SCANDINAVIA NEEDS WOOL

Chronicle (Levin), 7 June 1947, Page 5

SCANDINAVIA NEEDS WOOL

s. 0 (Speeial Correspondent.)

lieceived rridav, t p.m. LONDON, June 6. M r. R. G. Lund, New Zealand repre sentative on the International Wooi Secretariat, saw New Zealand woo. being used in some remote plaee> during his reeent visit to Scandinavian countries. At Tammenfors in Finlanu he watqjked it being made into blau kets for paper milling machines and ai Dale in Norwav be saw it being wovei. with Norwegian wool to niake gooil (juality worsted. in toiir weeKs -Mr. Lund viisteci Denmark and Sweden as well as Nor way and Finland. 1 1 is purpose was t meet the people in each country en gaged in the wooj industry, especialL manufacturers and to ascertain the ex tent whereto the secretariat could usefully expand its activities. "There is no question at all that thc people in this part of the world are hungry for wool," he said on his rcturn to London. "All four countries had lieen virtually cut oft" from wool sup plies during the war and had to usv wlnit little wool they produce them selves. Sweden imported some supplies from South America. The result was that cloths had been made of all kinds of niixtures and artificial libres and there was now a powerful public reaction in favour of all-wool cloth. AU these countries are now importing something like three times more rnw wool than tliev did pre-war aml a largc percentage of it is not going into' stock but it being used for current produc tion. ' ' .Sweden had the niost highly dc veloped wool industries in Scandinavia and lier mills and equipment were prob ably as good as anv i.n the world, he added. Swedish manufacturers were progressive in outlook and had been conducting propaganda very similar to what the secretariat was endeavouring to do on a world scale. Tliev were also giving great attention to research and a fine new laboratory was recently complcted at Gothenburg. The other three countries had all been cut off from the rest of the world for the past seven years. Norwav and Denmark had been occnpied and Fin land was an enemy belligerent, with the result that tliey were not fully a--quainted with all the nioderu processes und linishes for wool. "I feel that the secretariat can do important work in these three countries by demonstrating to their manufacturers some of the new processes that are being so widely adopted in England and America," said Mr. Land. "Clotlies rationing is st411 in force in all the countries except Sweden wheie all goods are freely available and the standard of living is higli. I feel that in Sweden the secretariat can do good work in eollaborating with manufacturers who themselves are enthusiastic for higli quality nvaterials."