Wool - a neglected raw material in Croatia

Abstract

Wool is a neglected raw material in Croatia despite many good properties and possibilities. The paper presents the number of breeding sheep, the estimation of the amount of wool by analyzing the data of the Croatian Agricultural Agency or the Unique Register of Domestic Animals. The total number of breeding sheep is 646751 various breeds and strains in small herds. This creates difficulties in determining quality or the uniformity in quality and reduces the range of applications in the textile industry. Despite the nonexistence of systematic collection, sorting and classification of wool, the unclassified domestic wool has properties that could be used for various products and areas of use, especially for applications in agronomy and construction, or in the field of technical textiles. By surveying sheep breeders valuable information on their thinking and unresolved issues of collecting, yielding and using wool was gathered.