Organic yarn good for the planet
January 30, 2009 by Del
Filed under eco projects & green projects & recycling craft, links, yarn
With more and more focus on eco-friendly products and talk about sustainability, what can conscientious crafty people do to help the planet?
One way knitters and crocheters who want to have less of a harmful impact on the environment can help is to invest in organic yarn. There was a time when organic yarn was hard to find and when you found it, it was very expensive. Nowadays, with more companies (big names like Lion Brand included) trying to get into the eco market, organic yarn is not only easier to find, the price is becoming comparable to traditionally harvested and dyed yarns. It’s no longer cost-prohibitive to knit with it, which is a great thing. The more affordable organic yarn becomes, the more people will buy it, use it and that in turn will keep the price down.
Organic wool and cotton rely on different methods of harvesting and dyeing than conventional wool and cotton. Cotton, especially, when grown in traditional ways, has a big negative impact on the environment.
And if you think that organic yarn only comes in one color because you can’t dye with natural ingredients, think again. Not only do wool and cotton naturally come in a range of shades, but natural dyes that come from plants are often used to create a rainbow of colors comparable to traditionally dyed yarns.
Look into these companies for a selection of organic yarn:
