GivinG
farmers a
fair cut and
investinG back
into Grassroots
We believe there is a simpler and fairer way to work
together with wool farmers, and that’s why we are
challenging the traditional UK wool sourcing systems.Farming sheep for wool has been one of the most effective
ways to create high quality and natural products with
incredible warmth, comfort and versatility.Brannach Olann is determined to take the knowledge passed
on through generations and use innovation to ensure a
buoyant and sustainable future for the wool industry.Since spending his school summer holidays working
in his family’s wool business, Alan Walsh has now
established the company ‘Brannach Olann’, and he is
working to turn the wool trade on it’s head.
ith his family having been in
the wool trade for years, Alan
Walsh is more than qualified to
talk about the industry, and as it stands, it
needs rejigging.
And this is exactly what Brannach Olann
is trying to do. By connecting companies
with a network of responsible wool
farmers, Brannach Olann looks to change
the current dynamic between farmers
and their buyers, and ensure that farmers
are paid what they are due for their raw
materials.
Speaking to SCRUM about the business,
Alan explained: “Farmers shouldn’t have
to struggle to make a living, but they
do because the current process, from
raw material to end product, is a bit
backwards.
“What we’re trying to do is get wool to be
used in different products by companies
and organisations that then pay the
farmers a premium. Historically, the
premium is applied at the wrong end of
the process meaning that the farmers see
little to nothing of it, but we want to flip
that on it’s head.
“It’s been met with a huge amount of
interest, and we’ve met with several
significantly sized businesses who love
the business model and the idea that the
farmer should receive a premium for their
materials.”
Part of the problem, as Alan sees it, is
that synthetic fibres like polyester and
primaloft have overtaken natural materials
like wool and cotton, and so he has also
made it his, and the company’s, mission
to alter the perception that natural fabrics
are significantly more expensive than their
man-made counterparts.
“We want wool to replace the synthetic
fibres that people are currently using in
their clothing, and change the way people
think about the products they buy,” Alan
said.
“We want to try and get natural products
to become consumers first choice again.
“Manufacturers use primaloft because it’s
easier to wash and it’s cheaper, but if they
used wool, the jacket would cost maybe
£2-3 more but it would automatically
become much more biodegradable, and
much more environmentally friendly.”
Indeed, the environmentally-friendly
nature of natural materials is helping
Brannach Olann in their fight to promote
wool, but the company as a whole aims to
operate in as green a way as possible.
To do so, the company is not only
investing in electric cars and machinery
to make their production process
more carbon neutral, but they are also
promoting a greener type of farming.
“We’re trying to establish a grazing system
and drive greener farming in Scotland,”
Alan revealed.
“If you look at the way it works in the
wild with beasts who are roaming free,
the grass can’t grow without them. Them
eating it, trampling it, and living on itkeeps the ecosystem’s life cycle going,
and what we’ve found is that using these
natural principles in farming helps to
improve the health of the land.
“They're already using this type of farming
heavily in Australia and New Zealand, and
it’s much more natural, and often, much
more effective,” he added.
“We’ve been taught that we need
fertiliser to grow grass, but if you just
mimic the conditions in the wild and that
natural process, it’s much better for the
environment, the beasts themselves and
the land you farm.”For more information:
07836 547 987
[email protected]
brannacholann.comW
BRANNACH OLANN WORKING TO LEVEL
THE PLAYING FIELD FOR FARMERS
96 • WWW.SCRUMMAGAZINE.COM • ISSUE 116 2019
RUGBY WORLD CUP - POOL GUIDE