Speaking of yarn... treatment of sheep

[Meredith]

Ok...so I admit that I am pretty dumb about this. I was just reading the MDC thread, and wondered how many of you buy locally?

I have a farm down the road from me that I need to get to. I know she treats her's well (they look happy, at least, and I am sure she wouldn't mind me going over and taking pics and featuring them on my site).

But I was just curious to see how many of you buy from local, or go to the local craft store and buy there. Not saying that the local craft store has "bad" wool.... I am not really sure what "bad" wool would be.

[danaTCT]

when i started i got my wool in delaware from some local amish farmers. obviously, they don't have internet access, nor do they use a telephone. so, i can't order and have it shipped here. if i go back this summer i will buy up as much as i can.

i do use organic wool yarn, but i think that overall it's a thin line to paint when referring to the treatment of sheep. you just either have to be "ok" with it, or not. if you're in the middle, i think you'll have a hard time finding someone that treats their sheep "perfectly".

[pb_and_j]

This topic gets me thinking way too much probably. ;) I just wonder about how ppl feel about other fibers they use... like do they care how their cotton clothing was manufactured? Do they care if 5 yo's in China sewed their shirts? Most of the wool sheep are probably treated better than the ppl who make most of our clothing, kwim?

Dunno... I am trying to find a "Perfect" yarn... one that is soft, durable, water resistant and comes from happy sheep. Does this exist??? lol

[pmcgary]

How do we tell if sheep are "happy"? I guess I would be happy if I were a wool producing sheep as the alternative is to be a meat producing sheep.

From other lists I gather the best way to know about the sheep is to actually see them. So you would have to either visit the farms or live near one.

I think in the greater scheme of things the production of woolen items seems to me to be less problematic than others. (Cotton is the worst for use of pesticides - so unless you go organic you have to deal with that issue)

I am glad I am not vegan as I would only be using cotton - since I have become somewhat averse to "plastic" (acrylic.)

[littleturtlemama]

This topic gets me thinking way too much probably. ;) I just wonder about how ppl feel about other fibers they use... like do they care how their cotton clothing was manufactured? Do they care if 5 yo's in China sewed their shirts? Most of the wool sheep are probably treated better than the ppl who make most of our clothing, kwim?

This is kinda how I see it as well. It gets under my skin that I see lots of mamas complaining about their wool's treatment, but I KNOW they use diapers made with fabric fro wal-mart and joann's without thinking twice. So, it kind seems like if you're worried about the wool, you should be worried about the cotton. But maybe it's because the sheep is an animal, and the cotton plant isn't? I guess it's more an animal rights issue than an organic issue.

Dunno... I am trying to find a "Perfect" yarn... one that is soft, durable, water resistant and comes from happy sheep. Does this exist???

Yup, it exits in several places :) That pretty much perfectly describes the yarn I carry/use, and I know that there must be other farms that would fit the bill as well :)

[lifetapestry]

I think it is an animal rights issue, but the "information" from PETA is not very believable to me. PETA has a great deal of problems with their own ethical behavior, beginning with how they present information.

I'm with Theresa in that I prefer farm raised wool, where the sheep are raised in pastures and barns rather than the mass production "farms" where they stay in small pens. I don't necessarily think that it is unhumane to raise a sheep for wool in small pens, but the fact is that the better you treat your sheep in terms of diet and environment, the better wool they will produce. I've spent quite a bit of time lately looking at high end handspinning sites, and they all say the same thing-- not accounting for the sheep's breed, softer, more lanolin-rich wool is produced by sheep with a good diet and otherwise healthy lifestyle. That's largely why handspun wool costs so much, not just because it's the time of the handspinner, but the quality of the fleece that they buy to spin into yarn.

Karla