It feels really weird how you just uncritically talk about the wool industry. You also take it for granted that sheep need to keep being bred and shorn by humans. Their lives are not this idyllic romantic painting of the humble shepherd alone in a pasture, but one where their lives are only worth as much as their wool. Lambs are mutilated, and males castrated in horrific ways. The industry norm is speed over any care of the sheep and this is all completely unnecessary. You rightfully question how ethical human hair can be, but when it comes to animal welfare it's a footnote and written off as "some" rather than the industry as a whole.
Being the mouthpiece for propaganda about commodification of these animals is certainly a strange role to elect for yourself. They are not getting small cutting nicks, but large strips of their skin, their tail, and ears are removed during this process. Shearers punch the animals and stomp them into position. Sheep consistently get broken bones from how brutal the shearers are.
Though I guess Clara Parkes is right. It's truly the vegans who are unethical. What can we do but to shear the sheep? We certainly cannot stop breeding them because that might make us choose other materials, and that would be disastrous financially.
I had to return to this episode recently as I was reading the book "Life Ceremony" Sayaka Murata. Not knowing what exactly I signed up for reading the book, when the first short story opened with the main character wearing a sweater of human hair, I instantly thought of this episode! I was like wow this is so cool they know about this. The story then takes a more surreal turn with all the most expensive and high quality products in this world being made from human materials. They talk about bone tables or engagement rings. In the context of the world of the book, this is simply what is done with bodies after they die. The whole book is rather disturbing and bizzare and a bit introspective too, but I think it was quite funny how unprepared I was for the turn it would take because this episode had me less weirded out by the idea of human hair clothes then I might've otherwise
There are actually still sheep out there who shed their wool! So-called “primitive” breeds, especially Shetland sheep, can still be “rooed” - that is, their wool can simply be pulled or rubbed off (the sheep themselves will often rub against a fence or tree to help shed it). As a knitter and wool-spinner, I buy most of my fiber from a local farmer near me, who takes excellent care of her sheep and does actually roo some of them as well - it’s a characteristic she is breeding back into her flock. Just thought I’d add that in here.
As an Australian, I found the conversation about wool garments a little immature. I see from the comments below that many of the comments are about cruelty to sheep in shearing and these are debates we definitely still have in Australia but we’ve generally moved on. Wool is really widely worn as a fabric here (even though it’s a hot country a lot of the time) and our focus has been on the carbon footprint and sustainability of the wool industry.
I recommend listening to episode 170 and 171 of the Wardrobe Crisis, talking about wool growing.
that part about sheep loving beeing sheered and we have a responsibility to sheer them was really uncritical and made me cringe. I don't know what the equivalent of 'greenwashing' for animals it, but it was that. Really romanasized viewm
Animals don't just exist and need to be sheered. They are breed. And also taking really good examples and use them for the whole industry is also difficult.
Sheep industry probably is of of the better ones compared to other livestock, but that doesn't say much. Especially because animal free variants are easily available.
Love the podcast. I don't really care about fashion, but you draw me in everytime. Keep it up.
there was a woman on long island during WWII who was DETERMINED to make dog hair clothing a thing--this was during the rationing period.
i still wanna find one of these garments, just to see it. (yes, i know there's lots of dog hair stunt stuff. but she wanted to make it a legit business)
I was so fascinated by the wool discussion. It made me want to lodge a formal request for a show on dry cleaning. I feel there is a whole world there waiting to be uncovered.
I really enjoyed this episode, thanks Avery. I find it interesting that the fact that cashmere comes from a goat seems to be downplayed, perhaps because it is easier to imagine sheep in this idyllic environment. While I was doing my PhD in Minnesota, one of the half-retired faculty members in my department would host an annual party on his sheep farm south of the city. We’d get to see the sheep sheared, neighbors had yaks, it was all pretty small scale and closer to that idyllic image than I'm sure most of the industrial wool production system. And there would be lamb stew…. (I tended to opt for the vegan west African peanut stew but I did try to lamb once. It seemed only right somehow.)
