Just as we can farm organic livestock as a nutritious and environmentally friendly choice for food, we can also produce organic wool for sustainable use in knitting yarn, socks, sweaters, coats, suits, blankets and baby clothes.
What Makes Wool Organic?
According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), animals used to produce organic wool are nourished with only certified organic food, and the use of synthetic hormones, pesticides, and genetic engineering is strictly prohibited.
Organic livestock producers must support the health of the animal with the use of ethical management practices, including abstaining from such inhumane practices as dipping sheep in insecticides to control external parasites or mulesing (the removal of wool and skin near the sheep’s rear end to prevent fly-strike). Also, producers of organic livestock are required to ensure that they do not exceed the natural carrying capacity of the land on which their animals graze.
Why Wear Organic Wool?
The pesticides used in traditional sheep production pose health risks not only to the animals themselves, but also to the environment and the humans who ultimately wear wool garments. With the resulting reduction of exposure to toxic chemicals from synthetic pesticides and hormones, it's no surprise that the popularity and abundance of organic wool is on the rise.
What is the Demand for and Availability of Organic Wool?
In 2005, the Organic Trade Association conducted a survey concerning organic wool production and markets in the United States and Canada; responses to the survey indicated that 19,152 pounds (8,705 kg) of organic wool were grown in the United States and Canada in that year, with the vast majority (more than 98 percent) of organic wool produced in the United States.
Why is Organic Wool More Expensive?
The OTA says that consumers can expect to pay a higher price for garments made from organic wool for a few key reasons:
- Organic wool producers costs of production are higher, primarily associated with higher labor, management, and certification costs
- The organic wool industry is quite small relative to the overall wool industry and does not have the economies of scale and resulting efficiencies of the conventional wool production industry
- Federal organic standards for livestock production prohibit overgrazing, which means that if the price of wool is low, the farmer's can't make up the difference by simply increasing production per unit of land, as is commonly practiced by many livestock producers.
Organic Wool in Fashion
Knitters can find organic wool options in just about any well-stocked yarn shop. For those of us without the skill or time (or some combination of the two) to knit our own stylish sweaters, jackets and jumpers, fortunately, more and more cutting-edge, eco-conscious fashion designers are incorporating sustainable textiles like organic wool and organic cotton into their collections as a reflection of their environmental ethics and as a gesture to the growing ranks of fashionistas who are passionate about saving the planet.
Johneen Manning - My skills and interests are broad and varied – a consequence of the fact that in my early 20s I couldn't figure out what I wanted to ...
