Villgrater Natur Produkte, Josef Schett KG

Villgrater Natur Produkte, Josef Schett KG — commonly shortened to Villgrater Natur — is an Austrian family business based at Lahnberg in the Villgratental valley of East Tyrol. The company grew out of a mountain farm that Josef Schett took over from his parents in 1985 and converted to sheep breeding. Rather than treating wool as a by-product, the Schett family built a business around it, developing products that use the natural properties of sheep's wool for warmth, moisture regulation and a healthy indoor climate. The company's product range is unusually broad for a wool processor. It includes bedding and sleep products such as the Villgrater Natur Bett and the "Traumwolke" cushion with sheep's wool and lavender; slippers and accessories; natural cosmetics; and garden products such as wool mulch discs, wool garden twine, sheep-wool fertiliser, snail barriers and growth mats. A recurring theme is the use of pure new wool (Schurwolle) as an anti-allergenic, antibacterial and temperature-regulating material. Villgrater Natur describes itself as working in harmony with its rural cultural and natural environment and its value chain. The company operates from its Villgrater Natur Haus, opened in 1991, where wool-processing machinery was installed and the first Villgrater Natur products went on sale. It sells through its own online shop and through specialist and lifestyle retailers, and it presents itself as a family enterprise rooted in the Villgratental. The brand's identity is closely tied to its place of origin: the Schett family has lived and worked at Lahnberg, at around 1,550 metres above sea level, for centuries, and the company frames its products as drawing on the "Urkraft der Natur" — the primal power of nature. Its history is presented as one of courageous decisions, from the switch to sheep farming in the 1980s to the scientific validation of wool's properties and the later expansion into cosmetics and garden products.

The history of Villgrater Natur is presented by the company as a story of courageous decisions rooted in the Villgratental valley of East Tyrol. The Schett family has lived and worked at Lahnberg, at around 1,550 metres above sea level, for centuries — the company states that the family was already living and working there 600 years ago. Josef Schett grew up in this steep, difficult-to-access valley, and his attachment to his homeland led him to stay and to take an interest in nearly extinct crafts and original production processes. In 1985 Josef Schett took over his parents' mountain farm at Lahnberg. He converted the operation to sheep breeding, marketed lamb meat and sheep's milk products to upscale gastronomy, and laid the foundations for wool processing. In 1987 a study by the Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck provided important data on the marketability of sheep products, forming the basis for their development. In 1988 EMPA, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology in St. Gallen, examined the building-physics properties of Villgrater sheep's wool. It certified the wool fleece as having a high thermal insulation value and a positive effect on indoor climate. The key finding was that sheep's wool can absorb up to a third of its own weight in moisture and can also absorb pollutants from its surroundings. In 1991 the Villgrater Natur Haus opened its doors. The first machines for wool processing were put into operation, and the first Villgrater Natur products went on sale. In 1992 the Villgrater Natur team, together with Willi Dungl, developed the Villgrater Natur Bett. Sheep's wool, initially a by-product, became the basis of a growing product range. Over the following decades the company expanded beyond bedding into slippers, accessories, natural cosmetics and garden products, while retaining its identity as a family business in the Villgratental. Its online shop and its stated commitment to working in harmony with the rural cultural and natural landscape and its value chain reflect a positioning that combines regional craft heritage with the functional benefits of wool.

• 1992

  The Villgrater Natur Bett is developed together with Willi Dungl.

• 1991

  The Villgrater Natur Haus opens; first wool-processing machines are installed and first products go on sale.

• 1988

  EMPA in St. Gallen certifies Villgrater sheep's wool for high thermal insulation and positive indoor-climate effects.

• 1987

  A study by the Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck provides data on the marketability of sheep products.

• 1985

  Josef Schett takes over his parents' mountain farm at Lahnberg and converts it to sheep breeding.

Natural, regional and family-run: products made from sheep's wool and natural raw materials, marketed for healthy sleep, well-being and a natural lifestyle.

• Villgrater Natur Bett

  Sheep's wool bed developed in 1992 with Willi Dungl.

• Traumwolke cushion

  Cushion with sheep's wool and lavender.

• Wool slippers (Almwolke, Alpenwolle)

  Handmade slippers made from wool.

• Natural cosmetics

  Soothing, caring and natural cosmetic products.

• Garden products from wool

  Mulch discs, garden twine, sheep-wool fertiliser, snail barrier and growth mat.

• Yoga mat Flow & Strength

  Yoga mat with virgin wool, grey.

1. 1Villgrater Natur official websitevillgraternatur.at
2. 2GESCHICHTE - Villgrater Natur Familienunternehmen aus Osttirolvillgraternatur.at
3. 3Wikidata: Villgrater Natur Produkte, Josef Schett KGwikidata.org