Theresa Gattung was in Oamaru last week and spoke to Southern Rural Life about why Wool Partners (WPI) has the right blueprint to lift the fortunes of wool growers.
"A critical mass of growers now realise it [the wool industry] is at a critical stage," Ms Gattung said.
And Wool Partners' resolve to link grower and market was crucial, she said.
This was the element that had been key to the success of other industries - kiwifruit, merino and now meat producers were focused on creating the same strategy.
"On top of that, wool's time has come."
Sophisticated customers were "crying out for authenticity".
"Wool is beautiful and wool is better.
"It should be a marketeer's dream."
What had been allowed to happen to the strong-wool industry over past years - an industry, which was once the "backbone of New Zealand", was a "national tragedy".
"The status quo has clearly failed."
Wool was in crisis before the worldwide recession, she said.
Farmers were now being paid less than half the price for wool than they were several years ago - and this past year it was not enough to cover costs.
In response, sheep numbers had dropped, farmers were moving out of farming sheep to dairying, and farmers who did remain were moving towards breeding sheep for meat only, and to breeds that shed their wool.
On the other hand strong wool's major competitors were thriving, despite the recession.
It was reported, despite the recent oil crisis, the prices for synthetic carpets had gone up nine times in the past year, Ms Gattung said.
"Wool has been completely out-marketed and out-positioned this generation."
The synthetics industry had out-lobbied and out-marketed wool, she said.
Soon after Wool Partners was formed it had to pull together its resources to face down its competitors in a crucial market.
The company had the heads-up from United States manufacturers it needed to move quickly to persuade US standards administrators to recognise wool as a sustainable carpet fibre, Ms Gattung said.
"We were nearly shut out of the game altogether."
The US National Standards Foundation and the green building awards body, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, administers the NSF 140 standard, which sets out specific requirements for the use of carpets in sustainable buildings.
Since the NSF 140 standard was first put in place in 2007 there had been no performance requirements - a point-system ranking - in place for wool, and it had been ranked using a point system that favoured synthetic carpets.
This was rectified in June.
"Wool will now have a NSF 140 standard points system."
Ms Gattung is realistic about the future for strong-wool growers.
"A premium is possible, but it is not going to happen overnight."
And there were certain requirements that were critical to success.
Initially, Meat & Wool New Zealand and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise conducted a study, the outcome of which showed, alongside any market innovation, the industry needed to consolidate and growers needed to unify before the industry could get back on its feet.
"Wool Partners is the catalyst for that.
"We have created the first supply chain from farm to market."
Also, the company owned the world-recognised Wools of New Zealand Fernmark brand and Bloch and Behrens, a well-respected New Zealand wool trading company.
"We have all the pieces."
Ms Gattung said the company had looked to the successful merino industry as a model, but saw strong wool as having an even greater chance of success because of the advantages of scale and quality - "which we haven't leveraged yet".
The New Zealand merino industry repositioned merino as a fashion item, she said.
"They have made wool sexy."
There was no reason that the same model could not work with strong wool, Ms Gattung said.
However, no model was going to be sustainable if it was not farmer-owned and grower-controlled.
Ms Gattung said WPI was supportive of other initiatives already under way within the industry - like the Texel growers partnership with international wool trading company H Dawson Wool NZ Ltd to produce luxury carpets using Southland-grown Texel and Texel-cross wool.
"It will give growers hope."
Apathy among growers was the biggest obstacle to progress, she said.
Wool Partners was not talking about a "single desk" operation.
Just as the wine industry produced different wines from grapes grown in different regions wool processors could focus on different sheep breeds, she said.
It was important not to be "homogeneous", but to see the initiatives of various growers as part of a "broad mosaic".
Recently Wool Partners launched the brand Laneve as a companion brand to sit alongside manufacturers' brands, and which would ensure compliance with specific standards on farming practice, animal welfare, sustainability, traceability and the environment ...
"an intersection of luxury and nature".
International companies Glen Eden Wool Carpet and Bellbridge Carpets had committed to buying wool for the manufacture of carpets using the Laneve brand.
"It is the first of many deals with manufacturers."
The wool bought by Glen Eden will be grown by a small group - 20 farms - of Banks Peninsula farmers - the Southern Bays Farm Discussion Group.
This clip will be scoured by Kaputone Wool Scour, in Christchurch, and spun by Christchurch Carpet Yarns prior to export.
This story could be traced back to the Banks Peninsula farmers who grew the wool, Ms Gattung said.
It is scoured and spun in New Zealand, creating jobs for New Zealanders.
"That story keeps other Kiwis in jobs," Ms Gattung said.
Wool Partners is a strong-wools company, which is the operating subsidiary of Wool Grower Holdings.
Wool Grower Holdings has 50 per cent of the shares in Wool Partners, but 60 per cent of the voting rights.
The other 50 per cent of the shares are owned by PGG Wrightson.
Wool Grower Holdings is in the process of being capitalised.