Japan's Aussie wool story

JAPANESE textile giant Nikke is planning to use the story of Australia's Great Dividing Range in a new campaign to promote Australian wool in their homeland.

Nikke, known as The Japan Wool Textile Company, is the country's largest end-user of wool, producing everything from school uniforms to suits for Emperor Akihito.

Chief executive and president Mitsuyoshi Sato was in Australia last month, scoping out potential ideas for a new Australian wool campaign.

Australian Superfine Woolgrowers Association (ASWGA) president Helen Cathles, who showed Mr Sato around several properties on the Southern Tablelands, said in the past Nikke had focused on New Zealand wool in the promotion of their wool brand.

When they expressed an interest in Australia, she suggested they consider the Great Dividing Range as it marked the start of the majority of the superfine woolgrowing country in Australia.

"They are after that story of provenance and you only need to look at a map of where the Australian shoreline was 400 million years ago to see it sits over all the area now where beautiful superfine Merino wool is grown," she said.

Mrs Cathles said traceability was important to Nikke with each of the school uniforms it produced fitted with a barcode that allowed it to be traced back to the exact property where the wool used for the garment was grown.

"All ASWGA members have their own numbers that the garments can be traced back to," she said.

"This is made possible as Nikke have the ability to scour, topmake, weave, knit and produce the final garment, hence, they can accurately pin point the origin of the individual woolgrower."

Source: http://www.stockjournal.com.au/news/agriculture/livestock/sheep-wool/japans-aussie-wool-story/2662899.aspx?src=rss

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