The tide is turning towards natural fibres and New Zealand wool is perfectly positioned to take up the mantle as the world’s premium super fibre.
But Campaign for Wool (CFW) NZ Trust chair Tom O’Sullivan says “you can’t sell a secret”.
The trust, with its mandate of education and awareness of wool, has launched a strategy aimed at delivering immediate traction in growing consumer demand for wool.
“Demand needs to come from the consumer and we need to start now to ensure people are aware of how wool fibre can benefit them in their lives,” O’Sullivan said.
He says the strategy, developed over the past six months, will set the failing strong wool sector up for transformational industry growth to bring wool back to the strong economic pillar it once was for NZ.
To change the fortunes of the NZ strong wool industry, it needs to develop a transformational strategy for the future direction of the industry.
O’Sullivan says the strategy must come before structure or tactical pieces of work.
Over the past year, the CFW NZ board has gained traction and tripled its budget to make progress as it works with Auckland-based strategists Richard Partners to produce the framework for an overarching strategy.
“There’s no silver bullet, but we believe implementing this strategy will deliver immediate traction to grow consumer demand for wool, first in NZ, then globally,” he said.
“It will set us up for the transformational industry growth we envision over the next decade.”
The strategy’s aim is for CFW to be the wool information conduit for both consumers and industry stakeholders.
“It’s targeted on getting game-fit in NZ, focused on making as much noise as possible to NZ consumers first, then in 18 months the plan is to use the same measures to target a global perspective,” he said.
“We have to walk the talk in the domestic market and when we prove that, we can roll out globally from 2022 onwards.”
Key priorities as the strategy rolls out are communication and education across all platforms of use to develop an industry resource portal for wool.
Market insight development will focus on usage and attitude studies of the ‘what and why’ of wool and the ‘where and who’ is selling it.
Growing brand partners with NZ companies will be key to pull it all together.
“What we are doing has the purpose of a sole strategy moving forward, collaborating together,” he said.
“The big picture is we really do need to get everyone in the same tent working on one single strategy.
“Farmers and government are not interested in silo mentality; they want to see an industry that moves and pulls in the same direction.”
O’Sullivan believes CFW is the right entity to drive the strategy to grow demand for wool.
“CFW has a vital role to play in bringing industry stakeholders together,” he said.
“Being non-commercial allows us to speak with no vested interest in the industry, we are an impartial and industry-good voice for the benefit of all stakeholders.
“Farmers are sick of talk, they want action, honesty and accountability – over-delivering on this strategy is our absolute goal.”
He urges farmers to hang in there and not give up on wool.
“I know it is currently bloody tough going but the world is on the cusp of a massive environmental crusade for which wool can provide solutions,” he said.
“The future is extremely bright if we take the amazing opportunity in front of us, walk the talk, promote and buy wool products and help protect the environment.
“I hope they (farmers) will see us having a clear and concise focus.”
The CFW strategy is not about running off in a different direction to the Strong Wool Action Group (SWAG).
“We are looking to engage with SWAG and collaborate on a strategy that will potentially see CFW morph into a marketing role with an overarching industry strategy,” he said.
“To implement this strategy, we will consult with consumers who make conscious purchasing decisions based on environmental impact.
“We will influence the influencers, developers, architects, interior designers, and even government.”
The initial impact of the strategy is expected to be notable by Christmas, with the real impact to be analysed and reported in 12-18 months.
