Nadia Lim. Photo / Ted Baghurst
Nadia Lim is passionate about wool and she wants others to share her enthusiasm.
The celebrity chef and her husband Carlos own the biggest working farm in the Wakatipu Basin, Central Otago.
It's a mixed cropping and sheep farm, where the couple run about 2000 Perendale ewes.
A glut of wool in her shed got Lim thinking about the predicament the market is facing.
"It doesn't make sense," she told The Country's Jamie Mackay.
"When I look at all the bales of wool in our shed – literally tons of it – and there's so little demand for it … we're losing money on this product that is one of the most sustainable, environmentally friendly, biodegradable, durable materials on the planet."
Low demand for such a sustainable product was "ironic" in today's environmentally conscious atmosphere, Lim said.
"We're now in this world where everyone talks about wanting to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly and you get the feeling that people are really serious and genuine about it - but then the actions that are taken in this world just don't seem to match up with what we're all saying."
"I'm pretty passionate about the subject."
Most people were using synthetic materials and Lim wasn't sure if they were fully aware of what they were made of, or the effect they had on the environment.
"These synthetic materials, like acrylic and polyfleece with clothing, but also insulation and carpeting and furniture, they're petroleum-based. That is not good for the environment."
Petroleum-based products took "literally hundreds" of years to break down, and were a "huge part of what goes into landfill," Lim said.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency found that 7 per cent of non-compostable waste that was landfilled came from synthetic carpet and rugs alone, Lim said.
The situation wasn't much in brighter in New Zealand, Lim said.
"The average [synthetic] carpeted area of a Kiwi home is, by weight, the equivalent of 22,000 plastic bags."
Although the wool's current status seemed bleak, Lim remained positive about the future.
"I believe that it can make a big comeback. I really think it's going to happen soon. I just see its infinite potential in playing such a big role in a more sustainable future."
She believed synthetic carpets would eventually be banned, like single-use plastic bags - it was all a matter of educating people.
"We're banning plastic bags – that's great – that's a really, really good step in the right direction – but there are so many more things that have a much bigger impact and a much bigger influence and the spotlight hasn't been shone on them yet but it's coming – it's definitely coming."
Personally, Lim had taken "a bit of action" to help champion wool.
She was working on "getting our wool made into useful things," including some prototypes that were under wraps at the moment "because I'm testing them out just to see if they work."
Lim was also working with Exquisite Wool Blankets, along with using the farm's wool for carpeting and insulation "for a little cottage that we're building for the in-laws."
"We just couldn't bear seeing all this amazing material just sitting in our woolshed."
She urged companies to follow in the footsteps of Bremworth, which recently announced it would no longer make synthetic carpets.
"We can have so many more companies out there doing the same thing – taking a stance and going we actually genuinely do care about the environment and what 's going into landfill."
The best way to save wool was to get the word out, and Lim was using her platform to do just that.
"I guess just keep talking about it – people need to be aware."
The co-op has posted a $14.3 million net loss after tax for the year ended June 2024.