Icebreaker’s Bodyfit

Have you ever wanted to meet the sheep that was shorn for your clothes?  Just enter the “baa code” on your label into the Icebreaker website to meet where your sheep lives.

With most of the things you buy, you’re told little or nothing about how they’re made. Icebreaker is different.

We have a deep commitment to animal welfare, the welfare of the people who work with us, and the environment. And we have nothing to hide.

Your unique Baacode will let you see the living conditions of the high country sheep that produced the merino fibre in your Icebreaker garment, meet the farmers who are custodians of this astonishing landscape, and follow every step of the supply chain. We’re sure you’ll find the experience as inspiring as we do. Enjoy your journey back to the source.

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Ecolana is a 60% Alpaca 40% Merino Wool blend yarn that is produced with environmentally friendly production methods.

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Wool is the most hydrophilic of all fibers and wicks away excess moisture, drying quickly. It’s a natural fire retardant that can resist flame without chemical treatment and wool is a renewable resource that regrows on the sheep after shearing. It is biodegradable and kinder to the environment than oil-based synthetics that contribute to global pollution. Wool is durable, remarkably elastic for growing children, and is free of dust mites.

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The fiber for these yarns are from traditional and rare breeds of Organic British sheep. It is eye opening to learn about all the different breeds of sheep and the different fibers that they produce. Just look at the sweet faces on the Bluefaced Leicesters and the Herdwicks!

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Rowan still offers their organic cotton yarn in DK weight that is naturally dyed using plants. New this season is their 4 ply organic cotton yarn, also dyed with natural plant dyes. The shades of this yarn are soft, subtle and sweet, perfect for summer knitting.

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Offering both vegan and animal friendly fibers, Folktail hand spins amazing fiber and color combinations to create lovely yarns.

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The yarn is spun from the remnants of the production of silk saris in Nepal. Darn Good Yarn only works with co-ops in Nepal that offer fair trade pricing for the spinning of the yarn.

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I know we’ve already sang the praises of hemp but it stands to be repeated. Hemp is a fast growing plant that is pest resistant reducing the need for both water and pesticides and herbicides. Hemp also helps nourish the soil right where it is planted, reducing the need for fertilizer.

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Eco Wool comes in DK weight in 50 gram balls. It looks quite lovely and natural.

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Not only are “green” resources more available today, there are authenticity and certification programs, as well as trace systems that track from field to retailer. Simple Shoes is a business with deserved admiration for establishing sustainable material suppliers through a combination of programs. They appropriately describe themselves as a “nice little shoe company getting in touch with its inner hippie.”

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Having lived in Brooklyn for part of my life I can appreciate the creativity that grows there. Bodkin is a good example of a budding environmentally friendly clothing company in New York that specializes in:

• organic cotton, wool, recycled-PET nylon, cellulosic fibers, and kapok
• cute and contemporary styles and designs
• eco vegetable dyed garments
• the principles of sustainability as they relate to fashion

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Sublime offers soft and soothing colors that seem perfect for this time of year. They come in organic cotton as well as organic merino wool. Organic options enough for everyone.

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Owned and operated by Becky Weed and Dave Tyler, this pair are still learning ways to green up their farm but currently practice crop and animal rotation, use plants instead of chemicals for fertilizers and never use antibiotics or hormones in their sheep. They are certified organic by the USDA
and have a Predatory Friendly certification as well. That means they do not use lethal methods to deter predators. This is especially crucial in areas such as Montana and other farming states where important predators are on the come back, such as wolves.

While these are great and wonderful points about the farm, we’re here for the yarn!

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From wool and wool blends to soysilk yarns, Midnightsky offers hand spun and hand dyed yarns and fibers. Special emphasis is placed on wool and wool blends with all natural and environmentally-friendly fibers used in the blends.

All of their yarns and fibers are available in their natural state, dyed, or hand painted, in addition to a number of fiber clubs and sock yarn clubs. They source their yarns and fibers from other small companies committed to supporting small artists and environmental issues.

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The Treliske merino wool range includes organic babywear, baby blankets, knitwear and knitting wool yarns which free from harmful chemicals. It is natural, undyed and unbleached and is grown and manufactured without the 8,000 chemicals found in the textile industry.

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Located in Monroe, Wisconsin, Homestead boasts a healthy and happy flock of 92 sheep and a couple of alpacas and great pyrenees that help protect the sheep. Homestead takes great pride in the care of their flock. Their happiness and good care is their utmost concern.

All of the fiber from the sheep is washed and dyed on the farm. Most of it ends up for sale after being carded. All of their yarn is handspun on the farm and comes in a variety of weights including single-ply and double-ply.

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Ahem. My point, now that I’ve gotten around to it, is that I actually do craft with new wool, but I need to know where that wool has come from so that I can assure myself that the sheep were humanely raised as the happy, frolicsome beasts they’re meant to be (I assume–never having raised sheep myself, they could be fierce and blood-thirsty predators, for all I really know).

And one of the awesomest kinds of wool to craft with, especially if you’re not a spinner or a knitter, is wool roving (just don’t use superwash!). You can felt wet-felt wool roving to make your own felt, or you can welt-felt it around a form. A good project for a newbie is this one, in which we’re going to wet-felt some roving around a river rock. It will be hefty but soft, good for anything from a paperweight to a plaything:

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Did you know that 2009 has been declared the International Year of Natural Fibers by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization?

Why is natural fiber so important?

The natural fiber organizations help the income and the food security of poor farmers such as those working with jute in Bangladesh, cotton in some West African countries and sisal (shown above) making a comeback in Tanzania.

“The main goal of the International Year of Natural Fibers is to raise the profile of these fibers and to emphasize their value to consumers while helping to sustain the incomes of the farmers. ” states the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

30 million tons or more are produced each year and natural fibers form an important component of clothing, upholstery and many textiles. Some also have industrial applications such as “packaging, papermaking and in composite materials with many uses, including as parts in automobiles.”

Some features for 2009 will include:

• The promotion of the efficiency and sustainability of the natural fiber industries.
• The encouragement of appropriate policy responses from governments to the problems faced by natural fiber industries.
• Large international conferences will be held.
• Fostering an effective and enduring international partnership among the various natural fiber industries.
• Displays and fashion shows and many other events in many countries, run by a variety of different national organizations.

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The front page has pleasing images of piles of soft, fuzzy fabric and clothing, made from what it describes as, “…a 100% natural fiber product made from 60% merino wool and 40% paihamu spun together to make a premium cashmere-like fabric that is softer, warmer, and lighter than plain wool.” Sounds good so far, right?

My eyebrow started to cock when I read a seemingly throwaway sentence, without a connecting justification for it: “Eco-friendly and practical - talk about a great way to reduce, reuse and recycle.”

Going to the Ecological Profile page to learn more, I was surprised to read what I can say is the most unique claim to being sustainable I’ve seen in a while - Basically, by killing them for their fur, they are helping restore ecological balance on New Zealand.

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While on the island of Chiloé, the second largest island of Chile, the majority of the artisans sold hand knitted items and hand spun wool. I couldn’t have been more delighted!

Chiloé was a magical place for me, the views of the ocean and rolling farmland with happy and healthy looking cows and sheep and chickens, were such a pleasure to behold. The island holds much lore and is seeped in tradition, with hand spun wool being one of these traditions.

In exploring the markets filled with handmade goods, many of the women would sit and knit, creating their wares as people browsed. Or they would spin. Several had spinning wheels and would spin their wool into yarn, right then and there.

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