‘Wear Wool, Not Fossil Fuel’ is the striking new global campaign for The Woolmark Company concepted and produced collaboratively by 20something, Park Village and Studio Birthplace, and directed by Sil van der Woerd and Jorik Dozy.

Do you know where your clothes come from? Wondering about their environmental impact? Every 25 minutes, an Olympic pool’s worth of crude oil is used to produce synthetic clothing, which amounts to almost 350 million barrels a year.

Beautifully shot in the remote wilderness of South Africa, ‘Wear Wool, Not Fossil Fuel’ aims to educate consumers about the hidden impact of synthetic fabrics on the environment and how choosing natural fibres such as wool can be a solution to reducing fashion’s impact. 

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Sil van der Woerd & Jorik Dozy | Directors | Studio Birthplace

"We're in the middle of a climate emergency and as filmmakers we believe it is our responsibility to tell the most important stories of our time. To make the invisible visible. Did you know that about 70% of all clothes today are made from synthetics? That's another word for oil. We're literally wearing oil.

The fast fashion industry uses 2.5 million litres of it every 25 minutes. Big numbers like these are often hard to comprehend and therefore we struggle to connect with them. Using film to visualise big data in ways we can relate to it will help us come to grip with the reality of our consumer culture. Change starts with awareness and with every film or piece of content we create, we push to work towards a more sustainable future for our planet”

Adam Booth, Managing Partner, Park Village: “Woolmark approached Park Village and Studio Birthplace off the back of our work with Greenpeace, and we immediately knew we needed the expertise of 20something’s incredible creative and strategic team to guide the process. This project was conceived through Agency & Production working together from initial pitch through creative ideation and its success couldn’t have been accomplished without the skill, dedication and expertise of all the partners involved working together with a singular vision. The result is a culmination of over a year’s work to produce a 360 campaign producing AV, DOOH, Stills and a fashion week activation. We couldn’t be happier to translate the client’s important ecological message, in an attempt to help turn the tide on synthetic fast fashion”.

Fran Docx, strategy partner, 20something: “Back in 1980, our wardrobes were filled with natural materials like cotton, wool and cashmere. These natural materials made up 60% of the market, far outstripping the relatively new polyester and polyamide alternatives. The rise of fast fashion, Instagram outfit culture and turbocharged consumerism has seen a wholesale shift in what lurks in our wardrobes. We rarely make a wider ecological connection between clothes, the fibres they’re made of, and the impact on the planet. Our ambition for our work with The Woolmark Company, is to address that and raise awareness of the alternatives to synthetic fabrics.”