Woolmark campaign unearths horrors of fast fashion

For the past few weeks, people across the world have been thinking about which spooky character they'll be dressing up as for Halloween. But what if the scariest outfit you could wear is actually your own clothes?

About now, you'll be thinking that there isn't anything particularly terrifying about your outfits. While there might not be anything wrong with your style, the real horror story starts on a much deeper level: the materials from which your clothes are made.

The first synthetic clothing was introduced less than 200 years ago and is predicted to account for 73% of total fibre production globally by 2030. Not only this, but the average polyester product is likely to survive in landfills for more than 200 years, which is truly harrowing.

Luckily, legislative changes are being introduced to curb the rise in throwaway fashion culture, which has been driven by cheap, synthetic clothing. In conjunction with this, The Woolmark Company has launched the global brand campaign Wear Wool, Not Waste, created by creative agency 20(SOMETHING) along with Park Village and Studio Birthplace.

The Woolmark Company is recognised as the global authority on wool and has an extensive network of relationships spanning the international textile and fashion industries. This campaign aims to spotlight the environmental benefits of wool, making people aware that it is the world's most recycled apparel fibre and has natural, renewable, and biodegradable properties.

"The 'undead' persistence of synthetic fibres"

20(SOMETHING) has worked with Woolmark for the past three years, including on a strategic plan to identify opportunities within the sustainability category and define Woolmark's voice and positioning for the sector. According to the agency's co-founder and creative partner Will Thacker, sustainability is a crucial cultural shift and a core focus for 20(SOMETHING), so their aim is to help clients respond to this growing zeitgeist.

"Over the years, we've had the opportunity to work with the UK's largest green energy provider, one of the first organisations to implement plastic credits, and we even launched a T-shirt initiative allowing consumers to offset their carbon footprint for a year," says Thacker. 20(SOMETHING) is also collaborating with an organisation dedicated to protecting an area of the Amazon rainforest equivalent in size to Norway to ensure that this critical ecosystem remains untouched.

This recent collaboration with Woolmark builds on the success of Wear Wool, Not Fossil Fuel, which launched in 2022 and depicted people covered in thick, black oil to hammer home the fact that 350 million barrels of oil are used in the production of synthetic fibres each year.

This year's message was more focused on the environmental permanence of synthetic materials, and 20(SOMETHING) SAW it "a chance to use visual storytelling again to bring an important, often-overlooked issue into public consciousness", says Thacker. The issue is brought to life through a zombie apocalypse-like campaign, which juxtaposes wool's renewable qualities with "the 'undead' persistence of synthetic fibres".

"A visceral sense of horror"

Wear Wool, Not Waste is inspired by post-apocalyptic visuals seen in media such as The Last of Us and shows "zombie clothes" swarming urban environments. Thacker explains how this metaphor "resonates with audiences, creating a visceral sense of horror around the impact of synthetic fibres".

While the agency did explore other ideas, including 'The End of the Plastic Age' - which would've shown people shedding synthetic 'skin' like dead layers - the team found the zombie apocalypse concept to be the most impactful and appropriate.

"As part of our three-year effort to educate audiences, a key challenge was raising awareness about fabric composition, which is often overlooked," says Thacker. Woolmark's 'Filter by Fabric' initiative addressed this by promoting clear product descriptions and better e-commerce filtering options to help consumers make sustainable choices.

Thacker reveals that the first year's results were promising, with a 13% increase in wool consideration in the UK and 79% of viewers saying that the campaign made them rethink the environmental impact of their clothing. "We aim to build on this momentum to further shift consumer habits," he adds.

"A polished, cinematic aesthetic"

To develop the powerful 'synthetic zombie' effect, Studio Birthplace worked alongside Deadpixel in an extensive post-production process. One of the most intricate challenges, says Thacker, was "the transition from motion capture to impact-responsive animation, where synthetic clothes would realistically fall apart upon impact, followed by an advanced full-body cloth simulation to enhance authenticity".

From filming locations to high-end VFX, every element was planned with precision. Thacker explains how the team used lidar scans of real environments to ensure "a seamless blend between real and virtual worlds, achieving a polished, cinematic aesthetic that brought the concept vividly to life".

So, maybe next Halloween (and every day in between), you'll remember to Wear Wool, Not Waste.