Animal-Friendly Yarn

So what makes a yarn animal-friendly? Does it have to be made from plant or synthetic fibers? I don't think so, and this is why.

I heard someone once describe themselves as a “Cafeteria Catholic”. I had to chuckle because I knew exactly what they meant. I’m a “Cafeteria Vegan”. I’m a vegan who mostly agrees with the dogma, occasionally agrees with the tactics, and flat out disagrees with certain doctrines. The area where I disagree most strongly is in the use of wool and other animal fibers.

Most views on this fall into one extreme or the other. When told about some of the horrific factory farming practices that are used to produce our mainstream fibers, some say “look, there is a lot of human and animal suffering that happens around the world to produce the products that we use everyday. I don’t like it but there is nothing I can do about it so I try not to think about it.” I’ve also heard this response “so what, they are just animals, sheep aren’t people” (I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and assume that response comes from the same sentiment as the first, just hidden under a gruff exterior). Then there is the standard vegan response “we have no right to profit from animals or use products that come from animals. The only true animal-friendly fibers come from plants.”

Most people want to be good people. Most people want to do the right thing. Why do you think the organic food industry continues to thrive during an economic crisis? But the right thing is complicated. For example, only using recycled paper is doing the right thing, right? Maybe, maybe not. If all those acres of forest that are set aside for logging were suddenly useless because people weren’t buying virgin paper or wood, do you think the forests would be abandoned or another lucrative use would be found for them, like, say, luxury condos villages?

When you start to dig past the labels of “animal-friendly”, “eco-friendly”, “fair-trade” and the like it can be disheartening to learn that sometimes these things aren’t as sustainable, fair or ethical as you were excited to believe. The natural tendency is to give up and become cynical about the amount of impact you can personally have.

One of the reasons I love making yarn is that it’s one of the very few things in this world that has the potential to be pure.

Here are the facts. Domesticated fiber bearing animals have to be sheared (or plucked in the case of rabbits) or they will suffer and possibly even die from the neglect. Not properly caring for domesticated animals is inhumane. Most wild fiber bearing animals shed their coats on the open plains where they wander. Wild silk moths abandon their cocoons when they are done with them.

So, here you have all this fiber, the fiber from the shearing and the fiber naturally discarded, and you are supposed to just leave it there to rot? The shepherdess can’t support herself and her sheep from selling their fleeces? The nomadic peoples of Mongolia and Alaska and people in small villages in India can’t sell foraged fibers as a source of income? None of these people are getting rich. These are not CEOs of Fortune 500s. There will be no Enron here. This is simple.

But, does the shepherdess treat her animals well or are they bred to produce so much wool they can barely stand? Are the villagers poaching endangered animals for their fiber instead of waiting for them to shed it?

Well, that is the beauty of yarn. It’s not far removed from it’s raw state so it’s fairly easy to track down the source, especially if you buy handspun. It’s not like that “Made in Hong Kong” tee-shirt you bought at Wal-Mart yesterday. You can buy yarn from a spinner who can tell you that the wool came from her sister’s pet sheep Maxine and she dyed it in some wild goldenrod that was growing along her driveway. Spinners and dyers are proud to tell you about their process. They would love to make something special for you that suites your values. Try asking a sales associate at Wal-Mart about the origins of that shirt. Bonus points if you ask them if they would make an organic one for you that is dyed with plants.

So where in the world do you find someone who makes yarn, let alone someone who makes yarn from the fiber of animals who are well treated. Well, I can help you out there. My Etsy shop, for starters http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6059496 Also, there is HollyEqq, Miss Hawklet, and the Homestead Wool and Gift Farm. If you prefer millspun yarn for economy or consistency, Homestead now offers animal-friendly millspun yarn. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks beautiful. Also, there are loads of shops on Etsy that sell “green” and ethical fibers, just be sure to ask about their process and sources.

When it comes to yarn you can show your support for treating animal life with respect without resigning yourself to a 10 pound cotton sweater. You can buy Animal-Friendly wool yarn be and be Cafeteria Vegan just like me!

Peace