A distributed wool washing service to unlock the potential of wool in the Alps

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We are living in a time where consumers increasingly prefer local, sustainable products for ethical and environmental reasons, but often choose alternatives due to higher costs or the lack of accessible local supply chains. In the Alps, sheep wool has been identified as one of the resources that can be used as an input for circular and regenerative value chains. Alpine Wool can source a lot of the daily products present in our familiar environments. Current alpine wool productive ecosystems are facing some difficulties warranting wool processing at a local scale and thus blocking a real adoption of Alpine Wool products in the market. One of the most important challenges that was raised by Swiss Wool stakeholders is the lack of affordable and sustainable wool washing infrastructures. We propose a distributed wool washing service to facilitate the collaborative use of wool washing infrastructures in Switzerland Despite a growing consumer demand for sustainable, locally made products, much of the country’s wool is either burnt or exported for processing due to a lack of affordable and accessible local washing infrastructure. This disconnect not only deprives consumers of locally sourced wool products but also threatens the economic viability of breeders and artisans, risking the loss of wool coming from alpine breeds.  Challenges in the Alpine Wool Ecosystem  In the Alps, sheep wool has been identified as one of the resources that can be used as an alternative fiber for circular and regenerative value chains. Alpine Wool has an under-estimated value, it can source a lot of the daily products present in our familiar environments both in indoor (insulation, soaps, interior design furnitures & carpets, edredons & pillows) and outdoor uses (mulching, fertilizers, clothing such as polar, socks, gloves, jackets).  Current alpine wool ecosystems are facing some difficulties in warranting wool processing at a local scale and thus blocking a real adoption of Alpine Wool products in the market.   One of the most important challenges that was raised by Swiss Wool stakeholders is the lack of affordable and sustainable wool washing infrastructures. Large-scale washing facilities often exclude small-scale producers due to quantity constraints, while existing small-scale solutions struggle with economic viability and sustainability. As a result, much of the wool is either wasted or processed abroad, depriving local economies of its value.  Emerging from the Woolshed Alpine Space program and the Federation de la Laine Suisse, this project seeks to bridge that gap by making Alpine wool a viable and attractive option for both producers and consumers.  Toward a Distributed Wool Washing Service  The proposed solution is a distributed wool washing service that offers affordable, local, and sustainable processing for small-scale producers.   The service will propose a portfolio of wool washing options ranging from the small-scale wool washing machine developed in the project Wool-Ti and currently used in ProVerzasca to emerging solutions such as the Biella Mini-Wash plant developed by TCP and Centro Consorzi in Italy,  a waterless wool washing process with no toxic treatment usable for insulation products imagined by Laine et Sens or fermentation processes being tested at hyperlocal scale.  Selected washing solutions will be moveable to be hosted in proximity to the actors, and used directly on farms or in processing centres, or other strategic third-places such as abandoned textile sites, textile labs, or makerspaces.   The service ambitions to:  Reduce transportation emissions by processing wool locally, minimizing the need for long-distance transport.  Lower costs through mutualization, allowing stakeholders to pay for a service rather than investing in their own equipment, making it accessible to small-scale producers.  Ensure high-quality wool by avoiding improper home washing and providing optimized processes.  Increase the quantity of wool available for designers and artisans, enabling the development of new products and applications such as insulation, soaps, textiles, and outdoor goods.  Customers and Users: Who Benefits?  The primary users of this service will be farmers, breeder associations, artisans, and small-scale textile companies. By providing accessible and flexible washing solutions, the project will empower these stakeholders to consolidate their value chains and bring high-quality wool products to market.  For final consumers, this initiative means greater access to locally made wool goods, from insulation and soaps to clothing and outdoor products, all while supporting sustainable production practices.    

Project Idea Metadata

Project Idea Name: A distributed wool washing service to unlock the potential of wool in the Alps
Date: 9/29/2025 11:17:42 AM
Administrators:

Project Idea Description

Despite a growing consumer demand for sustainable, locally made products, much of the country’s wool is either burnt or exported for processing due to a lack of affordable and accessible local washing infrastructure. This disconnect not only deprives consumers of locally sourced wool products but also threatens the economic viability of breeders and artisans, risking the loss of wool coming from alpine breeds.

Challenges in the Alpine Wool Ecosystem

In the Alps, sheep wool has been identified as one of the resources that can be used as an alternative fiber for circular and regenerative value chains. Alpine Wool has an under-estimated value, it can source a lot of the daily products present in our familiar environments both in indoor (insulation, soaps, interior design furnitures & carpets, edredons & pillows) and outdoor uses (mulching, fertilizers, clothing such as polar, socks, gloves, jackets). Current alpine wool ecosystems are facing some difficulties in warranting wool processing at a local scale and thus blocking a real adoption of Alpine Wool products in the market.

One of the most important challenges that was raised by Swiss Wool stakeholders is the lack of affordable and sustainable wool washing infrastructures. Large-scale washing facilities often exclude small-scale producers due to quantity constraints, while existing small-scale solutions struggle with economic viability and sustainability. As a result, much of the wool is either wasted or processed abroad, depriving local economies of its value.

Emerging from the Woolshed Alpine Space program and the Federation de la Laine Suisse, this project seeks to bridge that gap by making Alpine wool a viable and attractive option for both producers and consumers.

Toward a Distributed Wool Washing Service

The proposed solution is a distributed wool washing service that offers affordable, local, and sustainable processing for small-scale producers.

The service will propose a portfolio of wool washing options ranging from the small-scale wool washing machine developed in the project Wool-Ti and currently used in ProVerzasca to emerging solutions such as the Biella Mini-Wash plant developed by TCP and Centro Consorzi in Italy, a waterless wool washing process with no toxic treatment usable for insulation products imagined by Laine et Sens or fermentation processes being tested at hyperlocal scale.

Selected washing solutions will be moveable to be hosted in proximity to the actors, and used directly on farms or in processing centres, or other strategic third-places such as abandoned textile sites, textile labs, or makerspaces.

The service ambitions to:

Reduce transportation emissions by processing wool locally, minimizing the need for long-distance transport.

Lower costs through mutualization, allowing stakeholders to pay for a service rather than investing in their own equipment, making it accessible to small-scale producers.

Ensure high-quality wool by avoiding improper home washing and providing optimized processes.

Increase the quantity of wool available for designers and artisans, enabling the development of new products and applications such as insulation, soaps, textiles, and outdoor goods.

Customers and Users: Who Benefits?

The primary users of this service will be farmers, breeder associations, artisans, and small-scale textile companies. By providing accessible and flexible washing solutions, the project will empower these stakeholders to consolidate their value chains and bring high-quality wool products to market.

For final consumers, this initiative means greater access to locally made wool goods, from insulation and soaps to clothing and outdoor products, all while supporting sustainable production practices.

In the Alps, sheep wool has been identified as one of the resources that can be used as an input for circular and regenerative value chains. Alpine Wool can source a lot of the daily products present in our familiar environments. Current alpine wool productive ecosystems are facing some difficulties warranting wool processing at a local scale and thus blocking a real adoption of Alpine Wool products in the market.

One of the most important challenges that was raised by Swiss Wool stakeholders is the lack of affordable and sustainable wool washing infrastructures. We propose a distributed wool washing service to facilitate the collaborative use of wool washing infrastructures in Switzerland