Centred on the town of Darkan, the Shire of West Arthur is home to some of the finest Merino sheep producing some of Western Australia's best wools.
So it is entirely appropriate that some of the Shire of West Arthur council's councillors and staff now wear smart, comfortable, wool polo shirts when on council business.
They are showcasing soft, lightweight, body-odour resistant, machine-washable TheMerinoPolo shirts, made from 87 per cent 18.5 micron guaranteed Australian Merino wool spun with 13pc recycled nylon, and featuring the shire's recently revised logo.
Wool industry identity and uber Merino wool promoter, Steve Noa and his company WAMerinoCo donated the shirts as part of his 'Woolvolution of the Workplace' campaign to convert work uniforms away from synthetic materials to natural wool.
The council paid for its logo to be embroidered on the shirts through a service Mr Noa also provides for TheMerinoPolo buyers.
In return, Shire of West Arthur councillors and council staff will tell counterparts at other local councils and local government bodies how comfortable TheMerinoPolo shirts are and how well they wear.
Shire of West Arthur council chief executive officer Vin Fordham Lamont explained the deal came about through a chance introduction at this year's Act Belong Commit Darkan Sheepfest back in February.
"Somebody said to me 'there is a person you should meet' and introduced me to Steve," Mr Fordham Lamont said.
"This area basically grew on the sheep's back and many of our farmers continue to run Merino sheep and coming from a farming background myself (his family farm near Tambellup and Gnowangerup), I like the idea of being able to do something that benefits our woolgrowers.
"I was explaining this to Steve when he said 'I can help you there, how many of TheMerinoPolos would you like?'
"Everybody in local government wears polo shirts these days, so half-jokingly I said 15 and good to his word, Steve provided them.
"We gave some to our councillors and some to senior staff and the comment from everyone who has worn them - including from me - has been that they are really, really comfortable.
"So our part of the deal is to tell other local governments just how comfortable TheMerinoPolo is and we are happy to do that."
Mr Noa, a professional wool buyer who has bought greasy wool for more than 30 years and now buys at the Western Wool Centre for the third biggest Australian wool buyer and exporter Endeavour Wool Exports, started WAMerinoCo almost two years ago.
He sought advice from wool industry stalwart Jimmy Jackson, a former general manager of both Australian Wool Innovation and its The Woolmark Company, manager of the International Wool Secretariat for 35 years and international wool consultant, on the right wool-blend yarn to use.
His contacts in China's wool processing and garment manufacturing industry, built up over an estimated 75 visits since 1995, were called on to produce the highest quality shirts, but at a reasonable price.
"My Woolvolution of the Workplace campaign is about getting businesses and organisations that have a corporate identity to adopt Australia's lowest priced, high quality Merino wool polo in
TheMerinoPolo, instead of poorly-made, synthetic, suffocating polos that have a short wearing life but survive forever as landfill," Mr Noa said.
