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For centuries, wool was among the most valuable commodities traded across Europe, prized for its warmth and durability compared with the linen and hemp fabrics available to most households. Sheep-rearing regions built entire local economies around shearing, spinning, and weaving, with merchants often controlling prices from a distance rather than local producers. The rise of cotton in the eighteenth century, made cheaper by mechanised spinning, gradually displaced wool from everyday clothing, though it remained dominant in outerwear and blankets where insulation mattered more than cost. Synthetic fibres introduced in the twentieth century further narrowed wool's market share, particularly in mass-produced garments. Despite this long decline in overall demand, wool has retained a niche reputation for quality, and certain breeds of sheep continue to be bred specifically for fibre prized by specialist textile makers rather than mass manufacturers.