With troubling news about the state of the climate increasing day by day, most of us are trying our best to make changes where we can to lessen our impact on the natural world.
Sourcing or making our own clothes sustainably is one of the best ways we can reduce our impact on the environment and avoid getting wrapped up in the fast fashion doom cycle which is contributing to the triple planetary crisis.. If you are interested in making crafts or clothing with more sustainable materials, here are some yarns that have a smaller impact on the environment than others.

Wool

Sustainable wool production can have net benefits for the environment, but not all wool production is sustainable! Wool is a natural and renewable resource, and depending on how it is treated, is not overly processed. It’s also biodegradable.

If you don’t know which wool is best for your project, you can buy a knitting kit containing ethically sourced wool from an online retailer such as https://www.woolcouturecompany.com/collections/knitting-kits.

Tencel

Many people will have seen the word ‘Tencel’ being promoted on clothing items in high street shops. Tencel is a form of lyocell fibre made from the wood pulp of renewable eucalyptus trees. It is biodegradable and can be composted.

Alpaca

Alpaca yarn is sustainable because alpacas require little water and their wool is lanolin-free and requires no harsh processing when spun to yarn. It’s the lowest environmental impact yarn derived from a mammal.

Ahimsa Silk

Traditionally, roughly 3,000 silkworms are killed per pound of silk production. Not only is this cruel and wasteful, but it takes a lot of resources to get to that point. Ahimsa silk is more sustainable because the silk cocoons are left to hatch and then the silk fibres are collected after the moths have left the cocoons.

No matter what material you use, it’s a good rule of thumb to try to source a product with as few air miles as possible, or one that has only been transported once from its country of production.