Imagine a sheep standing in the meadow, maybe in the rain, maybe walking through mud and generally enjoying its sheepness. This sheep naturally has a ton of grease (also called lanolin) in it’s fur to protect it from the elements. It also has so much dirt on its locks that the weight of the sheared wool drops by one third when the harvested wool is washed.
Commercial fiber processors use powerful chemicals to break down the lanolin, remove all dirt and vegetal matter to achieve a fiber that is clean enough to be processed in the mills. Mills, depending on desired end result, will use conditioners and dyes (and sometimes fragrances) to make the fiber products most people are accustomed to buying.
Buying certified organic yarn and fiber is your best bet to minimize exposure to these powerful chemicals, which is crucial for folks with sensitive skin. It also helps to promote kinder animal husbandry, improved employment practices, and increased environmental safety rules which are all part of creating a sustainable fiber product.
Sure, the cleaning process takes us a lot longer, and the GOTS Organic Certification certainly isn’t cheap, but it’s worth it to us. It’s all just a part of our promise to deliver the highest quality products to our customers without sacrificing our values and ethics.
We offer a variety of certified organic products including our Purity Organic Merino Yarn, Ecolana Organic Wool, Organic Stuffing, and Organic Pima Cotton Yarn. and let me tell you that these top notch products will rock your socks off!
What are your thoughts on organically certified wool? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.