Organic Wool

In common with all the coolest people out there I have taught myself to knit and have started making all sorts of funky hats, scarves, mittens, socks, etc. for me and friends. It's really easy to learn and there are lots of free instructions on t'Internet (e.g. http://www.knitty.com). But I was worried about the impact of my newfound creativity. To knit you need pointy sticks and wool - known as "yarn" by proper knitters. Sometimes yarn can be made of acrylic (plastic, basically) or other non-natural materials, and if it is made of natural fibres, like cotton or wool from sheep, sometimes it might be dyed using non-environmentally friendly fibres.

I decided to therefore only knit with what I considered to be "sustainable" yarn and have found this online shop based in Scotland: http://www.newlanarkshop.co.uk. The wool sold here is made of 100% natural fibres, mostly 100% organic wool, and a few things are 90% organic wool and 10% silk. The mill where the yarn is spun is powered by a water-wheel (woop!) so it has a small production carbon footprint. The only qualms I have are that the site doesn't mention whether the dyes used are environmentally friendly or not - and they do have a fabulous range of colours - but the company is certified by the Soil Association as organic so I reckon the dyes would be pretty good. Also, I don't know if the few lines of yarn that include silk involved the killing of silkworms to get the fibres or not. The ethical way to get silk is to let the silkworms grow and chew their way out of their silk cocoon, and then use the leftover cocoon with holes in. This doesn't provide as high a quality a silk, because the fibres are a little broken, but it does mean the silkworms don't get boiled alive. Anyway, overall, I think these New Lanark yarns look fabulously ethical and I bought five balls of wool from them which came the next day.

I have also discovered http://www.cornishorganicwool.co.uk which are certainly at least as ethical, a gorgeous range of organic yarns spun using renewable energy, but a bit more expensive. If you are a creative type check them out.

Dick & James Strawbridge return!

I am very excited about the new series of "It's Not Easy Being Green" on BBC2 (every Wednesday at 8.00). A couple of years ago the Strawbridge family moved to an old house in Cornwall and eco-renovated it to make it as sustainable as possible. They built a waterwheel to power all the lights in the house, started a vegetable garden, and have now installed photovoltaic panels amongst a whole host of other fabulous green renovations. The programme followed them as they made all these changes and in subsequent series Dick (the Dad) and James (the Son) have travelled about the UK to help other households make similar green improvements.

It's such a fabulous programme and despite the title of "It's Not Easy Being Green" Dick and James make the whole process a lot of fun. They also have a lot of original ideas and when I saw a new series was starting I jumped about the kitchen in delight! Watch it!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/lifestyle/tv_and_radio/green/