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Mohair fibre - Better than wool
Mohair fibre - Better than wool!
Mohair - Better than wool!
Wool is great but mohair is better. Our products are unique in that we combine the lustre, strength and durability of mohair fibers with wool to give the product better form.
Surf mohair socks on the internet and you will find that mohair and synthetics (nylon) are mostly equal parts of the make-up. Not Alles Mooi, we use wool for form and the bare minimum of synthetics.
In our traditional processes we have come to know that mohair combines beautifully with wool, cotton and bamboo, hence we only use the bare minimum of synthetics where needed.
We chose to import mohair products from South Africa for a number of reasons.
1. We used to have the best rugby team in the world but we still have the best Angora goats in the world.
2. South Africa has the largest number of Angora goats in the world. This volume helps us achieve the greatest value in our mohair products.
3. South Africa is a significant producer of quality Merino wool which we add to our mohair products. Having both these natural fibers in the country of origin makes our quality affordable.
4. We are proudly South African and we are proudly Slovene.
Mohair fibers are smooth and don’t trap bacteria which cause smells. In our next “latest news” we will feature the outcome of a competition to see who could wear their socks the longest without a need to wash them.
Unique Qualities of Mohair
Lustre … Mohair’s natural lustre gives garments a silky sheen.
Lightweight … The fabric is luxuriously lightweight and renowned for its cool in summer and warm in winter versatility.
Dye – Responsive … Mohair retains even the most brilliant of dye colours.
Durability … Because of mohair’s pliability, mohair is rated as one of the world’s most durable natural fibres.
Climate Control … Mohair breathe, absorbing and releasing atmospheric moisture to ensure optimal comfort.
Crease Resistant … Mohair innate elasticity ensures products hold their shape. Mohair can be stretched up to 30% of its normal length and still spring back into shape.
NON – Flammable … Mohair is inherently flame resistant.
Passionate about Angora goats
Recently a grossly misleading report was published about the cruelty to goats which in due course will be proven to have been willfully constructed for purposeful advantage of alternate groups.
The immediate impact was significant and unfortunate but in all such instances the revelation of the truth will eventually outweigh the harm it caused. The truth always prevails; already the noise level by groups carrying misrepresented messages on cruelty to goats has waned.
Social media has numerous advantages but equally it is a platform to easily spread biased and false information for personal gain. Without the opportunity of debate it is understandable that readers quickly adopt a binary thought process and opinion.
What do we mean by a binary evaluation of social media reporting? There are a multitude of impacts in any decision; good leadership carefully evaluates all outcomes and decides on a balance of benefit vs. compromise.
Any cruel treatment of animals is inexcusable and cannot be tolerated, but when there are significant consequences of a report it is incumbent to validate the data knowing the harm that any false or biased information would cause.
For example, did you know that if Angora goats were not shorn that there coats would grow that long that they risk to be caught up in the thorn bush of their habitat, suffering a painful and drawn out death.
Did you know that the mohair industry creates thousands of jobs for rural communities who risk increased poverty if the only industry they know failed them?
How many farmers do you know? Of these farmers do you know any who do not take care of their animals or who do not love their animals? What is the logic in farmers being cruel to animals on whose livelihood they depend? To be a farmer you must have a love for nature and animals.
A perspective that I avoid making for risk of misinterpretation or purposeful misinterpretation is that commercial value contributes to saving animal species. Would there be sufficient purpose to keeping and caring for animals (not pets) if they had no commercial value? I am not aware of adequate donations from the keyboard activists needed in the absence of commercial value to save species.
At Alles Mooi we love our animals and our planet. We care for our animals and our planet. We know that the first time shearing experience of a kid goat can be unsettling so we take special care of the kids in this first “shear”. Would it be proper not to shear a goat because the first shearing could be a little traumatic? Would it be proper not to take a child to the dentist because it would be traumatic?
Recent ambassadors for mohair socks are people that originally were misled by false reporting that goats were cruelly treated. They were overwhelmed by guilt of assuming that reports were accurate and for not giving consideration to the overall impacts that they now voluntary promote mohair products.
If you ever doubted the existence of false reporting then take time to google and read how Britain’s most audacious public relations firm was contracted by the Gupta family to spread racial tension in South Africa in order to distract attention away from them and onto their many enemies. False reporting purposefully destroyed the reconciliation of a nation that took place in the 20 years preceding.
There are many reasons to love wearing mohair products, not only the overriding benefits and features of mohair, but that natural products are beneficial to our planet and our animals. It is not in our make-up to comment on the impacts of synthetics and the plastics pollution; whether or not oil companies are sponsoring activists; or the water needed to grow cotton because we simply do not know all the facts.
Loose lips sink ships. It is important to future generations that those responsible for false and willful misreporting are held accountable for their actions. What messages do children take from growing up without learning that their actions have consequences?
A final word on disingenuous reporting. At the end of Apartheid in 1994 I believed that it would take 2 generations to put aside those injustices and to live in harmony. Seeing the reach that a few persons achieve on social media playing the racist card for their personal gain makes me doubtful about the future of a country and people that I love so much.
The South African Mohair Story
The founding of the mohair industry in South Africa was a stroke of good fortune after the Sultan of Turkey sent twelve infertile Angora rams and one ewe to South Africa in 1838. Unknown to the Sultan , the ewe was pregnant and gave birth to a ram kid on route, establishing the Angora breeding stock in South Africa.
These beautiful gentle animals ultimately found their way to the Karoo region of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, where flocks of Angoras are now farmed. Angora goats thrive in the Karoo, with its combination of hot, dry summers, cold winters and semi-desert vegetation.
We love our goats and our goats love us. Angora goats are shorn twice a year and are not harmed in any way during the process. The combination of best practice farming and best environment for Angora goats has set South Africa part. South African mohair is globally acknowledged as one of the finest natural fibres money can buy.
Mohair Socks
Mohair is a strong, elastic fibre, has considerable luster (some call it the “diamond fiber.”) and takes dye very well. It is very similar to wool in chemical composition but it differs from wool in that it has a much smoother surface and a very thin and smooth scale.
Mohair comes from the fleece of angora goats.
Other properties of mohair:
- No other fibre will keep your feet as warm in the cold and as comfortable in the heat as mohair will. This is because of the superior thermoregulation properties of mohair.
- No other fibre will keep you feet as dry and as fresh as mohair will. Natural wickability and breathability of mohair outperforms even merino wool.
- The smooth fibre of mohair in combination with dry feet make for the most blister resistant socks when compared to other socks. No chafing.
- Mohair is considered the strongest of all animal fibers (stronger than similarly-sized steel) making our socks long lasting.
- The elasticity of mohair, which can stretch by up to 30 percent and return, means that we cover from size 36 – 47 in only 2 sock sizes.
- The antimicrobial and antifungal properties of mohair additionally contributes to odor free socks. You can wear our mohair socks for up to 7 days without washing.
At Alles Mooi, we use mohair to design the most comfortable socks you have ever worn. It is true we include the same percentage content of both mohair and merino wool in our socks but it’s the mohair that provides the noticeable difference.
