Interweave Knits' WebWatch

Organic!

It's a linker's paradise, this topic! So much to read and digest, so let's get to it!

- "Have You Any Organic Wool?", an interesting article by Donna Drachunas with great links at the bottom

- The National Organic Standards Board Definition of "Organic"

Note this key sentence: "Organic agriculture practices cannot ensure that products are completely free of residues; however, methods are used to minimize pollution from air, soil and water." Yup, nothing is perfect. But still, minimizing pollution is better than doing whatever the heck you want and letting the environment suffer!

- IFOAM [International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements]: their goal is the worldwide adoption of ecologically, socially and economicaly sound systems that are based on the principles of Organic Agriculture - Third-Party Certification. Read this one. It's much less dry than it sounds, and very interesting. Lots more content there, if you're interested.

- from the American Society of Plant Biologists Plant Physiology website: Internalizing the Societal Costs of Agricultural Production. "Societies and social groups within them are becoming aware that food and fiber are not gifts of nature that come to us cost-free from the natural world because their production involves consumption of renewable and nonrenewable resources as well as expenses for capital and variable inputs in the production process, plus outlays for transportation, processing, marketing, and food preparation." This realization is something that many of us are becoming more aware of. Interesting reading.

- Third-party certification is handled by Control Union Certifications (formerly Skal International). Their certificates are accepted by authorities in nearly every country.

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Okay, enough research. Let's find some nifty products that fall in line with organic standards:

- an assortment of organic yarns for the Australian market and renewable fiber for spinning -- read the intro page for an interesting perspective on cotton and wool yarns

- organic, vegan, recycled, fair-traded and other yarns at this US online shop

- Treliske organic merino from New Zealand, sold in the US

- organic handspun yarn from Tanager Song Farm

- Tierra Wools of New Mexico

- Garthenor Organic Pure Wool - Soil Association Certified 100% woollen yarns from traditional and rare breeds of Organic British sheep

- Cornish Organic Wool including organic wool batting and organic knitting kits

- Irish wool and woollen products -- fully organic from sheep to processing

- Pakucho Organic Cotton, naturally colored and very soft

- O-Wool, Vermont-grown organic wool yarn

- Green Mountain Spinnery, Maine-grown, Vermont-processed wool yarn

- Organic textiles sold by the yard or Fat Quarter [for quilters] and lovely organic towels in natural and blue. "Our fabric is dyed using traditional dye methods that have been used in India for thousands of years. The dye materials include: indigo leaves, madder root, aal wood, cutechu, turmeric, pomegranate rind, onion skins, alum and iron. This alternative to conventional dye processes eliminates the use of thousands of chemicals, many of which contribute to high levels of toxicity in the environment."

- The Organic Directory -- a UK directory of organic goods, with over 2,000 listings of retailers, producers, wholesalers and manufacturers

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And finally, how are you affecting our environment by the choices you make? Take the Ecological Footprint Quiz and find out. Maybe it'll encourage you to take some new steps toward reducing your impact on the planet.

Posted 11:46 AM PST