ORIGIN OF WOOL SECRETARIAT

Press, Volume C, Issue 29513, 13 May 1961, Page 9

ORIGIN OF WOOL SECRETARIAT

Canterbury Link

The idea which led to the establishment of the International Wool Secretariat, an organisation with international promotion and research functions, was originated by two Canterbury men, Messrs Henry Acland and Bernard Tripp, a member of the New Zealand Wool Board, Mr C. H. Bethell, of Waikari, told the annual conference of the South Island Wool Association at Lincoln yesterday. Mr Bethell said that in 1936 they had suggested to the South African and Australian wool growers the desirability of setting up such an organisation. Although the secretariat was now increasing its expenditure on promotion and research, its spending was only “child's play” compared -with that of manufacturers of synthetic fibres, said Mr Bethell. Contributions of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand to the secretariat amounted to less than 2d a sheep in the three countries and only three-quarters of 1 per cent, of total wool income, whereas the big synthetic organisations were spending 5 per cent, of sale income on research and 5 per cent, on promotion. 10 Per Cent of Textiles

Wool only provided 10 per cent, of the world’s textiles, said Mr Bethell, but artificial fibre interests were “all out” to capture wool markets. "We must not allow the cost of wool to get too high or else people will want something cheaper," said Mr Bethell. He said, however, that the biggest blanket manufacturer in the United States, who had almost given up using wool, had gone back to pure wool after discovering in the last two months that a pure wool blanket eould be thrown into a washing machine without 4t coming to any harm. Another big firm manufacturing sweaters, cardigans and jerseys, which had also been using a high proportion of synthetics, had recently returned to pure wool, said Mr Bethell.