The Story of Sisalwool

The Sisalwool Story

How It Began

Our founder, John, was in East Africa training alongside local farmers on how to cope with the effects of climate change. While in Tanzania, he discovered farmers had fields of a plant called Sisal. Pushed out by the dominant plastic industry, farmers had no way of processing or exporting the plant and its fibres.

Curiosity

In typical John fashion, this led him to ask a million questions: What are its properties? How can we use it? How can we export it? What can we create with it? Can we make it plastic free? He began with looking at geo-textiles, undertaking several research projects, including one with Edinburgh University School of Architecture in 2018.

Exploration

After examining the thermal properties of sisal, the results spoke for themselves and a decision was made. Sisal insulation was the answer. The next challenge? Sisal’s tough fibres weren’t exactly easy to work with. After 50 blends, we found the perfect pairing. Sisal and wool - combining strength, softness, and breathability.

Development

Through testing, iterating and testing again, we've been able to craft one of the market's lowest carbon, highest-quality sustainable thermal insulation products. The original blend was all virgin fibres, Zero Waste Scotland funded research for Sisalwool to try to produce the same product using fully recycled materials. And we did!

WhAT WE'RE MADE OF

Like every iconic duo, on their own sisal and wool are good. But together?

Amazing.

Our insulation blend is at minimum 80% sisal and wool and uses a fully recycled bi-co binder. But there’s more to the story than just numbers. Thanks to our smart material blend, Sisalwool doesn’t slump, sag or settle. It’s got a reliable friction fit, it’s fast to work with, and it’s easy to cut on site. All without the itch, synthetic binders, or plastic content of conventional insulation.

What is Sisal?

Sisal comes from the leaves of the agave plant. For centuries Sisal has been used across the globe to make ropes and rigging, especially for fishing boats, thanks to its incredible strength and water resistance. However, the growth of the plastics industry has seen it fall behind. In the pursuit of a circular economy, a large percentage of our sisal comes from used coffee sacks from roasters around the UK.

Our Wool

While the insulation properties stay the same from batch to batch, our wool comes from a variety of avenues, making each blend unique in its own way just like the buildings its used it. We make use of waste fibres known as noils; off-cuts from textiles, including denim, carpet and tweed; even Scottish Blackface sheep wool that’s too rough for clothing, but perfect for insulation.

Our Supply Chain

Creating a sustainable and circular economy is a huge part of what we do here. Ensuring a supply chain that promotes using materials that might otherwise be thrown away. That’s why we take the carpet and clothing offcuts and the used coffee sacks from roasters across the UK to create our Sisalwool slabs and Loftroll. And the offcuts of our products? We recycle them back into the circular economy.