Textile supplier Instyle’s dedication to sustainable and environmentally conscious products is no secret. Of its efforts, the 2004-launched LIFE Textiles® collection stands as one of the company’s most successful, being the first Australian textile collection to address the entire lifecycle from raw material through to product recyclability.

Shearing taking place at Bally Glunin, where the highly controversial method of mulesing is not allowed

At the core of LIFE Textiles® is the use of EthEco® wool, which is sourced exclusively from non-mulesed (mulesing is the removal of wool-bearing skin from part of the tail and breech area of sheep to prevent flystrike) sheep. This means that sheep are raised on holistically managed farms with the aim of improving animal welfare, human health and environmental care.
The rolling pastures of Bally Glunin Park are located near Hamilton, Victoria, Australia

Instyle sources wool from some of the leading woolgrowers in Australia for its EthEco® brand, one of whom is Michael Blake who runs the award-winning Bally Glunin Park near Hamilton, in the Western District of Victoria. In fact, Bally Glunin is the only property in Australia to receive accreditation of humane animal best practices for their on-farm animal management.

Instyle’s international distributors were invited to Bally Glunin for a first hand glimpse into how EthEco® wool is produced

Recently, a group of Instyle’s international distributors were privy to what goes on behind the scenes at Bally Glunin and how wool is harvested and produced for the LIFE Textiles® collection. Not only did they gain insight into the philosophy behind Blake’s farming methods, they also got to know more about the complexities of the fabric weaving and dyeing process.

Visitors also got to see how weaving is done in the factory

The final product is the vibrant Instyle’s LIFE Textiles® collection

“Wool is one of the best fibres for commercial applications. It has a high fire rating, great longevity and it dyes beautifully,” says Instyle’s national business manager Bronwyn Etheridge.

“While wool fabrics are becoming important again, the sustainable story of the products in the LIFE Textiles® collection sends out a powerful message about our commitment to the environment through the production of truly sustainable, natural products,” says Wick Wolfe from Unika Vaev, North America.

Instyle is distributed in Singapore by Infinity Pte Ltd and in Hong Kong by Carlene Cheong Ltd.