The Roseville Park team are backing RB Sellars’ Australian Grown campaign. Image – Jessica Howard.

WOOL grower and RB Sellars chief executive officer Jim Gall is all about making wool more accessible and Roseville Park Merino Stud principal Matthew Coddington agrees with the approach.

And this is embodied in the Victorian retailer’s new Australian Grown base layer performance-driven workwear range launched this week with Australian Wool Innovation’s marketing arm Woolmark.

“Wool is often positioned as a luxury fibre and we think wool needs to be more accessible than that,” Mr Gall told Sheep Central.

“So by providing an everyday product that they can wear when they are working, just means that you will sell more of them and customers will be more attuned to the versatility of wool.

“It’s not just about jumpers and suits anymore, we’ve seen a big change in the casualization of the workforce, whether that’s in the country or the city,” he said.

“And this product really demonstrates how flexible wool can be.”

Mr Gall said accessibility isn’t just about price, “it’s also about where people get it from.”

“We’ve got 20 stores across the country in local towns …. and for local people who are wool producers to be able to go down the street and buy an Australian Merino product hasn’t previously been accessible, but now is.

“So for me, accessibility is about, sure, price point, but it’s also about physical availability, where they can actually buy it from; that’s a big part of our strategy to support rural communities and open stores in streets that desperately need them.”

Mr Gall said Australian Merino wool has long been part of everyday life thanks to its unrivalled softness, durability and versatility, and the partnership brings the world-class fibre into a new generation of performance-driven workwear.

“We’re really trying to create a new pathway to base layers products so you can just wear your work shirt over the top of a base layer, which is a lot more comfortable.

The Australian Grown range includes long and short sleeve base layers for men, women and children, also Australian Merino polos and T shirts for men and women, and the company is working on work shirt and a denim products.

“At this first stage of our launch we are focusing on our base layers, polos and T-shirts,” Mr Gall said.

Campaign is putting Merino wool in the spotlight

The New South Wales wool-growing operation of the Roseville Park Merino Stud figures prominently in the campaign’s promotional material and principal Matthew Coddington said he believed the campaign will make wool more accessible by getting it back to grassroot farmers, “and selling out story, culture and national identify that got this country going.”

“I think this country has actually forgotten where it came from and how it was developed.

“This sort of promotion is bringing Merino wool, its farmers and companies like RB Sellars back into the spotlight.”

Mr Coddington said the collaboration between Roseville Park and RB Sellars represented a strong link between product innovation and the on-farm innovation of modern Merino breeding and wool growing.

He said he was recently in Vietnam with Woolmark licensees looking at the potential of new technology in mills, and in Peru to see how alpaca fibre is promoted as a cultural product “and selling the story behind it.”

“I come back to Australia and in the international airport there is the Ugg store selling NZ Merino and possum, I thought Merino has lost its Merino identity and its good that RB Sellars is bring that identity back to the forefront.

“We needs to see more products in Australian stores, even in our international airports again,” he said.

“It was embarrassing as an Australian to come back to the international airport and see that when I see what good work other countries are doing with their products overseas.

He and his team had worn the new base layer garments. They rated them as more breathable than other “over-priced” woollen base layer clothing.

RB Sellars CEO Jim Gall. Image – Jessica Howard.

RB Sellars, Woolmark and accessibility

Mr Gall said while performance fabrics like Australian Merino have traditionally been reserved for sport and outdoor pursuits, RB Sellars is bringing that same innovation to agriculture with NuYarn-powered base layers “that deliver breathable, durable, thermoregulating comfort from paddock to tractor.”

He said wool has also been positioned as a luxury and sustainable product, with most promotion done internationally through Woolmark.

“We had a good conversation with AWI and Woolmark about 18 months ago about how do we connect wool producers with the end garment, bring the shop to the sheep or the sheep to the shop and really tell the story of production.

“And that’s really the connection point here and AWI are really supportive of that,” he said.

“I think Woolmark as soon as they understood our story and saw what we did with Australian cotton …. we recalibrated our whole supply chain so that all of our cotton was traceable and that we told that Australian-grown story.

“And it lifted our sales by close to 30 percent in Australia and it really resonated that story that cotton growers felt celebrated and appreciated for the world-class product that they grow,” he said.

“From that perspective, I think Woolmark were really positive in terms of how can we help you take this to market and promote it, because it’s a great to show Australians and Australian wool growers that there is innovation in the industry and the industry has a future.”

