What is the deal with Super wash Wool?

All our yarns are non super wash here at Tyddyn Bryn and there are good reasons behind this!!

This post has been in progress for a little over a month now. I was unsure if I should post it, worried I would offend someone, but I’ve decided to go ahead and share, because it is something I strongly feel we need to be talking about more!

In our home we are trying at all times to minimize as much use of plastic as possible. We use reusable water bottles and since reading Lucy Siegle’s Turning the Tide on Plastic I have started to double down on the efforts, for example switching to a milk producer locally who uses glass reusable bottles rather than the tetra pac or plastic store bought bottles.

By no means are we completely plastic free, in today’s world it’s unavoidable and plastic does have it’s place. However, we try to be as conscious as possible when it comes to plastic and if there are healthier and safer alternatives to plastic I will try to use them.

When I first began as a knitter, I had no idea of the different compositions and foibles of fibre other than there was cotton and there was wool. I soon learned the different blends and the advantages and preferences for each. I became obsessed with the gorgeous hand dyed superwash yarn from indie brands and soon my stash consisted of primarily that. As time went on, I became more “fibre-conscious,” I started looking deeper into yarns, where they were shipped from, what they were comprised of and how they were processed. This led to the smallholding, the sheep and the production of my own yarns….

Then, through conversations with a small group of knitters, I discovered super wash wool is very heavily processed and the fibres are coated in plastic!! Then it all began to make sense, super wash wool was the answer to our desire to machine wash our knits. A compromise for convenience.

So super wash wool is wool that has been treated to make it machine washable and, in some cases, dryable. This process typically involves coating the wool fibres with a resin that prevents them from felting or shrinking when exposed to water and agitation. As a result, super wash wool garments can be washed and dried like other machine-washable fabrics without the risk of shrinking or felting.

At what point does something that has been so drastically processed, losing many of it’s natural characteristics, become a different thing all together?

As I read more and more about how super wash wool is made and the plastic in which it is coated, I started to question if we can or should really, truly still call it wool. Wool in all its natural glory is an incredible protein fibre, with so many valuable qualities. It has scales that interlock when agitated or teased at certain temperatures. Wool is naturally fire resistant and has incredible health benefits, wicking moisture away from your skin, keeping you both warm and cool, plus its naturally antibacterial!

To avoid felting wool, you have to follow careful, yet relatively simple cleaning instructions. It’s not rocket science, yet it can be inconvenient at times. However, I have to admit to regularly using a cool wool wash cycle most times on all my own hand knits and woollens and they ARE NOT super wash!! I do not have time for hand washing with a busy household, farm and three businesses to run, so the sweater that is regularly worn out to forest school sessions to keep me snug and warm is also seen as a stand sample, has been machine washed MANY times!!!! I have had many people surprised its been worn so much, especially in the woods!

The process of making super wash wool typically involves several steps:

1. Scouring: The wool is thoroughly cleaned to remove any dirt, grease, or impurities.
2. Pre-treatment: The wool is treated with a mild alkaline solution to remove the natural scales on the wool fibers, which are responsible for felting.
3. Chlorination or Mercerization: The wool is treated with either chlorine gas or a sodium hydroxide solution to further remove the scales and improve the wool’s ability to take up dyes.
4. Resin treatment: The wool is coated with a resin, such as epoxy or polymer, which forms a protective layer around the fibres, preventing them from felting or shrinking when exposed to water and agitation. One of the plastics used is called Hercosett 125.
5. Washing and drying: The treated wool is washed to remove any excess resin and then dried.

These processes vary slightly depending on the specific manufacturer and the desired characteristics of the super wash wool. It is important to note though that waste water from the wool chlorination process contains such high concentrations of the chlorinated chemicals, dioxins, that in countries like the United States, for example, the waste water treatment plants do not accept it. (No data could be easily found for the UK…..) Therefore this process is most often carried out in countries that do accept these chemicals into their water and is then imported into the US and UK…..

It is also important to note that dioxins are one of the most toxic substances known and they are deadly to humans at levels below one part per trillion.

Super wash wool has some cool benefits aside from the laundry. Because of it’s heavy processing, it takes up dye much better than most other wools. The vibrancy of all the gorgeous hand dyed super wash yarn is intoxicating for sure and the super wash wool is then easier for dyers to work with, but is it worth the cost to our environment? Especially when wool is such a fabulous product in its own right without the heavy duty toxic processes. The super wash processes also detract form some of the natural qualities of the wool, the ability to felt (even slightly) its anti-microbial properties and its breathability, which is most noticeable in the form of socks. It lacks the moisture wicking properties and the fire retardant qualities of wool. Super wash yarn is also liable to stretch and become misshapen over time, because the scales that help the fibres to link up have gone.

Research into the microplastic contributions that super wash wool makes is still in it early phases BUT so far it is indicated that Microplastics from the coatings on super wash wool are getting into our waters and are having a negative impact on ocean life.