RAILING against the march of synthetic jumpers and carpets, Prince Charles is attempting to rebrand wool as a fashionable and eco-friendly fabric that consumers will choose for clothes and home furnishings.
The scheme, launched this week, aims to help sheep farmers by boosting the price of wool worldwide.
In Britain, the average price for a kilogram in 1997 was 93p. Last year it fell to 66p.
The prince hopes to recreate enthusiasm for a product that during the Middle Ages was Britain's most important trading commodity.
The intention is to establish a new green label for woollen products and for shops to give a commitment to promote wool.
A wool week is planned for September, just before London Fashion Week, when shoppers start to plan and buy their winter wardrobe.
The prince hopes to encourage a return to woollen carpets and rugs instead of wooden flooring, and for woollen clothes that last, instead of the "fast fashion" trend for cheap, synthetic, throwaway garments that are being dumped in landfill sites.
The project must also embrace Australia and New Zealand for it to have any chance of success. The value of British wool is particularly affected by prices in New Zealand, which are at their lowest level for 50 years.
Campaign manager, publisher Nicholas Coleridge, said: "We want to make wool something desirable, so it will affect wool prices. The plan is to try and overturn some myths and to talk up the beauty of wool and the eco-benefits of wool, which lasts longer than synthetic materials and is fully bio-degradable.
"This way we hope to re-awaken interest in wool."