But I also found the discussion of human hair and disgust very interesting. I've used human hair in my art, after seeing the reaction a friend's work that incorporporated human hair. At collage she cut hair to make a little extra money, and I remember one time she did a hair cutting session / performance in the student center as part of a collaborative performance. And I was struck by how affecting this was, even if (or because) the main affect was disgust. A few years later for a friend's 30 birthday, we had party guests create a collaborative canvas for the birthday boy, and one of the things I contributed to the canvas was dropping hair clipping (cut right then from my head) into the wet paint. Since then I’ve collected my own hair, something I did ritualistically during the first year for the pandemic, from which I’ve made little figurines as part of a project that pairs them with receipts…. I'm fascinated by detritus, particularly the sort that is constantly being generated but which almost immediately becomes refuse. So I refuse to waste it and found a non-useful use for it. But I hadn't considered how it might be used in ways that have actual utility, like making clothing.
Loved this episode, in large part because my husband and I—two childless adults—were also at the Queens Farm Museum that day for the sheep shearing festival! I wish I had seen you to tell you in person how much I enjoy Articles of Interest! And the shearer was just as you described him: competent, gentle, and so stinkin fast. Thanks for another great episode!
I’m a big fan of this podcast and also a big knitter and crocheted, so it was AWESOME hearing Clara Parkes in your podcast!
This episode made me think of a topic that doesn’t get mentioned a lot, but that I am hyper aware of as a crafter (also because C.Parkes has mentioned it in her writing): did you know that crochet is very time intensive, can be physically demanding, and cannot be machine made?
So when you see a crochet bucket hat or bag at a fast fashion retailer for $25... it really makes you think, who made that? How much time did it take? How did they get paid?
Some brands have gotten better at using embroidery and machine knitting to make it “look like” crochet, but whenever I see a true crochet piece at one of these stores... my heart breaks a little bit.
Love the podcast, I will be sharing and recommending as always!
It feels really weird how you just uncritically talk about the wool industry. You also take it for granted that sheep need to keep being bred and shorn by humans. Their lives are not this idyllic romantic painting of the humble shepherd alone in a pasture, but one where their lives are only worth as much as their wool. Lambs are mutilated, and males castrated in horrific ways. The industry norm is speed over any care of the sheep and this is all completely unnecessary. You rightfully question how ethical human hair can be, but when it comes to animal welfare it's a footnote and written off as "some" rather than the industry as a whole.
Being the mouthpiece for propaganda about commodification of these animals is certainly a strange role to elect for yourself. They are not getting small cutting nicks, but large strips of their skin, their tail, and ears are removed during this process. Shearers punch the animals and stomp them into position. Sheep consistently get broken bones from how brutal the shearers are.
Though I guess Clara Parkes is right. It's truly the vegans who are unethical. What can we do but to shear the sheep? We certainly cannot stop breeding them because that might make us choose other materials, and that would be disastrous financially.
There is no way to ethically obtain wool.
I had to return to this episode recently as I was reading the book "Life Ceremony" Sayaka Murata. Not knowing what exactly I signed up for reading the book, when the first short story opened with the main character wearing a sweater of human hair, I instantly thought of this episode! I was like wow this is so cool they know about this. The story then takes a more surreal turn with all the most expensive and high quality products in this world being made from human materials. They talk about bone tables or engagement rings. In the context of the world of the book, this is simply what is done with bodies after they die. The whole book is rather disturbing and bizzare and a bit introspective too, but I think it was quite funny how unprepared I was for the turn it would take because this episode had me less weirded out by the idea of human hair clothes then I might've otherwise
There are actually still sheep out there who shed their wool! So-called “primitive” breeds, especially Shetland sheep, can still be “rooed” - that is, their wool can simply be pulled or rubbed off (the sheep themselves will often rub against a fence or tree to help shed it). As a knitter and wool-spinner, I buy most of my fiber from a local farmer near me, who takes excellent care of her sheep and does actually roo some of them as well - it’s a characteristic she is breeding back into her flock. Just thought I’d add that in here.