Helping growers stay wool

Mr Gall the wool industry is currently dealing with some big issues.

“We’ve lost 23-24 percent of production over the last two years and a lot of people are getting out of wool because they don’t see a future in it.

“As a business that supports Australian farmers we think it’s really important that we do keep wool producers,” Mr Gall said.

“The prices are up, sheep prices haven’t been higher and the wool industry has a bright future, and given the supply-demand situation at the moment, wool is in big demand.

“So those that are in it, we want them to stay in it and we want to attract new people to produce wool as well – it’s an incredibly sustainable fibre and by being able to demonstrate it in a product selling back to farmers I think is a great way to say ‘yeah there is some exciting innovation coming’.”

Mr Gall said his family has been growing wool near Euroa since 1848 and he has been back on the farm for the past 15 years.

“And I’ve never had a wool cheque like I had last year, and it’s been a struggle to stay in Merinos.

“It would be a lot more attractive to move to meat breeds and just be focused on prime lamb production, but I’ve seen a big turnaround in the demand for wool globally.”

RB Sellars will also sell the Australian story overseas

RB Sellars also sells products in the United Kingdom and the United States and the company is also aiming to expand that market considerably over the next 24 months, he said.

“We’ll be telling the story of Australian farmers and Australian-grown fibres, and that circular story is incredibly valuable when farmers see it because it generates a great deal of pride.

“RB Sellars is not a massive retailers; we’re not a Uniqlo or a Azara, …. but we think we can take a lead role in terms of promoting the benefits of wool and the sustainability of the fibre,” Mr Gall said.

“We’ll be laser-focused on making sure that connection is made between the garment those that are producing it and the value that creates.”

Australian-grown focus can deliver value to growers

Mr Gall said RB Sellars’ focus is not necessarily about ‘Australian-made’ nor on using non-mulesed wool.

“Our focus really is on it being classical Australian Merino wool.”

The yarn spun with the New Zealand-developed NuYarn technology and the garments are manufactured in Vietnam, as are the company’s Australian-grown cotton work shirts.

“70 percent of the value in our garments is in the fibre.”

Mr Gall said he would like to have the ability to undertake more manufacturing in Australia.

“Our products aren’t at the top end of the market; they’re affordable quality, everyday wear, and in my view that’s wear wool can lift its volume and demonstrate its value to everyday consumers not just those wearing suits and high-end products.

“I’m thrilled that Woolmark has partnered with us in this initiative, because I think Australian-grown is the message that we want to share here for consumers everywhere.”

He said Uniqlo makes an amazing woolen jumper at a really good price.

“And that’s accessible to consumers all over the world, and I think that’s a great demonstration that wool volumes should be in higher demand.

“I think it is about Australian-grown and I that’s where the value is delivered to Australian wool producers; I can’t see us going into that higher priced space,” he said.

“If we were to manufacture here in Australia it would cost us a lot more, so the recommended retail price would be a lot higher, it wouldn’t be accessible, people wouldn’t buy it and then we wouldn’t sell the volume.”

NuYarn brings out Merino qualities

RB Sellars said its Australian Grown campaign centres on three priorities: creating high-performance garments for modern farm work, advancing Australian-grown fibres and technologies like NuYarn, and strengthening industry collaboration to support wool’s future.

According to NuYarn, its unique spinning technology does not twist the fibres, instead drafting wool fibres along a high performance filament resulting in two ply yarns with more volume and aeration.

Mr Gall said the NuYarn technology enabled products to perform better than a normal woolen product.

“It makes the product more durable, faster drying, better natural stretch, thermal regulation – it’s five times faster in terms of drying compared to conventional (spun) Merino.

“It’s about trying to find that technology that delivers the very best of Australian wool.”

Mr Gall said with NuYarn technology setting a new standard in workwear through advanced moisture control, RB Sellars is helping Australian farmers perform at their best in all conditions.

Woolmark managing director Bryan Fry said the partnership underscores the enduring value of Australian Merino wool, not just as a fibre, but as a symbol of Australian capability, care and craftsmanship.

“Australian Merino wool is a natural, renewable and biodegradable fibre, grown year after year on Australian farms and designed by nature to perform.

“Its natural odour resistance and moisture-managing properties help regulate body temperature and remain comfortable across changing conditions, making it perfectly suited to long days outdoors, whether on the farm, at work or on the move,” he said.