Concept in Definition ABC

The word wool is the one that is normally used to designate a type of raw material that covers the body of some animals and that is obtained through the shearing or peeling of these animals. Wool is used mainly for the manufacture of clothing and because it is a closed fiber and heavy, the garments that are made with it are usually warm or used in seasons of temperatures low. Wool is one of the oldest textile materials used by man because many Societies have resorted to grazing and raising sheep as a subsistence activity principal. Also, in the same way as cotton or linen, it is a natural material that is not considered expensive or exclusive and that does not involve work of manufacture highly complicated.

While most of the total amount of wool produced globally is obtained from sheep, other animals with hair similar to that of sheep's wool such as vicuñas, llamas, alpacas or goats also offer the same material that is later worked and used to make warm garments and

clothing. It goes without saying that each region will use the raw material of the type of livestock that corresponds to it, being able some societies to specialize in goat wool and others, for example, in that of llamas or alpacas.

Wool is one of the most important products of the industrytextile and this has to do with the fact that it is relatively accessible in terms of cost, as well as being easily workable, which is why the process of transformation of the raw material in what we finally know as wool is much simpler than that of other textile products. Normally, the best wool is considered to be obtained from relatively adult sheep and depending on the species, the wool may be thinner or thicker. Whatever the animal from which it is obtained, the wool will always have a natural whitish, cream or greyish color. Then, as it is worked, it can be dyed and transformed into texture so that the textile result is very varied and more complex.

Themes in Wool