Our Wool SourcesOur Wool Sources:

We are currently buying wool from our local wool growers. There are many sizes of herds. The biggest grower has 800 ewes. Ewes are full grown females. Shearing is usually done once a year, in May. The growers we buy from all agree to fulfill our requirements under a criteria called EcoDomestic Wool. It defines the parameters for proper grazing methods (overgrazing is not good for the animal nor the soil), does not permit the use of toxic pesticides for thistles, and requires the use of skirting tables at shearing time to allow for proper inspection of the wool length and strength. This allows the grower to inspect the health of the animal by diagnosing the fleece of each individual sheep.

American wool comes from small farmers for the most part, who's sheep are fed by grazing in open fields. American wool has not been through the same kinds of industry pressures as Australia and New Zealand wool. An independent German testing lab which test for purity and non-contamination, have found North American wool to be relatively pure. On the other hand, North American wool is becoming obsolete. In the past 10 years, California has lost about half of its sheep. This trend still continues. At the same time, the demand for these kinds of wool products is growing.

For some good newes, we, at Shepherd’s Dream are committed to fostering our domestic sources of wool. We want to support the forming of wool collectives and woollen mills in North America so that there’s never a shortage of domestically produced wool with which to make healthy, breathable woollen beds for everyone who needs one.