Abuses are rife in the wool industry though there are companies that claim their materials are responsibly and ethically sourced. Though farming wool does not require killing animals in the same way that farming fur does, there is no really humane way to shear sheep for wool.

Though the vast majority of farms around the world raise sheep in a happy and protected environment, respecting the welfare of the animals and the health of the land, the shearing process can be harmful to sheep. Animals are beaten, kicked, punched and mutilated in front of each other in gruesome ways.

There are no synthetic equivalents available today that provide the same feel and technical capabilities of wool, and as a natural fiber, wool offers many environmental benefits over oil-based fibers. Wool is one of the most environmentally low-impact fibers there are. With plant-based fibers, the land has to be plowed up and a lot of soil carbon is lost. Also, synthetic materials contribute to fast fashion's overproduction problem while wool last longer and is recycled more often.

But a counter-argument to stopping the use of wool posits that choosing synthetic materials over animal products may be better for animals, but those same synthetic materials are harmful to the environment.