The history of wool is the history of humanity itself. One of the first animals domesticated, for thousands of years sheep provided the three basic necessities of life: food, clothing, and shelter. It is because of its unique properties that wool is still one of the best-suited and most-loved textile fibers on the planet. In a nutshell: Wool doesn’t wrinkle easily It resists soiling because of its fibers’ complexity Wool is durable. It is 7 times more durable than cotton...

Thanks to the development of synthetic fabrics such as polyester and nylon, demand for wool has declined since the mid 1940s. Frankly, when we think of wool, the first thing that comes to mind is the word “itchy”. But wool is a vital piece of mankind’s history. And even though its popularity has declined, wool is still (after thousands and thousands of years) the most excellent textile fiber and the best suited to provide warmth in all climates: warm, dry, wet, and...

In this competitive and sometimes cutthroat society, kindness is often misconstrued as weakness. But kindness is not weakness, it is strength. It takes more courage to be kind than it does to be complacent and/or rude. Our world doesn’t need more nastiness and criticism, it needs more kindness. Outside of practicing kindness ourselves, teaching children the value of kindness is truly one of the most important things we adults can do for the upcoming generation. People often forget that...

Being in the wholesale used clothing industry, we always like to remind people how important it is to buy secondhand when possible and to always donate or recycle unwanted used clothing and used shoes. We recognize, however, that buying new clothing and textiles is inevitable. Fortunately, the world has Livia Firth, an extraordinary woman moving the fashion industry toward sustainability and social responsibility. About her: Livia Firth is the founder and creative director of Eco Age...

How many pairs of shoes do you think the average person owns? 5? 10? 20? …30? Ten years ago it was estimated that men own an average of 12 pairs of shoes, while women own an average of 27 pairs, putting the overall average at 20 pairs of shoes per person. Assuming that those numbers have remained static over the past decade, that’s 6 billion pairs of shoes spread among the approximately 300 million people in the US, minus Cody Lundin who hasn’t worn shoes for more than 20...