Sheep
We love our sheep! That's why the merino wool we use is mulesing free. Mulesing is a painful surgical procedure that removes the skin from around the buttocks of the sheep, often without anesthetic. Merino sheep have more skin folds (think shar pei dog) that hold their luxuriously warm wool. These folds around the buttocks can get infested with flies and the infection can kill the sheep. Mulesing is a quick and economical way of dealing with this problem, but it is barbaric and painful. Often the sheep are tied up with their legs in the air until the skin has healed. It's heart breaking.
The alternative to Mulesing is the more labor intensive and expensive practice of regular washing and sanitizing the sheep's rear end. We're willing to pay the extra to make sure the energy that's going into your hat is of the highest vibration. Happy Sheep = Happy Hats = Happy Heads.