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Animal Fibers

Sheep Wool

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Sheep wool is still the most commonly used natural wool fibre. Besides cotton, sheep wool is a natural classic in our product range.

Due to its crimp, sheep wool has a cold and heat-insulating air cushion and can therefore balance temperatures very efficiently. Because of its high moisture regain, self-cleaning and its low flammability, sheep wool accomplishes the highest quality standards.

Our company has been processing sheep wool for mattress production since the early seventies. We offer various qualities and finenesses from different origins throughout Europe and the world. Additionally, we have washable wool, organic wool as well as GOTS certified wool.

As the first company in Germany, we were in the position to produce thermally bonded sheep’s wool by admixing of a binding fibre. Such nonwovens are suitable for the production of upholstery furniture, mattresses and insulation materials.

In return of a natural production process, needlepunched nonwovens can be named. For those nonwovens, we can also admix swiss stone pine chips. It is said that the wood of the swiss stone pine has a positive effect on the human recovery ability and the sleep quality.


Fine quality fibers

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Besides the more traditional nonwovens made from sheep wool, cotton or polyester, we have also specialised, for around 20 years, in fine quality fibres. The fine quality fibers element of our company portfolio covers the whole spectrum ranging from cashmere, alpaca and camel hair to silk, which are all characterised by excellent, luxurious product properties. Like sheep wool, fine quality fibers are temperature balancing, moisture regulating and fireretardant.

Camel hair for example is lighter, finer and softer than sheep wool. It can absorb up to 30 percent of its own weight in liquid and provides a dry and comfortable sleeping climate. The specific feature of camels is their adaptability to the extreme temperature variations of their habitat. In the dry areas and semi-deserts, their fur protects them both against cold up to -30°C and against heat up to +40°C.

Like other natural wool fibres, Camel hair can be either needlepunched, needlepunched on a carrier web or thermally bonded. A blending of different wool fibres with each other or with other materials is possible. If fine quality fibres such as camel hair are blended with other raw materials, a pretreatment is required to improve their blending capability.

Cashmere comes from a goat race which lives in the Himalayan mountains. Cashmere is very fine and has a very good heat retention going along with a low net weight. Cashmere is one of the most valuable natural fibers, which is why it is often blended with Merino wool or other sheep wool.


Silk

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Wild silk is extracted from the cocoon of wildly moths, not from cultivated moths. The most famous wild silk is Tussah silk from the Tussah moth, which originates from India but you can also find wildly living silk moths in China or Japan.

Besides the Tussah silk, we also have Eri silk in our raw material assortment which is organic and GOTS certified. Eri silk derives from the region Assam in India. The worms produce an open-end cocoon so that the moth can hatch without damaging the fibers.

Silk unites all properties for a healthy sleep. Due to its low density, it is light, soft and smooth. Silk has a high shape retention and is very skin-friendly. It can absorb up to 30 percent of its own weight in liquid and has a very short drying time. Therefore, silk is temperature balancing and moisture regulating which has the effect that the fibers are warming in winter and cooling in summer.

A blending with sheep wool is an additional support for the climate, also because of the bulkiness of the wool since silk is not very elastic.

Hans Höffele Industriewatte GmbH