The Swedish Wool Initiative

Person sorting wool. Photographer Henrik Hansson

The demand for sustainable materials is steadily increasing, while most of the Swedish wool is discarded. The aim of the project is to build system capacity to take care of all the wool produced in Sweden. The project will develop innovative products and materials, both in textile production and other industries, through circular design and circular business models, as well as the implementation of a new tool for quality assurance of Swedish wool. The focus of product development and innovation is scalability and commercialization.

The project is a follow-up to The Swedish Wool Initiative and is led by Axfoundation together with Dalarna Science Park.

Contents


To meet demand and reduce waste, 20 sheep owners, businesses and researchers are joining forces to focus specifically on wool collection in Dalarna and the surrounding area.

Focus of the project

  • Swedish Wool Standard: Implement new tools and processes in processing, including the Swedish Wool Standard with the new national classification system for Swedish wool
  • Collection point: Develop infrastructure and logistics solutions for a regional collection point in Dalarna that can be used as a model for other locations
  • Product development: Develop innovative products based on circular design with Swedish wool as raw material, in the construction, furniture, fashion, outdoor and home furnishing industries
  • Circular business models: Develop circular business models and a value chain for Swedish wool that creates value for all stakeholders
  • Sustainability analysis: Conduct a sustainability analysis for Swedish wool, based on data needed to make an environmental declaration for the product.

Facts

Project period: 23 October 2023-31 August 2025

Project owner: Axfoundation

Project partners: The scale-up of The Swedish Wool Initiative, led by Axfoundation and Dalarna Science Park, is a collaboration with partners along the entire value chain: Arena Svensk Ull, CTH Ericson of Sweden, Dalarnas Fåravelsförening, Filippa K, Houdini Sportswear, Dalarna University, Insjöns väveri, Röyk, Science Park Borås, Sätergläntan, Tiger of Sweden, Ullkontoret, VERK, Väveriet i Bollnäs, Woolie Design, Wool Rebel, Wålstedts ullspinneri, Åddebo Ull. The project is partly financed by Vinnova and Region Dalarna.

Total budget: SEK 5.9 million.

Funders: Vinnova and Region Dalarna.