There is trouble in one of Iceland's most special industries: the production of hand-knit lopi sweaters. Visitors love to buy them and Icelanders happily wear them. Each sweater is made by hand. The unique piece of clothing has come to represent Iceland for many tourists. But, local knitters are angry at the rise in "Icelandic" sweaters being made in China. The China-made sweaters use real wool from Icelandic sheep. But the actual knitting process is outsourced to workers in China. The wool is shipped to China, knitted by hand, and then returned as a finished product to Iceland. The sweaters are described as “hand-knitted from Icelandic wool.” Knitting groups around Iceland are struggling to compete. Last month, they asked the Icelandic government to ban companies from calling wool sweaters as “Icelandic” unless they are really made in Iceland.
