown wool including the value created by local scouring in a cascading biorefinery on the island of Ireland will provide data and evidence to inform Government policies, initiatives and investments required for regenerating the Irish grown wool industry for a sustainable circular bioeconomy. This will be supported by investigating innovative scouring techniques (such as enzymatic or dry scouring) and their corresponding integration pathways in the bioeconomy via a cascading biorefinery. In a novel approach, results of environmental, social, and economic impacts, assessed through life cycle analysis (LCA) and socio-economic surveys and business model developments, will be compiled using life cycle sustainability analysis (LCSA) to determine the overall sustainability of Irish grown wool. Innovations in current LCA methods to study wool-based systems will be assessed including extension of LCA results to understand impact of biodiversity and environmental handprint of Irish grown wool. Innovative business models and socio-economic studies of processing wool in a circular bioeconomy in Ireland will allow development of scalable biobased business and inform how the value of Irish grown wool can create value beyond the net-zero goal of doing no harm (such as increasing generational renewal and economic return to land). The outcome of this project will thus provide an essential building block that will enable wool to evolve from a waste farm product with negative return on investment, i.e., shearing to a valuable product, re-establishing the wool sector in Ireland in a sustainable and fit-for-purpose model benefitting all stakeholders along the value chain.

Grant Approved

€657,403.00

Research Hub

Facilitating a Green and Circular Economy

Research Theme

Enhancing the assessment of materials, products and value chains in the Circular Economy in Ireland

Start Date

31/03/2025

Initial Projected Completion Date

30/03/2028