I have decided that my next project (you know, after the Tangled Yoke cardigan that can only ever happen if my yarn ever arrives) will be another Interweave pattern. The Gathered Pullover which will be in the next Interweave Knits. I think it’s an incredibly cute jumper, and it will give me the opportunity to begin a move I’ve been wanting to make for some time.
Increasingly, I am bothered by the environmental aspects to the things that I do. Knitting, like everything else, has environmental implications, although these tend to be swept under the carpet with the sense that, as yarn is (by and large) natural, and the things we knit are hand knitted, there are really no issues to be considered. Of course, this is not the case. There are issues of how the yarn is processed, what sorts of chemicals are used in its production and dyeing, and where the yarn has come from. Obviously if you buy silk or cotton, or even merino yarn, you can be tolerably sure that it has something pretty hefty by way of air miles associated with it, regardless of the processing methods. Is it worth buying organic wool if it is then flown thousands of miles to you? Even if it is sent by boat or train, is it really such a gain, if an adequate product is produced and available in the place that you live? I am cynical, I’ll admit.
So, what I’ve been hoping to do, for a while, and which I want to begin with this Gathered Pullover, is to begin to knit mainstream patterns (or even not so mainstream patterns, frankly) in local yarns. I am going to find a yarn that has been produced in the UK. Not for any particular sense of patriotism, but because I feel very strongly that to knit a woolen jumper (this pattern calls for 100% wool yarn) I should not have to buy yarn produced in the US or Peru or Australia, just because it has a brand name attached to it. We have sheep here. Plenty of them. We have yarn companies, who are selling yarn from UK animals, yarn produced in the UK.
The upshot is, that I do not feel that I can entirely defend to myself a decision to buy wool yarn from abroad without at least checking out what is available in the UK, which won’t have the air miles, and that will support the UK economy, and its smaller businesses. At this point I’m not going to worry too much about production methods, largely because I don’t know enough about them to judge. In time, though, I want to learn about this, and in time, I would like to be in a position to be more discerning.
3 Comments
October 29, 2007 at 8:22 pm
I feel exactly the same about food – I can’t see how something organic from Peru is better than non-organic from 20 miles down the road. It makes perfect sense to extend that to yarn.
Thats a lovely pattern too!
This yarn looks cool: http://www.dragonyarns.co.uk/#308X1052
October 30, 2007 at 8:20 am
Air miles and yarn are crazy. A load of them are shipped back and forth. Quite a lot is made in Italy, yet shipped to N.America, before then going off to wherever its sold from (e.g. knitpicks). Bamboo and soy tend to be made in China, a lot of the wool fiber comes from Oz or NZ.
Then there is the whole issue of agricultural methods (cotton isn’t an animal, which tends to mean less CO2, but actually cotton is generally bad…), as well as the chemicals used to make a fiber spinnable (soy is apparently dodgy in that respect, as with most synthetics) and dying!
Apparently Yeo Valley (they of the yoghurt) do organic wool.
(are you on ravelry? – there is a great discussion thread on yarn sources in the green craft group)
February 2, 2008 at 2:02 pm
[...] Wales. Here you will find an explanation of the title of this post. Do you remember my post about environmentally friendly yarns? Well, on the Wonderwool Wales stand there was not very much yarn, but what there was was truly [...]