Where have you seen the latter?

 

Well, I have an old Scottish-made L.L. Bean Fair Isle with a tag that says that. Here's a Thai-made J.Crew shetland from the Thrift Exchange with a similar tag.

For contrast, here's a 100% Shetland Wool:

I suppose I'm just wondering if there's a standard legal definition for "100% Shetland wool" as compared to its variants? I had heard that there was, but was unable to get any details about it.

There are also a bunch of variants:

100% Pure Shetland Wool, which I imagine is the same as "100% Shetland wool", "Spun in Scotland, Made in U.S.A."

"Real Shetland 100% New Wool, Made in Scotland"

"Brooks Brothers Shetland Wool" "100% Wool, knitted in Scotland"

"Pure new wool, Shetland, knitted in Scotland"

Any advice?

 

I always look to see if the sweater is knitted in Scotland since it seems to me to be a tighter weave. The wool maybe the same but the grades maybe different.

 

Well, it would be possible for a sweater to be made of wool from the Shetland breed of sheep, but for those sheep to be from somewhere other than the isle of Shetland. Depending on where said sheep were raised, and where the wool was processed, knitted and sewn, the tag may be somewhat misleading. For instance, if raw wool from shetland sheep was brought to asia for all subsequent prodeuction steps, I would be leery. Shetland breed sheep raised in the US or Canada however, may produce goods as fine as those of Scotland (I think Pendleton may have raised their own Shetlands at some point). Either way, if it is less than clear, and you can't inspect the article for yourself, just assume some chicanery.

 

I believe the essential properties of Shetland wool come from the sheep having been raised on the Shetland Isles, and that it is not a breed of sheep. Literally, I would think that any sweater containing such wool could be advertised as being made from 100% Shetland wool. But as significant is where the yarns are spun and the sweater knitted. The last couple seasons Brooks has sold sweaters of Shetland wool of yarns spun there but knit in Hong Kong. I have one, and found that the quality of the knit compares acceptably with a true Scottish Shetland I have. But as with everything else, there have historically been better and worse Scottish knitters.

Unless there are trademark issues, I wouldn't be the least surprised if J. Crew was using the term Shetland in a generic sense and that the wool has as much in common with true Shetland wool as chopsuey. The Jam Man is the expert on knitwear.

 

Ah, this gets in to words, not just wool, and I commend you, Katon, for close reading. Clearly, !00% Wool, Shetland means that it's all wool of some kind, but beyond that it can mean "shetland style" or whatever, 100% New Zealand wool, knit in a Bangkok sweatshop, looking somewhat like a 100% Shetland Wool sweater, knit in Scotland. Or in Hong Kong, I've got an old LL Bean 100% Shetland, knit in HK which is the equal of my Oconnels shetland. Nice pics, by the way.

 

I've got an old LL Bean 100% Shetland.

I've got a Bean Shetland that was grown, spun and knit in Scotland less than 20 years ago, and it wasn't even costly.

 

As an example of how words really can have a very specific meaning, I remind you of the phrase "whole wheat bread". Shetland wool, may have the same kind of specificity.

 

I found another Bean sweater in the Thrift Exchange with a label that's quite similar to the one that prompted my question.

"Shetland, 100% Wool, Made in Scotland"

Also some more label variations:

"100% Shetland Wool, Spun in Scotland, Made in British Crown Colony of Hong Kong"

"Made in England by Alan Paine of Godalming, Shetland, All Wool"

"100% Shetland wool, Made in Mauritius"

Lot's of variety in the labels. Maybe different laws depending on whether or not the sweaters are "for export"? A law change or two in the U.S. somewhere down the road that modified label terminology? Any ideas?

 

Excellent detective work, katon. More threads like this please!

Noted a "shetland" on ebay that read "100% Wool Shetland, Made in Taiwan" (Boggly eyes). It appears that arrangement indicates manufacture outside of Scotland, but some of these examples seem to disprove that. Majority does seem to rule though.

Also, that Alan Paine (sized to my chest!) is amazing. Is that...available?

Great thread.

 

I believe the essential properties of Shetland wool come from the sheep having been raised on the Shetland Isles, and that it is not a breed of sheep. Literally, I would think that any sweater containing such wool could be advertised as being made from 100% Shetland wool. But as significant is where the yarns are spun and the sweater knitted. The last couple seasons Brooks has sold sweaters of Shetland wool of yarns spun there but knit in Hong Kong. I have one, and found that the quality of the knit compares acceptably with a true Scottish Shetland I have. But as with everything else, there have historically been better and worse Scottish knitters.

Unless there are trademark issues, I wouldn't be the least surprised if J. Crew was using the term Shetland in a generic sense and that the wool has as much in common with true Shetland wool as chopsuey. The Jam Man is the expert on knitwear.

Actually, the term Shetland does refer to a specific type of sheep- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shetland_sheep
Moreover, Shetland wool (https://www.shetland-sheep.org/shetland_wool.htm) is specifically the wool of this breed. I think is it safe to assume that most wool from shetland (perhaps all of it) is from genuine Shetland sheep. However, I think it no unfair misrepresentation to label the wool of that breed as Shetland if it is of the breed, but raised anywhere else.
I have seen some of them in Scotland, and while the climate certainly necessitates good wool, there is no reason that a given breed could not be raised in similar climates elsewhere in the world. Shetland sheep, at the very least, certainly are raised outside of shetland proper, and even in the US.
Regardless, I think the term is shetland refers to the wool of a specific breed first and foremost.
I am quite certain that the term does properly refer to the superior wool of this particular breed. At any rate, most of the good quality shetland sweaters that I have encountered have had a distinctive feel to the wool, much the way cashmere has its own unmistakable properties, regardless of where the goats were actually raised. I can only assume that the distinctive rough yet soft feel of shetland wool is one the inherent properties of the wool of a sheep so specifically bred for toughness.
As a side not, Shetland has many specific breeds developed for that environment. They are generally smaller and tougher versions of the breeds used on the larger island. Among those breeds are the shetland pony, and the sheltie sheepdog, which must have been used to herd those very sheep that produce that wool which makes this thread possible in the first place.