Канадская компания превращает шерсть бизонов в новый материал для зимней одежды

Bison fibre is a thing? It is at this Canadian company An Alberta couple has figured out how to shave the hair off a bison hide and turn it into material for clothing such as socks and mitts August 24, 2026 4 min read Nathaniel Ostashewski believes the hair from bison will be the new “Canadian cashmere” and that his ultra warm socks, mitts and jackets made from bison will be worn by those looking for warmth in winter. “At minus 50, a bison can get wet in winter, then lie down in the snow and dry off. That is unheard of. That is why this is such a magic fibre,” said Ostashewski of the O’Canada Bison Wool Corp. WHY IT MATTERS: An Alberta company is trying to put a new spin on the Canadian fibre landscape with products sourced from Canada’s original woolly grazers. Collecting the hair, or fibre, from bison and turning it into a product that can be used for socks, mitts, liners and insoles is where Nathaniel and Susan Ostashewski’s experience allows them to divert hides that had been going to a landfill. Bison hides are thicker than those of cattle and uneven in their thickness, making it difficult to tan or use. Instead of ending up in the landfill, the hides are now trucked to their Bonnyville, Alta., location to be shaved. Read Also Farmit Manitoba Volatile markets raise the value of cash-flow planning “We are taking garbage and making luxury products,” said Ostashewski, who grew up on a farm near Chipman, Alta., and whose parents raised bison. Later Nathaniel and Susan had about 1,000 bison, but shrunk their herd after COVID and have concentrated on their bison fibre business. Shaving 20,000 hides It takes two people an hour to attach the heavy hides onto mounting boards, carefully shave the hair, remove the hide from the board, fold it and mount the next hide. “It is very labour intensive to shave hides,” said Ostashewski, who estimates he has shaved about 20,000 bison hides. Depending on the year and the number of staff, they can shave about 4,000 to 5,000 hides a year. Through trial and error, Ostashewski has figured out which clippers can slip through the matted, mud-caked hide without burning out. The shearer must also be careful to shave the uneven hair close to the hide to keep it long enough to be woven into yarn or made into felt. Susan Ostashewski said spinners want longer fibre, and if the shaver goes over the hide more than once, it becomes too short for spinning. “You have to be very specific about how you shave the hide,” she said. The only sorter of its kind Once the fibre is shaved from the hides, it is baled and shipped to Ontario to be scoured and washed of debris and dirt. The returned fibre is put through a special sorting machine at the Bonnyville facility, where it is once again bagged. Depending on the fibre’s length and quality, the fibre is shipped off to be made into yarn, felt, jackets and other products. The sorting machine is the only machine in North America able to sort the tricky bison fibre. It was bought in 2020 from an American company that used it for sorting fibre, but had gone out of business. Now, bison fibre from across North America is sent to their northern Alberta facility, an old Bingo hall, to be sorted. “It is a huge learning process. Bison fibre is an unknown product,” Susan said. From oilpatch test runs to Christmas markets With fibre as fine as cashmere, the warm clothing is sought after by people working outside. One of their sons works in the oilfield and is their clothing “guinea pig,” trying out sock styles and jackets. Susan also turns the bison tallow into soaps and lotions and the hides into gloves. In September, the couple hits the large wholesale markets in Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton and this year Toronto, selling their products into the Christmas markets. Throughout the year, their products are sold online to customers around the world.