Posts tagged ‘yarn carbon footprint’

June 14th, 2010

Small Carbon Footprint Yarn: St-Denis Nordique

Yarn Scoop Yarn and Knitting News

I was interested to read Veronik Avery’s blog post meditation “Knitting Green,” about the carbon footprint of yarn, and why Classic Elite Yarns’ St-Denis Nordique is different.

Nordique stands out from the crowd as a US-sourced and made yarn. Most other yarns are shipped back and forth across the world before they get to the store shelves.

What makes Nordique ‘green’ is where it comes from – it is indeed all north American, right down to the wool used. Because the majority of wool used today originates from Australia, China and New Zealand, much of what can be purchased on local store shelves has an elevated ‘ecological footprint’.

Nordique is a 100% wool yarn, 150 yards per 50g skein.

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August 24th, 2008

New Yarn: “Montana” From Tahki Stacy Charles

Montana yarn

Tahki Stacy Charles has announced their newest yarn, Montana. Montana is an interesting new edition to Tahki Yarns’ new eco-friendly Terra Collection yarn line.

Montana is a 100% “unprocessed wool roving in a jumbo 100g hank.” Tahki blends natural undyed sheep’s wool with low-impact dyes to create a selection of natural heathered shades. Montana’s packaging is made of recycled paper, which is printed with vegetable-based inks.

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August 11th, 2008

Baacode Tracing Program for Merino Wool

Icebreaker Baacode

Clothing manufacturer Icebreaker has launched a “chain of custody” style tracing program for the merino wool used in their products, called Baacode.

When you buy an item of Icebreaker clothing, you can type the special code into their search engine to find information about the sheep station from which the wool was sourced. (If you want to check it out, the Baacode site will give you a demo code.)

Between the movement towards “small yarn” and concerns over yarn’s carbon footprint, the Baacode program is a natural for the hand-knitting community. I wonder if Icebreaker would consider diverting some of its merino wool to yarn?

[via]

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July 21st, 2008

Knit Local: Texas Fiber Mill Opens Its Doors

Texas fiber mill

The Austin American Statesman has a long, engrossing article about a local fiber mill.

After retiring from his oncology practice, Dr. Jim Sharp and his wife Deborah Sharp (a clinical social worker) began raising mohair and angora goats. In January, 2008, seeing a need, they decided to open their own local fiber mill.

The Texas Fiber Mill is open to any fiber producers, with any amount of fleece, from any fiber-bearing animal. Their prices are competitive with larger mills, but they appear to have no minimum order, which makes them a perfect choice for small regional fiber producers.

In addition to filling a much-needed market niche, the Texas Fiber Mill uses a rainwater collection system, and recycles 40% of the water used in scouring. Since they use a non-toxic scouring agent, they are able to use their graywater to irrigate the hay pasture which feeds their own flock of angora goats.

The article goes in-depth into the history and ramifications of the Sharp’s decision to start their own fiber mill. Read it!

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