Exploring the Potential of Swedish Wool in Personal Protective Equipment

At Ejendals, innovation is closely linked to responsibility. As industries move toward more sustainable solutions, we continuously explore how protection, performance, and environmental considerations can go hand in hand. One such exploration is our participation in The Swedish Wool Initiative.

A Collaborative Initiative for Local Materials

The Swedish Wool Initiative is a collaborative project driven by Dalarna Science Park and Ax Foundation, with the ambition to find new, high-value applications for Swedish surplus wool that is currently underutilised. The initiative brings together expertise from different fields to explore how local, natural materials can play a role in future products.
 
As part of this initiative, Ejendals’ Industrial Designer, Anna Hedvall,  has contributed to an exploratory project focusing on PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) made with Swedish wool.

Within the project, Ejendals has developed a prototype using Swedish wool supplied by Ullkontoret. The prototype is manufactured using needle-felted wool produced by Nordifa, a material choice that allows for structure, durability, and thermal insulation.
 
The design explores how wool can help withstand high contact heat, while maintaining the flexibility and comfort expected in modern PPE.

The prototype has been evaluated through testing conducted in Ejendals’ internal laboratory.
The results indicate the potential of wool as a functional material in PPE designed for high-heat environments.

Learn more!

Discover more about the Swedish Wool Initiative by visiting their website.

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An Exploratory Step 

This work is about learning, testing, and exploring future possibilities. The prototype is one outcome of Ejendals’ involvement in The Swedish Wool Initiative and reflects a broader ambition: to investigate how local, renewable, and natural materials could contribute to the next generation of safety gloves.
 
Through initiatives like this, Ejendals continues to explore how innovation in PPE can evolve — combining safety, performance, and sustainability in new ways.


Click the link below to explore our product sustainability pages and learn more about the sustainable materials used in Ejendals products.

Ejendals - Sustainable Safety

Product Sustainability

At Ejendals, we design TEGERA safety gloves and JALAS safety footwear that protect not only the people who wear them, but also the world they work in. Product sustainability is our commitment to developing PPE with a smaller environmental footprint throughout its entire lifecycle—from material selection and manufacturing to durability, reuse, and end-of-life management.