Friday, May 13, 2022
CapitalPress.com 9
Pendleton Woolen Mills adapts to changing times, markets
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
PENDLETON,
Ore.
— Machines rumbled
and roared. Looms inter-
laced colorful yarns at right
angles to form cloth. People
scurried by, pushing tubs of
spools.
Here
at
Pendleton
Woolen Mills, the same
family has run the busi-
ness since 1909. More than
100 years later, Pendleton’s
brand remains popular, with
an online store and 35 retail
locations. The mill buys
wool from about 170 sheep
farms.
The operation’s endur-
ing
success,
industry
experts say, is tied to its
adaptability. The Bishop
family, which has run
Pendleton Woolen Mills for
generations, has adapted
to shifting wool produc-
tion and changing global
markets.
Some of the company’s
earliest designs, includ-
ing blankets inspired by
Native American culture,
remain best sellers. But
other aspects of the indus- John Boston, manager of Pendleton Woolen Mills’ Pendleton mill.
try have changed over the
century.
The introduction of man-
made fi bers in the 1880s
shrank wool’s share of the
textile market, especially
after polyester was invented
in 1941. Americans ditched
the itch of prickly wool for
softer synthetic fi bers.
According to a 2019
Textile Exchange report,
sheep wool makes up 1%
of global textile fi bers. By
comparison, polyester con-
stitutes 52% and cotton
24%.
Specifi c products have
also changed. According
to a 2021 study in Animal
Frontiers, a scientifi c jour-
nal, apparel wool used to be
popular as outer knitwear
or woven suits, but as the
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
American workforce has
become more casual, peo- A loom weaves or interlaces yarns at right angles to form cloth: in this case, a blanket
ple have bought fewer suits. designed by Pendleton Woolen Mills.
New opportunities, how-
ever, have opened, includ- wool buying department.
Livestock, Krebs Sheep the right kind of land. Ram-
ing growing markets for
Additionally, the pan- Co., Cunningham Sheep bouillets are built for arid,
next-to-skin knitwear and demic shifted consumer Co., Etcheverry Sheep rocky ranges.
“athleisure” wear made demands. Though consum- Co., Wixom Livestock,
“You pretty much have
with fi ne, small-micron ers have bought less work Noh Livestock, Five O to have sheep that fi t your
wool.
attire, Pendleton has seen Ranch and Ian Anderson land,” said Gutzman.
Although Pendleton uses demand spike for home Livestock.
Bishop, the company
coarser wool to create blan- goods including blankets,
Although the mill works president, said Pendleton
kets and rugs, the company rugs and décor and has piv- with ranches at any scale — will continue supporting
uses fi ner wool for next-to- oted to meet that demand.
buying a few fl eeces or buy- sheep farmers and adapting
skin clothing.
“COVID was good for ing them by the truckloads to the times.
New international mar- the home business,” said — Gutzman encourages
kets are also emerging, John Bishop, president of farmers with small fl ocks to
especially among Asia’s ris- Pendleton Woolen Mills.
pool their wool with others.
ing middle classes. Accord-
Consumers also increas-
Gutzman said farmers
ing to the Animal Frontiers ingly want “local” prod- should also be aware of
study, because wool is four ucts, and Pendleton Woolen market trends. For exam-
to seven times more expen- Mills is well-positioned to ple, U.S. consumers have
Coverage can
sive to produce and process tout that it sources wool been moving toward softer
than most fi bers, it’s mar- from many U.S. farms.
wool, 23 microns or fi ner.
keted internationally as a
Pendleton also buys
The domestic value of
luxury niche product.
from Australia, New Zea- fi ne wool from a white-
Wool has also found a land, Brazil and Uruguay, faced breed like a Ram-
place among eco-conscious but the company sources as bouillet is worth about
consumers avoiding man- much wool as possible — three to four times more per
made fi bers.
about 40% — from domes- pound than coarse black-
“I see the push for natu- tic ranches.
face sheep wool, according
ral fi bers as being good for
According to April Rog- to Gutzman.
the wool business,” said ers, Pendleton’s spokes-
Not every farmer can
Dan Gutzman, manager of woman, some longtime jump into the fi ne wool
Pendleton Woolen Mills’ providers include Krebs industry, however. It takes
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
Employees at Pendleton Woolen Mills in Pendleton,
Ore., work beside spinning frames, which take the
wool from the roving stage to the yarn stage by simul-
taneously drafting or stretching the roving and twist-
ing. This process entraps the fi bers and gives the yarn
strength and a defi ned texture.
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
Jaime Ramirez, a dresser at the mill in Pendleton, at the
warp. Dressing prepares threads for the loom.
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