They started in insulation after an idea was hatched during the 2020 lockdown but have quickly moved to more innovative and higher-end products.
“We knew we had to add more value for the farmer, which is our number one driver for doing this, so they would continue to grow wool,” says Henry.
Nicky, the creative genius behind many of the Wisewool products, has turned her lounge into a very full studio where there are packages of various grades of their product, alongside finished pillows, puffer jackets, linings for cardboard coffins, cushions, duvets, all-wool bean bags and more.
Once the Hansens bought their Matamata factory, things got “intense” pretty quickly.
The knops – small and round balls of wool – are bouncy and resilient wool balls perfect for stuffing products. They range in size so can be used for all sorts of end products.
Ideas and orders flow in to Wisewool as people are reminded of how special the qualities of wool are. The latest in a long line is a pure wool sofa being made for a Gisborne customer.
“People in New Zealand are doing really good things with wool but they are small and niche and are not going to involve a massive market,” says Henry. “We need to invent something that uses a massive amount of wool.”
Millions of kilograms of wool are produced annually in New Zealand but are not earning anything.
“Wool is amazing – possibly the most incredible product that nature produces — but so many qualities about it have been forgotten,” says Henry.
That list is long and impressive – anti-allergenic, fully sustainable, moisture-wicking, temperature-regulating, fire-resistant, and once finished with can go back into the soil to re-enter the ecosystem and end up back in the sheep, producing more wool.
Wisewool is now working in the horticulture industry with Sustaina Grow creating wool mulch mats, grow bags and tree guards.
“The rolls of plastic you see out in the fields helping things get started in their growth, we see that being replaced with Wisewool products. We are very keen on that part of the whole development and innovation we are now pursuing.”
Given the interest and growth in such a short time, can New Zealand continue to increase its wool production?
“It is always a worry that you get into something, have huge success and then not have the supply,” says Henry. “But we have amazing supply links.”
With only 25 million sheep left in New Zealand, Henry and Nicky believe those numbers will start increasing as demand grows.”
With so many uses and potential uses, the numbers have to rise,” says Nicky. “There is no other better product around. We want to pay farmers a fairer price for their strong wool which will rejuvenate the industry, benefiting the Tairāwhiti community and New Zealand export prospects.
“To make that happen, we are aiming for the top right-hand corner – a premium product so we can return that to the farmers. That’s an absolute must; otherwise there will be no more wool.”
The lesser quality grades of wool can be used for wool matting.
Wool grown in New Zealand is generally exported in a raw state, removing the connection with the nation, and any further profit is taken by the offshore person.
“The only way we can increase prices for New Zealand woolgrowers is to add the value in New Zealand so it goes back to our farmers.”
They are striving to get every Tairāwhiti farmer on board and currently have about 35 percent of the market.
Their requirements are strict.
“We need second-shear wool,” says Henry. “That comes from sheep shorn twice a year and needs to be three inches long, a nice white colour and with no vegetable matter. That is a big ask.”
Bad weather doesn’t help create the perfect fleece. Nor does it help with costs when Wisewool is sending wool to Hawke’s Bay to be scoured. Road closures (from Cyclone Gabrielle) cost the company $30,000 a month in extra freight.
While Wisewool is an ingredient brand, they are producing some of their own “hero” products. The raw product is non-woven using a needle punch to bring the fibres together with nothing other than pure wool.
“This technology has been around a long time but not perfected and pushed to market. We love this process as everything is useable,” says Nicky.
There are other products touting how perfect they are, but Nicky and Henry say there is a lot of “truth-stretching” and “green-washing” out there, so they encourage people to do due diligence when buying products which are promoted as being 100 percent pure wool.
“Four times as much organic wool is sold around the world as is produced,” says Nicky. “That takes a bit of thinking through.”
Nicky and Henry’s son Angus, with his cousin Harry Urquhart-Hay, are the fifth generation of the family to work with wool. They are working with some of the same families their great-grandfather worked with back in the 1890s.
“We see a great future for our farmers,” says Henry. “But we need to act now. Our wool industry is on its knees so we need to get cracking.”
Ironically the very industry that brought the demise of wool is enthusiastically behind Wisewool.
“They know they are going to have to change and that the world wants more natural products in their manufactured products.”
It’s exciting times for the family who can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“We aim to be large volume processors of New Zealand wool,” says Henry.
They handle about 2 million kilograms of wool a year but he believes there is potential to handle up to 60 million annually.
“That means a move to New Zealand-wide and puts you into a whole different world of transactions.”
The market for Gisborne-produced wool is of $10 million in value to farmers. Nicky and Henry would like to think in five years the Wisewool value added will put this closer to $100 million.
