2023

Ruth Lindsey – NATURAL DALES WOOL PRODUCTS – Working directly with farmers, sustainable products manufactured from a sustainable fibre returning carbon to the land whilst paying farmers a fair and sustainable price.

Sustainable products made from Swaledale wool used for peat restoration and geotextile purposes, using needled wool felt and wool logs created from a felt bag stuffed with scoured Swaledale wool. https://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/first-wool-logs-laid-on-dales-peatland/

Jane Armstrong & Andy Guard – SOLID WOOL LTD – Solidwool is a unique sustainable composite material made with Herdwick and Welsh Mountain wool.

Using this natural, sustainable and beautiful fibre with bio-resin as the binder, made using either Herdwick or Welsh Mountain wool, these two beautiful materials are made using hardy wool fibres and each sheet displays the individuality and subtle differences found in the incredible wool

KIM STEAD – TWOOL (The Provenance Company (UK) Ltd) – Wool garden nets created from award-winning twine as an aid for flower and vegetable growing, and braid nets trialled for fishing nets and lobster pots.

Using a blend of rare breed Whiteface Dartmoor wool and a natural colourised wool, providing a route to market for Dartmoor farmers wool which is collected at source, achieving an incredibly strong and durable net which also has a natural granite colour. https://twool.co.uk/

2022

Kate Drury – sustainable wool rope from British farms for seaweed based industries

Wool rope offers an environmentally sensitive alternative to plastic rope, reducing micro plastic pollution and utilising a beautiful natural fibre. Read more about Sustainable Rope here…. https://sustainablerope.com/

Graham Hull – Wool Pots

Wool Pots have been created by Graham Hull and Tom Lind who were horrified to discover that over 500 million plastic plant pots were being sent to landfill in the UK every year because they are not recyclable.

Wool Pots have been created as a viable alternative to plastic pots and a huge benefit to the planet. Read more about Wool Pots here….. https://www.wool-pots.co.uk

2020

Robert Hodgkins & Joanna Franklin (Romney Marsh Sheep Farming)

Robert is a former Nuffield Scholar who, with his wife Jo, farms 800 acres of grazing and 1600 acres of arable land north of London. Two years ago they imported rams from New Zealand carrying the Myomax double gene for faster, meatier finishing which produced staggering results and they continue to build on this success.

Robert and Jo’s work focuses on improving the quality of Romney Marsh sheep wool using genomic markers through DNA testing, to identify which sheep have the best weight of fleece and those with the best quality wool, with the intention of improving the whole Romney flock and ultimately giving other sheep farmers the opportunity to incorporate these genetics in order to sell better quality and quantity of wool.

The Prize will enable them to expand the DNA profiling of his flock of Romney sheep with a documented breeding programme.

Gary Hurlstone (NexGen Tree Shelters)

Gary Hurlstone is the Founder and Managing Director of NexGen Tree Shelters, a company manufacturing totally biodegradable tree shelters made from wool. NexGen tree shelters will replace plastics which are currently used in millions of tree shelters annually.

Working with BMP as a partner in the manufacturing process,Gary’s aim is to claim a significant share of the world market for tree shelters and his vision is to see wool tree shelters replacing plastics worldwide in five years. The prize will enable Gary to develop his company further by launching the first large scale production run.

2019

Sarah Turner

Sarah is the founder of Little Beau Sheep. Little Beau Sheep celebrates the best of British wool through a unique range of hand-made laundry and body care products. From signature wool laundry dryer balls to felted wool soaps and laundry fragrance, the collection offers an innovative eco-friendly take on everyday cleaning tasks. What is Sarah doing now – Click here to read more

2018

Caroline Hodgson

Caroline Hodgson is currently studying for her Master’s Degree in the School of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Huddersfield following an early career in fashion and home furnishings. What is Caroline doing now – Click here to read more