Hi Avery
As an Australian, I found the conversation about wool garments a little immature. I see from the comments below that many of the comments are about cruelty to sheep in shearing and these are debates we definitely still have in Australia but we’ve generally moved on. Wool is really widely worn as a fabric here (even though it’s a hot country a lot of the time) and our focus has been on the carbon footprint and sustainability of the wool industry.
I recommend listening to episode 170 and 171 of the Wardrobe Crisis, talking about wool growing.
https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcast/2022/12/5/ep-170-down-on-the-farm-a-yarn-with-a-wise-amp-wonderful-woolgrower-determined-to-protect-native-grasslands
that part about sheep loving beeing sheered and we have a responsibility to sheer them was really uncritical and made me cringe. I don't know what the equivalent of 'greenwashing' for animals it, but it was that. Really romanasized viewm
Animals don't just exist and need to be sheered. They are breed. And also taking really good examples and use them for the whole industry is also difficult.
Sheep industry probably is of of the better ones compared to other livestock, but that doesn't say much. Especially because animal free variants are easily available.
Love the podcast. I don't really care about fashion, but you draw me in everytime. Keep it up.
Re: contemporary artists whose work sometimes involves human hair:
Angela Hennessy https://www.angelahennessy.com/
Diamond Stingily
Adam Milner
there was a woman on long island during WWII who was DETERMINED to make dog hair clothing a thing--this was during the rationing period.
i still wanna find one of these garments, just to see it. (yes, i know there's lots of dog hair stunt stuff. but she wanted to make it a legit business)
I was so fascinated by the wool discussion. It made me want to lodge a formal request for a show on dry cleaning. I feel there is a whole world there waiting to be uncovered.
I really enjoyed this episode, thanks Avery. I find it interesting that the fact that cashmere comes from a goat seems to be downplayed, perhaps because it is easier to imagine sheep in this idyllic environment. While I was doing my PhD in Minnesota, one of the half-retired faculty members in my department would host an annual party on his sheep farm south of the city. We’d get to see the sheep sheared, neighbors had yaks, it was all pretty small scale and closer to that idyllic image than I'm sure most of the industrial wool production system. And there would be lamb stew…. (I tended to opt for the vegan west African peanut stew but I did try to lamb once. It seemed only right somehow.)
But I also found the discussion of human hair and disgust very interesting. I've used human hair in my art, after seeing the reaction a friend's work that incorporporated human hair. At collage she cut hair to make a little extra money, and I remember one time she did a hair cutting session / performance in the student center as part of a collaborative performance. And I was struck by how affecting this was, even if (or because) the main affect was disgust. A few years later for a friend's 30 birthday, we had party guests create a collaborative canvas for the birthday boy, and one of the things I contributed to the canvas was dropping hair clipping (cut right then from my head) into the wet paint. Since then I’ve collected my own hair, something I did ritualistically during the first year for the pandemic, from which I’ve made little figurines as part of a project that pairs them with receipts…. I'm fascinated by detritus, particularly the sort that is constantly being generated but which almost immediately becomes refuse. So I refuse to waste it and found a non-useful use for it. But I hadn't considered how it might be used in ways that have actual utility, like making clothing.
Loved this episode, in large part because my husband and I—two childless adults—were also at the Queens Farm Museum that day for the sheep shearing festival! I wish I had seen you to tell you in person how much I enjoy Articles of Interest! And the shearer was just as you described him: competent, gentle, and so stinkin fast. Thanks for another great episode!
Hi there Avery!
I’m a big fan of this podcast and also a big knitter and crocheted, so it was AWESOME hearing Clara Parkes in your podcast!
This episode made me think of a topic that doesn’t get mentioned a lot, but that I am hyper aware of as a crafter (also because C.Parkes has mentioned it in her writing): did you know that crochet is very time intensive, can be physically demanding, and cannot be machine made?
So when you see a crochet bucket hat or bag at a fast fashion retailer for $25... it really makes you think, who made that? How much time did it take? How did they get paid?
Some brands have gotten better at using embroidery and machine knitting to make it “look like” crochet, but whenever I see a true crochet piece at one of these stores... my heart breaks a little bit.
Love the podcast, I will be sharing and recommending as always!