Virgin wool meaning

In the EU, virgin wool is a protected name for wool that has not already been in a finished product

Direct answer. In the EU, “virgin wool” (or “fleece wool”) is a protected label name under Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 Article 8 and Annex III. It may be used only for wool fibre that has not previously been incorporated in a finished product, has not been spun or felted beyond what the product’s manufacture requires, and has not been damaged by treatment or use. Wool that has already been in a finished product does not meet Article 8(1), so that condition does not cover recycled wool. Quotes are from the consolidated English text CELEX 02011R1007-20180215 (15 February 2018), the latest consolidation the Publications Office listed on 13 October 2026. Article 7 and Article 8 carry no amendment marker in that text. This page is not legal advice.

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Article 8(1)

The article is titled “Fleece wool or virgin wool products.” Article 8(1): “A textile product may be labelled or marked by one of the names set out in Annex III provided it is composed exclusively of a wool fibre which has not previously been incorporated in a finished product, which has not been subjected to any spinning and/or felting processes other than those required in the manufacture of that product, and which has not been damaged by treatment or use.”

Article 8(2) and 8(3)

Article 8(2): “By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the names listed in Annex III may be used to describe wool contained in a textile fibre mixture if all the following conditions are met:”

“The full percentage composition of such mixture shall be given.”

Article 8(3): “The extraneous fibres in the products referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, including wool products which have undergone a carding process, shall not exceed 0,3 % by weight, shall be justified as being technically unavoidable in good manufacturing practice and shall not be added as a matter of routine.”

Annex I entry 1, the fibre name “wool”

Annex I, table 1, number 1, name “wool”, description: “fibre from sheep's or lambs’ fleeces (Ovis aries) or a mixture of fibres from sheep's or lambs’ fleeces and the hairs of animals listed in number 2”.

“Pure new wool” and “new wool”

Article 7(1): “Only textile products exclusively composed of the same fibre may be labelled or marked as ‘100 %’, ‘pure’ or ‘all’.”

Annex III’s English line is “in English : ‘fleece wool’ or ‘virgin wool’”. The annex does not list an English name “pure new wool” or “new wool”. Other languages use their own names. German is “in German : ‘Schurwolle’”. Danish is “in Danish : ‘ren, ny uld’”. The Regulation text does not mention Woolmark. This page makes no claim about Woolmark licensing.

Annex III names in the consolidated text

The heading is “Names referred to in Article 8(1)”. The Croatian line is marked in the consolidation as inserted by Council Regulation (EU) No 517/2013 (marker M3). The other lines have no later amendment marker in this consolidation. No consolidation later than 15 February 2018 was listed on 13 October 2026.

Annex III, as written in CELEX 02011R1007-20180215
Language line Name
in Bulgarian‘необработена вълна’
in Spanish‘lana virgen’ or ‘lana de esquilado’
in Czech‘střižní vlna’
in Danish‘ren, ny uld’
in German‘Schurwolle’
in Estonian‘uus vill’
in Greek‘παρθένο μαλλί’
in English‘fleece wool’ or ‘virgin wool’
in French‘laine vierge’ or ‘laine de tonte’
in Croatian‘runska vuna’
in Irish‘olann lomra’
in Italian‘lana vergine’ or ‘lana di tosa’
in Latvian‘pirmlietojuma vilna’ or ‘cirptā vilna’
in Lithuanian‘natūralioji vilna’
in Hungarian‘élőgyapjú’
in Maltese‘suf verġni’
in Dutch‘scheerwol’
in Polish‘żywa wełna’
in Portuguese‘lã virgem’
in Romanian‘lână virgină’
in Slovak‘strižná vlna’
in Slovene‘runska volna’
in Finnish‘uusi villa’
in Swedish‘ny ull’

Virgin wool, merino, and cashmere

Annex I number 2, name: “alpaca, llama, camel, cashmere, mohair, angora, vicuna, yak, guanaco, cashgora, beaver, otter, followed or not by the word ‘wool’ or ‘hair’”. Description: “hair of the following animals: alpaca, llama, camel, kashmir goat, angora goat, angora rabbit, vicuna, yak, guanaco, cashgora goat, beaver, otter”. Those are fibre names. They are not the Annex III virgin-wool names. The rest of the Annex I naming rule is EU textile fibre labels. This page does not compare warmth, quality, or durability.

The fibre line on a Shopify product page

Article 8 is about which name may be used. How that composition line is written on a product page is already covered:

What this page is not

Related pages

Not legal advice. Confirm Article 8, Article 7, Annex I, and Annex III on EUR-Lex before you print a fibre name. The quotes are the consolidated English text of 15 February 2018. The app checks EU textile fibre names, records French origin and environmental-impact information, and retains EPR registration and audit records.