Earth Day

I wanted to do something in the shop around Earth Day, but never got it together. Still, I want to share how Y2Knit makes choices about yarn that we hope are friendly to the planet.

We consider how yarn is made and where it comes from. We favor small companies because we can trace the yarn more easily. We feel fortunate to work in an industry where many companies are making eco-friendly choices.

Here's some of the stories we love:

Brown Sheep Company, a USA company that sources most of their yarn from the US, built a water reclamation system so they can recycle most of the water used in processing the wool. I asked Peggy Jo what motivated them to do this and she responded, "because it's the right thing to do." I love doing business with a company whose owner talks like that!

Frog Tree Yarns is a non-profit works with native communities to provide livelihood through fiber processing. They know that employing women means kids eat and get educated. Frog Tree is part of Community Links, an environmental and international educational program focusing on the environment, community based education, fair trade and social justice.

Be Sweet is a certified fair trade company providing jobs in areas of high unemployment in South Africa, where 65% of the mohair in the world is raised. Again, women are earning money through fiber processing and adding substance to their communities.

Everyone loves Malabrigo for their lovely fiber. We also love them because the work with cooperatives to have the yarn dyed, providing jobs in Uruguayan communities.
Frabjous Fibers imports recycled silk and mixed fiber yarns. All of their products are fair trade, meaning that the spinners of the waste fibers from the weaving mills are paid a fair wage. We thank those who make our beloved felt balls!

Zitron, distributed by Skacel is another favorite. Not only does Zitron make great Trekking sock yarn and other delightful yarns in fabulous colors, but they are certified 100% organic. We appreciate their commitment to the environment.

This list is not limited to these companies, they are just some that come to mind now.