Hi, Thanks for taking interest.

Generally wool production has good ethics amongst its farmers but Merino wool particularly has more negative impact on the sheep. The Merino sheep is very wrinkly thus it has more skin coverage than your regular sheep, more skin coverage means more wool per sheep and they are bred with an unnatural overload of wool. This in turn causes more fly infestation that your regular sheep of which can only be controlled by cutting the sheep's skin/flesh off the lambs rear . Now depending on the farmer will depend on how its done,like a factory they can be tied up on racks and painfully cut which will cause pain and discomfort for weeks.There are other methods available such as fly traps, chemical sprays and management of grazing but its just a lot easier to cut the sheeps skin off.
Other problems though not specific to Merino sheep , is the quantity they are sheared at. Shearers are usually paid by quantity thus the more you shear the more you get paid which in turn means a lot more mistakes are made in a rush to shear and more sheep will suffer deep cuts etc.

I would rather pay extra knowing that my wool has came from an ethical sheep farmer who takes more care in their animal welfare. Thats obviously my choice and its the same with other animal produce I buy , the same as its the choice of others who dont care how the animals are treated as long as its cheap they will buy it.

Can you live with the guilt of leaving a sheep half shorn due to your protest though?

A good deal and some important education! Hotukdeals at its best! :smile:

Lamb off the menu tonight, thanks for that...

Good info tho. Bloody nice wool; shame to lose your @rse over it, mind. :disappointed:

Thanks for finding that. I will now buy the socks that have been in my basket :smiley:
Also glad to see that some people have taken interest.

I also used Google and found that the SealSkinz product page says: "Anti-Mulesing Policy

SealSkinz operate a strict anti-mulesing policy and have done so for the last few years. The Merino wool content used to make the components comes from a number of different sources controlled by the knitting factories. To the best of our knowledge and belief, these knitted components contain merino wool sourced from sheep which are not subjected to mulesing.
If you have any question please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Services Team"

Then I used Google to find out what "mulesing" was - it is the practice of cutting away the wrinkly skin at the sheep's hindquarters, as illustrated in the pics above.

Good to see welfare being taken into account here.

Edited to remove images and shorten the quote

That's quite an eye opener and not something of general knowledge I don't think, clearly going by early comments. Being a cyclist I look for merino wool products as they are great when warm or cold, I never ever check the source of said wool. Thanks for highlighting this.

good. its a horrible practice

The majority of sheep are killed horrifically by "halal" method and there are people who are concerned about how sheep shearers can be a little rough.....
Heat added. As long as the sheep gets tucked in when it goes to bed. And a kiss night night.

Hi, Thanks for taking interest.

Generally wool production has good ethics amongst its farmers but Merino wool particularly has more negative impact on the sheep. The Merino sheep is very wrinkly thus it has more skin coverage than your regular sheep, more skin coverage means more wool per sheep and they are bred with an unnatural overload of wool. This in turn causes more fly infestation that your regular sheep of which can only be controlled by cutting the sheep's skin/flesh off the lambs rear . Now depending on the farmer will depend on how its done,like a factory they can be tied up on racks and painfully cut which will cause pain and discomfort for weeks.There are other methods available such as fly traps, chemical sprays and management of grazing but its just a lot easier to cut the sheeps skin off.
Other problems though not specific to Merino sheep , is the quantity they are sheared at. Shearers are usually paid by quantity thus the more you shear the more you get paid which in turn means a lot more mistakes are made in a rush to shear and more sheep will suffer deep cuts etc.

I would rather pay extra knowing that my wool has came from an ethical sheep farmer who takes more care in their animal welfare. Thats obviously my choice and its the same with other animal produce I buy , the same as its the choice of others who dont care how the animals are treated as long as its cheap they will buy it.

Looks like the price has gone back up :disappointed: good find though OP

RhinoPaul, can you enlighten the ignorant amongst us, as I kinda thought sheering a sheep was a fairly painless and harmless activity for a sheep? I don't think that I've ever considered the animal ethics of wool products.

Ironically Aldi waterproof socks are available in store from Thursday this week £12

Aldi do their own version . Worth keeping an eye out for .

Would these be good for golfers? Hubby always complaining his waterproof golf shoes don't work! Any ideas on sizing? He is a size 9. Thank You

As silly as it sounds mulesing happens to protect sheep and vets are fine with it, the people who aren't are groups like Peta who are up in arms about everything.

When you find a way to help millions of sheep from dieing from avoidable and painful conditions give the sheep farmers and vets a call.

Thanks for trying but that is totally unrelated.
All they are basically saying is that its assembled in the UK and that its chemical compliant with regulations.
Nothing about where they actually source the Merino wool.
Its a big thing these days to be ethical when it comes to animal welfare and all the major companies usually put an ethics page on their web as to how and where there products are sourced yet Sealskinz dont from what I can see.

Keep your wool on ...


20 second google ... Sealskinz’s Ethical Policy - We asked Sealskinz about their ethics. Where is their product made, how did they ensure good practice in the workplace and in sourcing materials, that sort of thing. Here’s their statement;

“SealSkinz knitted socks and gloves are made and assembled in the UK.

To ensure good employment practice in the workplace, SealSkinz operate to ISO 9001 and to ensure these materials are responsibly sources they are OEKO-TEX and REACH compliant.”

http://product-reviews.trekandrun.com/2013/11/03/sealskinz-mid-weight-mid-length-socks-thermal-liner-socks-a-waterproof-beanie-and-ultra-grip-gloves/

That would be funny if it wasnt for the poor sheep that suffers instead.Im all for using wool if its ethical and the majority of Merino isnt.

It means you are ignorant and dont know how Merino are farmed.

Large and xtra large now gone up so be quick on other sizes ..good find;)

Was tempted until I saw they were lined with Merino, I cant see any info on Sealskinz ethical sourcing the wool.

They also have road socks from £9.72 & MTB from £5.40