A KING Country business is looking to tap into a US$51 billion market, comprising the manufacture of nappies, with the rest made up of feminine hygiene and adult incontinence products using wool.
A SHEEP farmer’s daughter from Mōkau has formed a company preparing to supply New Zealand wool to the multi-billion dollar international nappy market. All going to plan, sales for Woolchemy NZ’s nappy venture could reach $US400 million within the next 10 years, an audience of wool industry leaders heard at the Taumarunui RSA late last month. Derelee Potroz-Smith was outlining the rise of her company to about 30 delegates who had gathered to discuss the sustainability of strong wools, at the meeting staged by the Taumarunui Land Management Group. The company is looking to raise $5-$10 million dollars next year in order to take on international markets.
BREAKTHROUGH Derelee told those gathered that New Zealand wool was becoming a breakthrough ingredient in an industry worth just over US$100 billion dollars annually. About US$51 billion of this comprised the manufacture of nappies, with the rest made up of feminine hygiene and adult incontinence products. She had spent the past 10 years researching the properties of wool, examining its best commercial uses and promoting it to nappy manufacturers and others. “We wanted to utilise the existing properties of wool rather than seek to change it into an entirely new product,” Derelee said. “The seed was planted 10 years ago when Angela (my mother) and I were brainstorming types of products that would demand a huge volume of wool on a regular basis and consumers would buy regularly, even in an economic crisis or pandemic. As I was changing my son’s nappy, the ‘ah ha’ moment came that we should put wool into hygiene products. “We discovered that nappies contain plastic equivalent to one cup of crude oil and so our mission has been to eliminate single-use plastic and help international brands to make products good for people and the planet.
HIGH PERFORMANCE “We have worked with scientists and material engineers from New Zealand and around the world to create our high-performance materials that perform better or at parity to synthetic textiles.” Research also revealed petroleum products made up 80% of disposable nappies, while nappies themselves represented about a third of all trash discarded in landfills. Meanwhile, wool as an additive increased comfort and liquid absorption and helped suppress the ammonia smell from urine. “Research is ongoing, but we expect to be able to demonstrate that infants wearing nappies using wool will be shown to sleep better,” Derelee said. “Replacing fossil fuels in materials in a single use product is the most obvious benefit. But wool offers other innate benefits that no other natural or synthetic fibre can deliver without adding unnecessary chemicals. “Specifically, it’s the ability for wool to keep a baby dry and warm when they are wet and natural odour neutralising properties which is most important for adult incontinence products. “We’ve learned the materials in hygiene products become very cold after wetting and we believe this is a major reason for babies waking up during the night.
GAME CHANGING “One layer of Woolchemy’s neweFlex material is enough to insulate against temperature fluctuations in nappies. “These game-changing benefits bring much-needed innovation to the global hygiene market, which is worth US$112 billion dollars annually.” Those gathered heard that just a gram of wool was needed for each set of diapers; some of it would be added to products using only materials which were recyclable, while some would be added to nappies still using petroleum-based products. However, Derelee expected that the latter would eventually fully transition to being 100% recyclable.
RETURNS TO FARMERS She could not answer the all-important question of what Woolchemy NZ Ltd would pay for their wool but there was expected to be a premium for the fact that it had to be higher quality and a uniform length. Firm pricing would be delivered as soon as possible. “We haven’t finalised development on our product and therefore we haven’t arrived at the full cost of manufacture yet. Farmers will be offered contracts and the final price will be determined on the quality of the wool fibre output. “What I can say is that the price we offer will be significantly higher than what farmers are being offered currently and will increase as we scale Woolchemy and as the fibre quality output increases.” “We do understand that if we want quality it has to be profitable for farmers.” She explained that Woolchemy NZ Ltd was tapping into a vast movement in the US comprising parents alarmed at the prevalence of microplastics in the environment. At present all of us were ingesting about a credit card-sized quantity of plastic per week,” she said. Part of the requirement for supplying wool to Woolchemy NZ Ltd was traceability. “We want to tell the wool growers’ story to our customers and part of that is being able to tell them exactly where our wool comes from.” ENORMOUS ENERGY Derelee said she was a King Country girl herself who had worked as a rousey in the father’s shearing shed at Mōkau. The company she had formed had taken 10 years and an enormous amount of energy to establish. But the original aim of securing better returns for the “fantastic product grown by New Zealand sheep farmers,” was now coming to fruition. What kept Derelee going through the tough times? “My passion to have a positive impact on the world. I think about the world I want to leave to my children; a world without microplastic pollution in the air and our waterways. At the heart of it all is my determination to give back to the rural communities which has taught me resilience, hard work, and love of nature.” How useful to her present role was her “grassroots” background on a Mōkau sheep farm? “My best memories are from the woolshed even though it was the toughest times too. Wool provided a comforting pillow to sleep as a child amongst the noise, the lanolin healed grazes and cuts in our hands, we respected the land and animals that provided for our livelihoods and in the woolshed, we worked together as a family in harmony. In difficult times, I go back to those memories to remind myself what I’m working for.” SOLUTIONS NEEDED What was Derelee’s message to wool farmers down over recent poor returns for wool? “The world needs renewable solutions to solve the plastic waste and pollution problems from single use products. Never has there been a better time to use wool to positively impact our environment and the wellbeing of people around the globe. Out of all of the fibres in the world, wool has the most complex structure which means it can be useful for many other applications that we have not yet discovered. “When I talk to farmers who ask how can they help, I ask them to think about what they can do on farm to make a difference to improve the wool fibre colour, reduce the vegetable matter content, to eliminate contaminants and how they can integrate sustainable and regenerative farming practices that nature deserves. Just one small change can make a huge difference. “ In thanking Derelee for her speech, the facilitator of the gathering, Taumarunui farm consultant Geoff Burton, said his members were impressed at the innovation of the venture. “We’re saying we have the product, we want to produce it and how can we make that happen. And when it does happen how the hell are we going to produce all the wool that you want,” Geoff said.
