If you have an interest in crocheting or knitting a sweater, then we recommend that you select environment-friendly yarns. These yarns are great for the atmosphere and also for your wellbeing. Many kinds of available yarn online, which you could choose to knit the sweater or anything you like. But before that, you should know which type of yarns you need to avoid:
Acrylics: It’s low quality, cheap, and even harmful to the people.
Nylon: It’s an energy-intensive item, but not biodegradable. It’s a sort of plastic, which comes from crude oil. An individual may use ECONYL as the best alternative.
Polyester: It’s low quality, synthetic, carbon intense. When polyester separates into pieces, it transforms into tiny microfibers of plastic. It creates havoc on human and sea life.
Synthetic Dyes: The chemical and toxic dyes create a bad influence on the environment. So, an individual needs to prevent yarns in the fabric. Use a substitute for wool that’s organic.
Things to Look for in Sustainable Yarn
The companies mentioned below have some excellent non-toxic, natural and biodegradable yarns. But if you are in a craft store facing an overwhelming wall of yarn, then here’s what to look for in the stores or you can buy yarn online:
1. Organic Yarns
Cotton yarn Organic- It’s 100% organic yarns, which come in a natural color and it does not contain any dyes and bleach. It’s a soft yarn, but colors in a variety of types. It will shrink around 5 to 10 percent in the length when it’s washed and then dried.
Farfalla Botanicals– it is Peruvian yarn, which is manually harvested and brushed. It has a Fair Trade certification, which provides natural colors. A slight color difference will be there from one yarn ball to another. It has a beautiful texture, and it’s soft and supple.
Skinny cotton of Blue Sky Alpacas- it’s an organic cotton yarn, which is silky, soft and contains 21 shades. All the colors are organic and natural dyed. The stitch with this yarn comes super lovely, and it’s a simple yarn to work with.
Verde Collection Sprout- it’s natural yarn with nubby texture. It’s cushy. It is possible to wash the yarn from the machine, and the yarn comes in varieties of colors.
Quince & Co Sparry Organic-Linen- The sweaters made with this yarn comes clean and smooth. As soon as you wash the thread, it is going to become drape and tender. The online yarn is available in 20 different colors. This online yarn is quite significant for your skin.
2. Recycled Yarns
Kollage Riveting- it’s made of reused blue jeans. Riveting comes from the substances which are 80% post-consumer. It’s available in nearly 19 colors. It is possible to wash the yarn from the machine, and you can also place in the dryer. It’s comfortable, and you’ll love a pair of jeans.
Darn Yarn and Chunky Yarn- it’s produced from manufactured scrap, and it transforms into the beautiful yarn. The thickset yarn is soft and thick correspondingly. The yarn’s colors are marvelous.
2nd Time Cotton- it is recycled cotton in a new form. It’s a sort of ethical knitting. The colors are fabulous, and the blend is soft and available yarn online.
Berroco Remix- It’s a great mixture of silk, lines, acrylic, cotton, and nylon. It is made from recycled fibers which can be found in 20 different colors. Though you may give a machine clean to this yarn, you need to dry it flat.
Kitsdiezijn T-Yarn- It’s a Netherland based shirt yarn. It’s available in great colors and is made from high-quality cotton.
3. Alternative Fiber Yarns
Hand Maiden Sea Silk yarn- The lace yarn looks luxurious. Sea silk yarn is made of the seaweed, and you have to hand-washed this yarn. It’s ideal for beautiful things.
SWTC Pure– It’s made from the soy protein and it is100% organic and alternative to wool. It provides stunning sheen, softly takes away all of the moisture, and it’s hot.
Darn Yarn with Banana Fiber- The banana tree bark is used to extract the fiber. It’s a sustainable product, which is durable, silk, and soft feel. Well, the wool of banana is biodegradable.
Bamboo Be Sweet- When you develop bamboo such as the weeds, then it ends up to a beautiful yet straightforward yarn. The yarn is manually-dyed, and it glows like silk, antibacterial, and you can machine wash them. They encourage artisans’ family to create these gorgeous eco-friendly yarns.
Lana Knits Hempton- It’s manufactured in Italy, and it is an excellent combination of hemp and cotton. It provides a soft, silky texture with a terrific shine. It’s available in 14 different colors. You can wash in the machine and dry cautiously.
4. Merino Yarn Organic
This yarn is formed in the United States, and it is hand dyed with all-natural elements. It provides you ethical knitting, which produces a supple, soft and warm sweater for the winter season.
