The California Wool Mill: A New Model for Making Fabric
The Study Team:• Amber Bieg, MBA – Green-Ideas • Dustin Kahn - Fibershed• Rebecca Burgess - Fibershed
Funders: • Lorene Arey, Clara Fund• Don Shaffer, at Rudolf Steiner Foundation• John Wick and Peggy Rathmann• Heather Blackie, Blackie Foundation
Research Support:• Key Contributors: Lydia Wendt, Marcia de Longe, Jenny Kassan, and Erin Axlerod • Processing: Dan Rhodes of Gaston College, Amaury De La Forcade of NSC, Lynda
Grose of California College of the Arts• Supply: Mike Corn of Roswell Wool, California sheepherds and rangers, farmers,
shearers and everyone who answered the surveys• Demand: Designers and apparel brands who answered our survey and interviews
Outline
Introduction
Supply Analysis/Inventory
Demand Analysis
Mill Operations and Site Feasibility
Mill Financial and Environmental Performance
Economic and Community Impact Analysis
Conclusion and Recommendations
INTRODUCTION
Human Textile Culture
High Tech
Craft
Synthetic garment fibers are the greatest source of plastic pollution on the world’s beaches(NY Times, 2011)
20% of global water pollution is
from textile dyeing and treatment
(World Bank, 2013
Child labor and forced
labor still are problems in
the textile supply chain
Culture of Sheepherding at Risk
It’s time for a new model . . .
Sheep to Chic
SUPPLY ANALYSIS
CA Wool Inventory Quantity
Total inventory = 1.4 million lbs. of wool, 44.8% of total CA supply
CA Wool Inventory Quality79% is fine enough to wear next to skin!
CA Wool Inventory Color and Usability
Breeding needs to be optimized for fineness and color diversity!
Flock Size and Wool Quality
DEMAND ANALYSIS
Consumers want local and domestic
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700 Willingness to pay 25% or more price markup for local
Source: Iowa State University, Allan Ortiz 2010
In a NY Times Survey, 68% of respondents preferred products
made in the U.S. and were willing to pay
more!
Re-shoring is already happening
How much it costs to make a hoodie. Representative wholesale costs, according to Bayard Winthrop, the founder of American Giant. Source: New York Times, September 19, 2013.
“LA’s Single brand can turn around 800 silk print dresses for Neiman Marcus and Lord & Taylor in as little as two weeks, now that 90% of its production is done at home with only a $1/dress price difference, with quality control and timing much better (Los Angeles Times, 2011).”
Recommended Products
4.5 oz. knit fabric, 60"
wide on bolt
8 oz. knit fabric, 60"
wide on bolt
12 oz. knit fabric, 60"
wide on bolt
4.5 oz. seamless garment
8 oz. seamless garment
20 oz. knit fabric, 60"
wide on bolt
Addressable Market
Consumers
LOHAS
Brands
Total Addressable
market = $14.7 billion
$331 billion US Apparel Market
$290 billion LOHAS market
$36 billion in CA
textile/apparel market
$14.7 billion CA brands
textile market
Potential Customer Research
“Made in California taps into our original roots. As a company based out of Berkeley and tied very closely with California culture, we believe that Made in California will mean a lot to our customers.”
– KRYSTLE MOODY, THE NORTH FACE
“Localized production is important. I would love to see regional textiles from Northern California.”
– SCOTT LEONARD, INDIGENOUS
“We pride ourselves on quality: quality of fiber, yarn and fabric. We source from the best of the best. We would be interested in sourcing from California, especially if we can lower our footprint, without lowering our environmental and quality standards.”
– RYAN THOMPSON, PATAGONIA
Customer Needs
“We are interested in sourcing from California for quicker turn-around time.” – JUICY COUTURE
MILL OPERATIONS AND SITE FEASIBILITY
The Greasy Wool to Garment Process
Wool Aggregation
Cutting and
Sewing
Wool fabric milling
The Equipment
Scouring
Combing
Spinning
Knitting
Areas of Research and Development
Enzymatic Superwash Natural Dyes
Bast Fiber Blends Colored Wool Blends
Production VolumesYield Post-ScouringBased on current wool
supply and growth projections
BATCH SIZES
Conceptual Design 85,000 square feet, 97% renewable energy, 100% water recycling
Facility
Closed Loop Milling System
Water Use
Water Recycling System
Energy
Energy Use
Solar vs Grid
Heat and Cooling Systems
Solar Hot Water Heater
Geothermal Heat Pump
System
Waste
MILL FINANCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
Profitability
Profitability
Revenue
Capital Costs and Expenses
86%
Per Unit Margin
Location Performance Comparison
Life Cycle Analysis
Scenarios• 1. Conventional realistic• 2. Conventional optimistic• 3. Fibershed Soil Neutral• 4. Fibershed geothermal mix• 5. Fibershed geothermal• 5. Fibershed solar• 7. Fibershed Compost and
Solar
Life Cycle Analysis
Multi-Stakeholder Coop & DPOThe nonprofit
Fibershed
Ranchers (producers)
Designers and artisans
(consumers) The mill workers
Mission-aligned supporters (investors)
Initial Funding
Start-up financing from foundations and impact investors
USDA grant funding
Co-op member equity contributions
Direct public offering (DPO) of preferred stock
What are the next steps?
Prototype & Test Market Viability
Mill Business Plan
Design and Build Mill
Step #1
Prototype• Use existing US milling
facilities to produce fabric using California wool.
Test Market Viability• Sell the prototype fabric.
Thank You
For questions or comments, please email Amber Bieg
amber (at) californiacloth.com
BIBLIOGRAPHY