Prince Charles to push NZ wool

Prince Charles has leapt to the aid of Australian, New Zealand and British wool producers, launching a project to increase demand for fleece.

Concerned about the low prices farmers have been receiving for wool, the prince has teamed up with growers from the three nations and UK retail giant Marks and Spencer to make wool fashionable again.

Launching The Wool Project on Tuesday, Prince Charles said wool had many benefits, including sustainability, but the future of the material was "looking very bleak indeed".

"Its capacity to retain warmth, even when wet, has made it the clothing material of choice for our species -- as well as for sheep -- since the Stone Age," he said.

"The sad truth is that around the world farmers are leaving sheep production because the price they get for their wool is below the costs of actually shearing it."

The prince also highlighted the fire retardant and insulating properties of wool.

He encouraged people to think twice about "the seemingly trivial decision about whether to buy a wool carpet or its manmade alternative, or the decision to buy a wool coat as opposed to a polyester jacket".

"The wool industry is truly international, and I am particularly glad that The Wool Project is now a partnership that includes the wool-growing organisations of Australia, Britain and New Zealand," he said.

The move follows a meeting the prince convened in February 2009 including producers, fashion, retail and carpet industry representatives, textile designers and fire fighters.

Peter Ackroyd, an adviser to industry body Australian Wool Innovation Limited in the UK, said the project planned to hold a "wool week" in Britain in September, showcasing the fabric in major department stores.

The event would promote wool as a natural, sustainable and biodegradable product.

"There has been a shift towards manmade textiles, and the Prince of Wales deplores this because the manmade fibres end up in landfill," Mr Ackroyd said.