5. Flax Yarn
Euroflax yarn is made of flax fiber. First, it is double-boiled and then steamed to provide a soft feel. You may use this yarn for your home décor. This yarn is beneficial to make garments. It’s a sustainable brand, which thinks of the environment, human health and animals
6.Corn Yarn
It’s a yarn, which is made of corn fibers. It’s a different fiber, that’s readily dryable and washable. For summer knits, they are ideal since they’re light. It’s one of those eco-friendly yarns which are super comfy, super soft and easy to knit.
Sustainable, Ethical, and Beautiful Yarn Brands
The following yarn brands can be found online, so making it easy to select and buy yarn online.
Wool and the Gang
Wool and the Gang do not just carry wool. They have nontoxic Tencel yarn produced from a 100% renewable energy, yarn made from pre-consumer scrap fibers, sustainably-sourced Peruvian wool, reused denim and jersey yarn made from style factory scraps, and much more. You can read a lot about every kind of yarn and its sustainable characteristics right on the site. You may even get knitting and crochet kits and tools, too.
We’re Knitters
We’re Knitters’ classic dye is made from 100% ecological Peruvian wool, their cloth yarn consists of remaining t-shirts, their handmade fibers are made from eco-friendly beechwood, and their plastic bags are recyclable and recycled. They’ve all types of kits for every level of knitter, in addition to other supplies, patterns, and video tutorials.
Darn Good Yarn
Darn Good Yarn began with 100% silk from recycled saris and now carries other kinds of natural fibers such as wool and linen. In the artist who manually spins the yarn to the man who fills the bundles, every bit of the Darn Good Yarn supply chain creates a positive impact in some way, whether through job development or non-profit venture. Also, they carry things such as kits and patterns, yarn bowls, pre-made clothes, jewelry, home goods, and much more.
Echoview Fiber Mill
Echoview Fiber Mill is a spinning factory, knitting operation, and design home in North Carolina with a base built on sustainability. With her experience in ecology and textiles, Founder of Echoview, Julie Jensen, really made the very first Gold LEED Certified fiber plant in the USA. Not only can they sell high quality, silk, alpaca, mohair, naturally-dyed wool, and natural cotton yarn, but they have some stunning pre-made accessories, clothing, and home products also.
Loopy Mango
Each ball of Loopy Mango yarn is sourced from 100% nationally merino wool and handcrafted by artisans. They’ve all varieties of yarn, video tutorials, crocheting and knitting tools, and beginner-friendly DIY kits, free patterns, pre-made knitwear and homeware, and gift boxes. If you are in New York, visit their shop!
The Rare Creature
The team at The Rare Creature invented an entirely new type of yarn, which is created from sustainably and ethically sourced alpaca yarn, but with a different sort of technology that allows for looser fibers and a softer feel. The Rare Creature yarns come in beautiful organic tones and you can either buy only the yarn or catch a knitting kit or pattern to go with this.
Natural Recycled Yarn
Misti Nolan takes lost sweaters, unwinds them, and transforms them into 100% recycled wool for your next job. You can watch the before and after pictures of the jerseys and dye on her Instagram and store from yarn type (alpaca, cashmere, linen, blends, cotton, wool, and much more) on her Etsy shop.
Purl Soho
Purl Soho has a collection of natural yarns produced from fibers like linen, alpaca, cotton, and silk. They have a lot of kits that will assist you in learning new skills–not only for knitting but also weaving, crocheting, embroidering, and sewing.
Manos Del Uruguay
Manos del Uruguay is a nonprofit organization that has been dedicated to the economic development of rural women around the world from the very start. All their yarn is certified by the World Fair Trade Organization and supplies jobs for girls through cooperatives throughout the planet.
Blue Sky Fibers
The team at Blue Sky Fibers began turning the wool of a couple of alpacas they had in their backyard, and have since expanded to include other fibers such as wool, organic cotton, silk, and cashmere. All their fibers are colored with low-impact dyes. They also carry kits, patterns, and accessories.
Vegan Yarn
Each kind of Vegan Yarn is manually dyed by the company’s founders themselves, in their home workshop in Canada. They utilize Tencel, bamboo, linen, Soysilk, and “vegan cashmere” (which are real nylon, so perhaps avoid that one). They also carry pre-made bags, clothes, knitting and crocheting supplies, and patterns.
Watch this video for more information: