International Wool Secretariat building, Ben Rhydding, Ilkley

The International Wool Secretariat (IWS) was formed in 1937 to promote the sale of wool on behalf of woolgrowers and review research carried out by independent bodies such as the Wool Industries' Research Association at Torridon, Headingley Lane, Leeds, England.Wool Secretariat ''Evening Post'', Volume CXXIV, Issue 113, 9 November 1937, Page 11 IWS was formed by the Wool Boards of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, and funded by levies on wool grown in those countries. Uruguay joined IWS in 1970. The IWS was the overseas extension of the Australian Wool Corporation and eventually was merged into it. In 1997, IWS changed its name to The Woolmark Company. Since 2007, the Woolmark Company has been a subsidiary of Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI), a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that conducts research, development and marketing along the global supply chain for

Australian wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

on behalf of approximately 60,000 woolgrowers that cooperatively fund the company.

History

In 1936, in response to the surge in the production of artificial fibres, such as

rayon Rayon is a semi-synthetic fiber, made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has the same molecular structure as cellulose. It is also called viscose. Many types and grades of viscose f ...

(now polyester), used in place of wool, woolgrowers in the three main woolgrowing countries, led by Australia, voted to impose a 6 pence levy for each wool bale produced, with the funds going to research and promotion. (Germany alone produced 9,200 tons of these artificial fibres in 1934, 19,600 tons in 1935 and 45,000 tons in 1936. It had been estimated that the production for 1937 would be 90,000 tons.) On July 1 1937, they formed the International Wool Publicity and Research Secretariat, which was quickly renamed the International Wool Secretariat (IWS). Based in London, the IWS had offices in every major wool-producing country by the mid-1950s. In 1964, IWS developed and launched the Woolmark logo. In December 1993, the Australian Wool Corporation (formed in 1973) and the Wool Research and Development Corporation were merged to form the Australian Wool Research and Promotion Organisation (AWRAP). International Wool Secretariat (IWS) and Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI) were subsidiaries of AWRAP. In 1997, IWS’s name was changed to The Woolmark Company Pty Ltd (TWC). In 2001, Australian Wool Services Limited (AWS) was formed to resolve 36 legacy issues stretching back more than 80 years through previous administrations, including AWRAP and its two subsidiaries. AWI was de-merged from AWS in 2002 and TWC was sold by AWS to AWI in 2007. What remained of AWS became Graziers’ Investment Company Limited (GIC), which went into liquidation in October 2017, with A$20 million in its bank account. As at March 2020, GIC was close to finalising the liquidation.

Woolmark

The

Woolmark Woolmark is a wool industry certification mark used on pure wool products that meet quality standards set by The Woolmark Company. It is a trade mark owned by The Woolmark Company, which has since 2007 been a subsidiary of Australian Wool Innovatio ...

logo was developed by the IWS, then under the control of two Australians, William (Archer) Gunn (1914-2003) who was chairman and William Vines (1916-2011) as managing director. A certification mark used on pure wool products that met the standard of quality set by IWS. The logo was launched in August 1964 after it had been selected following a 1963 competition won by

Milanese Milanese (endonym in traditional orthography , ') is the central variety of the Western dialect of the Lombard language spoken in Milan, the rest of its metropolitan city, and the northernmost part of the province of Pavia. Milanese, due to ...

Francesco Saroglia (most probably a pseudonym chosen by designer

Franco Grignani Franco Grignani (February 4, 1908 – 20 February 1999) was an Italian architect, graphic designer and artist. He is best known for black and white graphics, particularly the Woolmark logo, which was voted 'Best Logo of all Time' by Creative R ...

). The two main objectives were to position wool at the top of the textile market and to ensure that products bearing the Woolmark label were made from pure new wool and manufactured to the highest standards. It was such a success it eventually ranked with a large scallop shell or three-pointed-star in terms of consumer recognition and understanding. In 2011, British design magazine, ''

Creative Review ''Creative Review'' is a bimonthly print magazine and website. The magazine focuses on commercial creativity, covering design, advertising, photography, branding, digital products, film, and gaming. The magazine is published bimonthly in print and ...

'', declared the Woolmark number one of the top twenty logos of all time.

International Woolmark Prize

In 1953, IWS launched the International Woolmark Prize, with winners including Yves Saint Laurent and

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...

. The award continues to recognise outstanding designers across the globe. It was later suspended. The International Woolmark Prize was relaunched in 2012 by IWS’s successor, The Woolmark Company (TWC). The objective of the award is to generate long-term demand for Australian Merino wool by increasing the knowledge of and lifetime loyalty to the fibre amongst the competition’s designers around the globe. The 2020 awards were made in February 2020 at the

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...

Boston Marathon promotion

Woolmark experience Boston Marathon 2019

The Woolmark Company formed a partnership with Adidas and the

Boston Athletic Association The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) is a non-profit, running-focused, organized sports association for the Greater Boston area. The B.A.A. hosts such events as the Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. 5K, the B.A.A. 10K, the B.A.A. Half Marathon, the ...

to design and manufacture the first Best in Class running shirts, which were given to the top twenty 2018 Boston Marathon finishers in each age group. The shirts were made of 75% merino wool and 25%

polyamide A polyamide is a polymer with repeating units linked by amide bonds. Polyamides occur both naturally and artificially. Examples of naturally occurring polyamides are proteins, such as wool and silk. Artificially made polyamides can be made through ...

(nylon).

References

External links

The Woolmark Company

A wool roadmap

{{Authority control

International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

International trade associations Marketing boards Agricultural organisations based in England