I’ve been thinking about this as I choose what to get next to make my next project. Thinking about it, there are different levels to being eco-friendly.
The most eco-friendly tools and yarn will be compostable and biodegradable. You can stick it in a garden hole in the back yard when you are ready to get rid of them and throw them away and in 1-5 years they will revert to being dirt again. These are crochet hooks, needles and yarn that are 100% natural materials.
Handmade supplies from natural materials are also great.
Growing your own cotton in the back yard or shearing the fleece of your own small flock of American sheep and spinning it into yarn is so awesome!
Just keep it all natural. They can NOT have a nylon cord attached or contain 15% polyester or 10% nylon. Even the dyes and finishing chemicals used must be natural and easy on the environment to not leech toxins into our water sources. This eco-friendly yarn-crafting is the ideal. And to even go further with moral responsibility, the item must be made in your own country and be sold from a small business vendor in your state, county or district. (You can do a search by distance away from you on eBay but be careful since they may be in the same state but be so far away they may have to get to you by plane.) Local vendors and manufacturers especially artisan-made check all the good eco-friendly boxes that one can think of.
The other supplies can be put into other numerous groups or lists but let’s keep those groups to a minimum. I can put the other items into 3 other groups. I could put them into 3 and maybe a dozen but I want to give people an opportunity to aim a little higher at making a difference by recognizing these four in this post.
I mentioned the best, so let’s go for the worst (4th group) just to see what the opposite looks like. The worst is to get plastic, acrylic or polyester items made in China from vendors overseas that use toxic chemicals, use workers that are underpaid in toxic or unhygienic work facilities.
These items are packed in plastic and have to travel thousands of miles leaving toxic chemicals in the air or sea as they travel. These items are inexpensive and they have often have some type of convenience making them attractive to the buyer such as being machine washable or being very low in price. They might even look very appealing like pink or glittery plastic crochet hooks or a mega ball of acrylic neon yarn. These items may also include synthetic material of fast fashion trends and are difficult to dispose of without over-filling up landfills or being toxic to the environment. This group is the most damaging but can also can be the most tempting. Try not to impulse shop and think it out before you put it in a virtual shopping cart. I am speaking from experience!
Let me also add to the worst and 4th group hostile countries with leaders that are bent on hating us. This would include the country of Turkey where many craft items are made. The president of Turkey unfortunately hates the USA. I do not trust that these leaders with American commerce. Maybe this would also include Russia or Pakistan but I just want to add that I do not mean the individual people of any country because many of them are not out to destroy us and might have another opinion than their leaders but their leaders do not have our best interests so items from these countries with large craft supply vendors are in this group. Alternatively, buying from individuals or small companies from these countries that are really not out to destroy us are fine and can be interesting and helpful to purchase from but I do not trust a large company that funds and supports a government that would willingly or unwillingly fund destructive practices. I am against evil regimes but not innocent people. Use some discernment when making your consumer choices.
The 2nd best is still a very good bet environmentally because buying used, vintage, swapping or borrowing keeps things out of landfills as long as possible and can be the most inexpensive. These are items that are already in your possession, near you and available to you for free or at a discount. It is vintage or items you can pass down, borrow or trade. These are items your grandmother or mother saved. My mother had a box of supplies in the storage shed with 1980’s yarn and tools that she just saved hoping there would be a use for later. My mother sometimes sends small amounts of her old stash to crafty nieces when she sends gift packages. Sometimes she finds things at yard sales for me because she is a good negotiator at getting a deal. Most of my supplies are vintage, 2nd hand and American made. This is up-cycling and re-using items. Unraveling an old sweater for the yarn for a more updated style can fit this grouping. Also, recycled materials can also be part of this grouping. If you have knitting needles, crochet hooks or even fabric made from recycled items like yogurt cups and plastic water bottles, this is also a form of up-cycling, recycling and reusing.
The term ‘Use what you have’ would be in this group. I know there are people who absolutely love their Chiao Goo needles. They are made in China, unfortunately, and it is rare to get honest, real promises or proof of a good work environment, environmental standards and good wages for the workers in China. But the nylon/metal cord is the best and if you like sharper tips and a nice set of interchangeable, they do have a good product. The thing is that you have to make some sacrifices and choices that might not be the choices you would have made 5 years ago because you want to change your industry with your consumer dollars and use new information about making a difference environmentally. In that case you will have to personally make that decision for your own crafting experience. Don’t hate or harass anyone if they choose other things or buy things you wouldn’t. It is a personal yarn crafting journey. But if you can, please try to stick to your new eco-friendly decisions and take care of and use what you already have.
Oh and buying used or vintage items online made and sold within our own countries from small vendors or small business would also be in this eco-friendly group and again check to see how far away they are so they do not require a plane to get to you.
The 3rd group is common and not so bad but we can try to do better. These items are good and may be beautiful, suitable, and even fantastic to look at and use but it is not environmentally ideal. There is still good aspects to these products and so are the effects of buying or attaining them. These are things such as Japanese bamboo needles with nylon cords or fair trade items from India. They will still travel a long way but be beneficial to workers and work environments that are putting effort into doing their part to making a quality item that is non-toxic. Items are natural or mostly natural and pay the worker a fair price with better working conditions. This is about dignity and helping other friendly countries. When we get Alpaca from Peru or wood needles from India, this helps build relationships. I hope they will reciprocate and buy American products as well. Also neighboring countries have good crafting supplies such as items from Canada and Mexico and are part of this group. I would consider these 3rd group items as being average to good and much better than the 4th group that we need to put some effort to avoid and change.
So those are the main groups that we might be able to group our crafting supplies and maybe you can think of other ways to group them but I don’t think all eco-friendly items are equal or the same. What do you think?
Group 1 – Best eco-friendly and sustainable choice
Group 2 – Great eco-friendly choice especially economically.
Group 3 – Good and average economically, socially and environmentally choice
Group 4 – Worst to not so great choice. I hope we can do better going forward in the next decade.
If you have comments, suggestions or additions, please include these and remember to be respectful in the comment area. Thank you so much for reading this post and I hope you will share it.
Joyful In Tribulation 