A 27-year-old wool jumper manufacturer, one of the country’s last, has decided to call it quits.
Clare McShane of Casaveen, located in Oaklands in central Tasmania, told ABC Rural that the wool market had declined in the last two decades and, for family reasons, she would not be continuing the business.
"It's been fantastic but things can't go on forever if you don't have a successor,” she told the ABC.
"This business actually needs someone in their early 40s through to mid-50s, who can take it to the next arena of trade.”
McShane said that the way people were making purchases had changed greatly in the last three or four years, and that the wool industry badly needed to rethink its marketing. She said most people under 50 didn’t care about the material.
"They really need a major leader who can take the fibre out to the marketplace and make it exciting,” McShane added.