​Wool Insulation Wales Ltd – Smart Insulation Naturally 

TrueWool loft insulation roll, a naturally smart insulation made from 100% sheeps wool, from Wool Insulation Wales is now available on the Celtic Sustainables website. 

We are thrilled to announce that we are the exclusive retail partner for Wool Insulation Wales.

Wool Insulation Wales Ltd was founded by two female entrepreneurs, Ruth-Marie Mackrodt and Mair Jones. They worked closely with universities in Wales and other organisations like British Wool and Gwnead â Gwlân (Made with Wool) to bring their first product, TrueWool Loft Insulation, to market. 

Ruth was actually a customer of ours when she first moved to Wales. Looking for environmentally friendly products to renovate her new home in a sustainable way she naturally found Celtic Sustainables. During her 30+ years’ of working in the finance, property and construction sectors she was very much aware of the problems with “mainstream” manmade insulation products (health and safety when installing and disposal in landfill at end of life for example). 

Mair comes from a multi-generational sheep farm and is passionate about using her wool to meet the demand for traceable, local, bio-based construction products within the growing decarbonisation and circular economies. She believes her wool (and that of her fellow Welsh farmers) is a valuable product that can support the UK's journey towards net zero emissions.

Mair says: 

“Here in Wales, we make the best wool for insulation. Our sheep grow this stuff on the hills. They use it to protect themselves and shield them from the weather. They use it to insulate themselves. As well as keeping the heat out in the summer, it keeps the heat in in the winter.” 

30 million sheep are sheared in the UK every year making it a local and renewable raw material. Shearing takes place for animal welfare purposes (albeit as an essential part of the meat industry). 

Smart Insulation Naturally

Studies conducted by research organisations for Wool Insulation Wales have found that wool from Welsh Mountain Sheep in particular (a breed of sheep synonymous with the Welsh Hills) has some of the best insulation values compared with wool from other sheep breeds. This coarse wool has an increased crimp to the fibre helping trap more air. In construction terms this smart technical fibre has a high Specific Heat Capacity. It is a naturally smart insulator.

It’s perhaps not that surprising, as for over 10,000 years, sheep in the Welsh hills have evolved to survive in harsh environments, making their wool an incredibly efficient thermal insulator. Wales is a notoriously rainy place, often with all season’s weather in one day, but sheep's wool can handle dampness and humidity like no other insulation material on the market. Not only that, but wool can absorb up to 30% of its weight in water without losing its thermal value. No wonder the Welsh Mountain Sheep are happy on the Welsh hills whatever the weather – rain, snow or shine!

Currently all the wool for  TrueWool Loft Insulation is Welsh Mountain Sheep wool sourced from Welsh farms. There are plans to purchase Northern Irish, Scottish and English traceable wool over the coming months.

Decarbonise the Construction Industry

“In Wales we produce over 6 million kilos of wool every year and by using it in the construction sector we will be using large volumes of Welsh wool and helping decarbonize the indoor built environment with a product that is natural, sustainable and renewable.”

Mair Jones, speaking at TPAS Cymru.

Low Embodied Carbon

The embodied carbon within TrueWool loft insulation is significantly lower than any man made alternative, which is very important when we're trying to build carbon negative homes. Indeed, according to study of insulation materials conducted by Cardiff University in 2019 sheep’s wool has a carbon footprint of less than 5% of glass and stone "wools".

Truewool® has been featured as a  case study on the United Nations – Sustainable Development Goals website. It has been recognized for its unique approach in supporting the circular economy and creating a sustainable product.

Locking up Carbon

Wool is a carbon store. Carbon makes up 50% of the weight of clean wool (compared to 40% for cotton). This carbon is obtained from the grasses and other plants that wool sheep eat. 1kg of clean wool equates to 1.8 kg of CO₂ stored.

Wool Insulation and the Circular Economy

Followers of the site 38degrees.org may have seen the petition created in October 2020 to use  British Wool in Insulation and Carpeting in public financed buildings. The reason being that farmers often use the clipped wool as compost for their fields. The current economics just don’t make sense. Sheep farmers pay more for shearing the sheep than they get from selling the wool so understandably decide to cut their losses and use it as a fertiliser instead.

It’s just common sense to use the wool in the best products in the UK and to ensure that the farmers get a good price for the wool so that animal welfare standards stay high. Wool can then be composted and used as a fertiliser at end of life rather than while it is a natural smart raw material. Did you know that wool is so smart it is even used for clothing astronauts aboard the International Space Station?

Wool Insulation Wales buy the wool for all their insulation through the British Wool Traceability Scheme. They therefore know the exact farms that the wool has been grown through on. The scheme also allows them to pay the farmers an additional premium for their natural wool harvest. This supports the principles of circular economy thinking, where instead of a “take-make-waste system”, we manage resources, how we make products and what we do with them at end of life in a way that benefits the environment while also addresses important social needs.

Natural Insulation in the Construction Industry 

The 38degrees petition made some impact. The Welsh Government, in late 2020 made a commitment to use more British Wool in government buildings. 

Together Ruth and Mair have a plan to shake up the insulation market and to ensure that all players get the best deal possible. In 2023, Wool Insulation Wales Ltd received the 'Welsh Start-Up of the Year' award in the 'Building & Construction' category at the National Start-Up Business Awards. This award was given to recognize the company's dedication to supporting the construction industry's efforts towards the decarbonization of the built environment, along with their research and development activities. They plan to make the best natural home-grown pure wool insulation and have big plans for further 100% British Wool insulation products. 

We are thrilled to join them at the beginning of their retail journey with the TrueWool Loft Insulation. 

TrueWool insulation is available in two widths: 400mm and 600mm, with a thickness of 50mm and comes in 10 meters long rolls. 

Currently, the insulation rolls are machine needle felted into insulation rolls in the UK. Wool Insulation Wales will be adding thicker rolls to their range in the coming years. Watch this space! In the meantime, it is perfectly fine to add more layers of TrueWool insulation to the loft space to increase the depth of insulation.

You can purchase  TrueWool on our website. We deliver to the whole of the UK whether you just need one roll or many pallets of insulation! 

We are always happy to quote for larger projects and to trade particularly where knowing the provenance of the wool is desirable. Just contact us with the details of your project and will do our best to fulfil your needs.