Transcriber: Emma Gon Reviewer: Anna Sobota
The year is 1965.
It’s the age of the supermarket.
The act of shopping daily locally has been replaced by the big shop.
People still took their reusable shopping bags,
but they increasingly started to rely on the free paper bag.
But there was a problem.
Paper bags don’t have handles.
Paper bags break easily
and they’re no good in the wet British weather.
Not even that good for the environment either,
because to make paper bag, you must cut down trees.
What was needed was a solution to the problem of the soggy paper bag
and one that also happened to be good for the environment.
And there was a solution - the one-piece polythene bag,
invented following the accidental discovery of polyethylene
down the road here in Northwich.
Durable, weatherproof, with those all-important handles,
lighter to transport and taken only a quarter of the energy to produce,
a real win-win.
Years later, it all looks rather different though, doesn’t it?
Because we have the ability to make this material freely,
it became abundant and therefore disposable.
The technology was quickly applied into every aspect of our lives.
It’s hard to think of much that hasn’t been influenced by plastic in some way,
from construction to clothing, from fashion to furnishings.
Standing here today in 2022,
we are facing a drastic plastic problem
and we need a solution that is not going to become a problem in itself.
So let’s imagine for a moment
that we could produce a new magical material,
one that could replace some of this plastic,
especially in our clothing.
We can start by making it natural and sustainable,
so it could be grown with minimal impact to the environment.
And it would be biodegradable,
so it’s broken down in a matter of months rather than centuries.
Let's make it hypoallergenic,
antibacterial and breathable so it’s comfortable to wear.
And let’s make it repel water and dirt and odor,
so we don’t need to wash it as much because I don’t know about you,
but I already spend too long on my washing.
We may as well add as many things to this, which is possible.
So how about throwing a bit of UV and fire protection as well?
I mean, that sounds amazing, right?
Now, what if I told you that a material
with all of these properties already existed
and that humans have been using it for thousands of years already.
I’m talking about wool.
I’ve seen for myself some of the magical properties of wool
when I use it to solve a particular problem
I was experiencing at home.
We moved our family, the small children
into a tiny flat with a huge washing pile.
I found myself elbow-deep in the laundry with no outside drying space
and only the tumble dryer to rely on for my wet washing.
But I found a solution -
spiky laundry balls.
They speed up the drying process,
they replace the need for fabric softeners and dryer shifts.
What a great solution to my problem!
You know what I going to say, don’t you?
They’re made of plastic.
So I did invest, but they were noisy and plastic
in a world where we’re already using too much plastic.
So I wanted a different solution.
And I didn’t need to look very far to find it.
Across the fields in Yorkshire, there are lots and lots of sheep.
And where there are sheeps, there is wool.
So I started making the dry balls
out of wool felted to look like the different breeds of sheep
that the wool had come from.
Great results and a much more natural resource.
So what is it about wool that makes it such a worthy competitor to plastic?
Well, the real secret of wool lies in its structure,
and that's what gives it all the magical properties that I mentioned earlier.
But yes, let's look at two surprising,
the most surprising of theese properties right now.
So, wool is fireproof and wool is breathable.
I was surprised that wool fireproof.
Let’s just take a look at that one in a little bit more detail.
So wool fibers are cloaked in scales.
This works very much like the slates on your roof,
the water just runs straight off the back of it.
However, water vapor gets trapped between the scales.
And wool is one of the most water-loving of all fibers,
it is capable of absorbing as much as 40% water vapor
without feeling wet to the touch.
Combine that with its high nitrogen content and wool struggles to burn.
Firefighters today wear wool underwear
as a last line of defense when they’re fighting fires.
And it is also why they advocate
will carpets and curtains to inside your home, too.
Well, it’s breathable
and this is because air gets trapped between the scales.
This creates a thermal barrier and it slows down the transfer of heat.
So when you're wearing wool,
it will keep you cool on a warm day and cozy on a chilly day.
So with all of this in mind,
it just got me wondering, why are we no longer wearing wool?
What’s the first item that springs to your mind
when you first think about wearing wool?
I'm going to guess it's jumpers and hat, scarves and gloves.
All items associated with the colder winter months.
But remember, wool is breathable.
So especially if you combine this with a lightweight knit,
you can wear wool all year round.
Now, you may expect me to stand up here today
and tell you that my dress is made of wool and you’ll be right.
But would you be surprised if I told you
that my earrings are also made of wool?
And when you're watching last year's Wimbledon championships,
did you spot that Andy Murray’s tennis kit was also made of wool?
Because Mother Nature has created
the most technologically advanced fiber for activewear.
And wool underwear is not not just for the firefighters either.
Let me show you my lace and wool knickers,
which I think you’ll agree probably is far removed from the first image
that came to your head when you were thinking about woolly underwear.
So I would like you to think outside of the box with this one really.
And speaking of boxes, did you know you can get a wool coffin?
So wool really can see you from the cradle to the grave.
We can’t deny the drastic plastic problem
that faces this in the 21st century.
It’s something that has crept up on us really.
Thinking back to the bad example at the beginning,
the plastic started as a solution before it became the problem itself.
So what we need is for two things to happen.
We need to shift our perception of the attitude
to our thorough plastic culture.
But we also need a sustainable, environmentally friendly alternative.
The good news is we don’t need to wait for it to be invented.
We don’t even need to look very far to find it.
It’s already here, it’s wool.