Buy Eco-Friendly Organic Wool Yarn Online

Wool has been one of the most popular materials for spinning for thousands of years thanks to its many wonderful qualities. Wool is one of the best natural thermal regulating materials and is durable, beautiful, and easy to work. It is naturally resistant to dust, dirt, and mildew, flame resistant, wrinkle resistant, and water repellent.

Another advantage of wool is that small backyard flocks are still common in many parts of the world, so wool is one of the most readily available local fibers in many regions.

Why Organic Wool Yarn?

Unfortunately, conventional sheep raising and wool processing practices are not very eco-friendly. Although the practice is less popular than it once was, many sheep are still subjected to strong insecticide dips to kill mites, ticks, and other insect pests. These dips are harmful to the sheep, to human workers, and to the environment. Another old-fashioned practice now dying out but still practiced in some areas is the brutal practice of “mulesing” – cutting off chunks of flesh under the sheep’s tail to create smooth scar tissue that will provide less habitat for flies and other pests. Many conventionally raised sheep are also routinely fed antibiotics to help them gain weight and produce more wool quicker, and to keep them healthy in overcrowded conditions.

The shearing process may be humane or not, depending on the skill and patience of the shearer. In general, hand-held clippers are more humane than electric ones, and smaller flocks tend to be sheared more gently than larger ones because there are fewer sheep to get through and they may be more habituated to human contact.

After the wool is sheared, it undergoes considerable processing before spinning, including harsh and frequently toxic chemical bleaching and cleaning agents. These chemicals may be harmful to both workers and the end consumer.

Organic wool, in contrast, is stocked at appropriate levels to reduce stress to the animals and raised without the use of insecticide dips or antibiotic-laced foods. Organic wool is processed using natural, non-toxic cleaning agents and dyes.

Many organic flocks use old-fashioned breeds of sheep bred for greater disease and pest resistance rather than higher production, so purchasing organic wool may also help preserve agricultural biodiversity and the genetic heritage of now-rare sheep breeds such as the Shetland, Leicester Longwool, and Cotswold breeds. Many old-fashioned sheep breeds also produce greater variety of natural fleece colors than highly specialized modern breeds such as the Merino. The multi-horned, spotted Jacob breed is especially well known for its colorful wool.