Doing your best to help preserve the environment means incorporating eco-friendly choices to your lifestyle. It’s not just about picking cars with good mileage and buying appliances that are energy-efficient. It’s also about the seemingly smaller choices, like choosing from all different types of yarn for your knitting, for example.
You may find this surprising, but some types of yarn are better for the environment than others. You may also want to consider buying yarn that can lead to better social equality around the world. If these are worthy goals for you, then perhaps you may want to work the following types of yarn:
- Recycled Sarongs Yarn. This is manufactured by hand-spinning the yarn from recycled sarongs from Bali. This reduces the waste resulting from yarn manufacturing. The resulting yarn is also quite unique, so the clothes that result from this yarn have their own distinct appeal.
Furthermore, part of the money you spend buying this yarn goes to poor families in Indonesia and Nepal. They money is spent on providing education, healthcare, and safe shelter.
- Alpaca/Llama EcoSoft Yarn. This may be a bit pricier than regular options, but then you do get your money’s worth. First of all, it comes from sustainable natural sources, as it’s a blend of 80% llama and 20% alpaca fleece.
It’s very soft, and it’s naturally hypoallergenic. It’s not pilly and non-shedding. It’s even machine washable, as long as you use a cold and gentle cycle.
- Bamboo Yarn. Bamboo is one of the most eco-friendly options for flooring and decorations, and now for yarn as well. That’s because it’s the fastest growing plant in the world, and bamboo replenishes very quickly. With yarn made from 100% bamboo, you can pick up to 16 different colors.
It’s great for skirts and dresses, as well as for tops and sweaters. It just drapes very nicely. In addition, it’s quite cool so it’s great for warm weather, plus it’s also super soft against your skin.
- SeaSilk Yarn. This is a very unique type of yarn. That’s because it’s a blend of 70% silk combined with a fiber derived from seaweed. With natural sources for the yarn, it’s quite eco-friendly. It looks very much like silk, and it’s been dyed by hand with dramatic colors suitable for striking knits.
- 100% Organic Cotton.Organic cotton is grown and harvested without requiring the use of typical agricultural chemicals. It’s beautiful and it’s naturally dyed, and it offers a lovely twist that’s ideal for cable knits.
- Nepalese Recycled Silk Sari Yarn. This is a unique yarn that’s been spun by hand in Nepal. It’s actually made from the silk fabric scraps that result from the manufacturing of saris. Since you’re basically using recycled scrap material, you’re reusing material that would just have been discarded and thrown away as garbage otherwise.
Also, the makers of this yarn are disadvantaged women. By buying this yarn, you’re helping ensure they’re getting a steady income and a stable job.
- Corn Yarn. Eco-friendly corn fibers are used to make this flat strand yarn. What makes this different from most other types of yarn is that the fiber is both machine washable and dryable. It’s ideal for summer knits as it’s very light.
- With hemp you have one of the most famous renewable sources of yarn in the world. Hemp actually produces more fiber per hectare than any other source of yarn. It can produce 2.5 times more fiber than even cotton with the same amount of land, and hemp uses less water too. Compared to flax, hemp produces 6 times more fiber.
Hemp is fantastic, since it’s cool for the summer and warm for winter. It’s also a strong fiber that makes your knitwear last much longer.
Pick any of these different types of yarn and you’ll not only be able to create beautiful pieces but you’ll be protecting the environment too.