So what exactly is it that’s so bad about wool-farming that Fjallraven would go to such lengths? As well as consulting Dolva, we spoke to Adrian Gunn-Wilson, a director at Welsh outdoor brand Howies, who also take steps to ensure their wool is sustainably sourced. He tells me about the practise of Mulesing. “It’s a cruel process of removing chunks of skin from the buttocks of a sheep to prevent flystrike.” Which is when flies lay eggs in the wool. Mulesing often doesn’t even work and the sheep can die a slow and agonising death anyway. Howies, he tells Mpora, have only used non-mulesed wool since as far back as 2004.

“Mulesing is a cruel process of removing chunks of skin from the buttocks of a sheep.”

They’re not the only ones – Cornish brand Finisterre have always used non-mulesed wool for their merino. However, as Product Director Debbie Luffman explains: “We can’t regularly fly over to New Zealand to talk to the farmer and inspect the merino flock first hand, [but] we [can] ensure that the merino we source is supplied with full traceability and is certified non-mulesed.” Like Fjallraven, they’ve also established their own flock of sheep, in this case Bowmont merino sheep, in the UK.

Raising your own sheep in an ethical fashion isn’t just a question of making sure they’re well looked after. Fjallraven take an interest in every aspect of sheep farming – even down to considering the quality of the meat from the breed they farm.

Jämtlandsfår, the unique new breed farmed at Brattlandsgården has been chosen not just for the good wool it produces, but also for the taste so there is no wastage. Christine Dolva explains: “Often a sheep breed might be really good for meat but the wool is coarse and poor quality so it gets thrown away. This new breed is pretty special. It has a good balance of meat, which I can vouch for as we’ve been eating it this winter, and top quality wool too. The breed is also adapted to the Swedish climate, which was obviously important for us.”

“The hope is that the farm collaboration could one day produce all the wool the brand needs.”

She tells me they will be sheared in autumn, when they should have enough for 200 thick wool sweaters. Of course that’s a fraction of what the company currently produces, so the bulk of their wool is still bought from external producers. But the hope is that the farm collaboration could one day produce all the wool the brand needs. At the moment, however, the scale is tiny. Once the sheep are sheared the wool is washed and worked on in a nearby spinnery by just a handful of workers. By starting small though, and by working directly with the farmer and a vet they can be sure the process is animal-friendly at every step of the way.

Last year the company took some of their workers to the farm to experience how things were going first-hand. “It reminded us of why we do what we do,” social media editor Sarah Benton told me. “Why it’s so important to create products that are in synch with the environment, that contribute to a better planet. The sheep graze where the grass is greenest during the summer and sleep indoors during cold winter nights, which also means grain doesn’t need to be grown for them.”

Lesley Prior, who manages the Finisterre flock in the UK, explains the value of wool brilliantly. “Wool is a fantastic resource, sustainable and tremendously versatile. It’s the original ‘green fibre’, growing as it does on grass.” But using this wonder material responsibly has to involve making the welfare of the animals who provide it a priority, Prior says. Hence the importance of ensuring ethical provenance. “When you work this closely together you can be sure of what’s happening at each stage of the production process, from the back of a sheep to the body of a human.”