Jacqui, their wool still has to come from Australia so their products still rack up a fair few miles if that is your concern.
Farms in Aussie and NZ tend to be much bigger than farms in Europe and are are much more efficient in terms of energy required to make wool, dairy etc.
The 'food miles' concept is convenient but fails to look at the real costs of farming.
Read a study recently that showed milk products produced in NZ then shipped to UK were less than half as costly in terms of energy and emissions than UK milk products, including the sea travel of course.
If you want to support local industry, great, but just because something's travelled from the other side of the world doesn't mean it's less efficient than what's made down the road.
Farms in Aussie and NZ tend to be much bigger than farms in Europe and are are much more efficient in terms of energy required to make wool, dairy etc.
The 'food miles' concept is convenient but fails to look at the real costs of farming.
Read a study recently that showed milk products produced in NZ then shipped to UK were less than half as costly in terms of energy and emissions than UK milk products, including the sea travel of course.
If you want to support local industry, great, but just because something's travelled from the other side of the world doesn't mean it's less efficient than what's made down the road.