Eco-values
I aim to care for the environment and look after our little planet in everything I do in my personal life; my practice in Mille Rêves en Laine is no exception.
I buy most of my undyed yarn from one large supplier who ships to me here in France directly from their European base. Thus keeping transport emissions to the minimum I can.
I also buy French wool from a group of local French farmers who work together to produce wool for hand-dyers.
Because of the non-biodegradability of nylon, and my efforts to better care for the environment, I am gradually moving away from using wool blends with nylon as much as I can:
– Pure BFL wool is strong and durable enough to knit socks, gloves and mittens: no nylon needed!
Of course, BFL is also soft enough for larger knitted garments, as well as scarves, cowls and shawls
– I use blends with nylon only because it gives more meterage to the skein and/or creates a stronger yarn when blended with some very fine wools.
– I also believe that crafters who use hand-dyed wool rarely, if ever, throw away their creations: mainly because they are made with love, they take hours of hard work to make, and the yarn costs more money than commercially processed yarns. So I believe that wool/nylon blends which are hand-dyed would not usually end up in landfill.
My hand-dyeing process involves a lot of thought about the amount of water I use and how I can care for the environment during the process:
– I rinse the yarn in a series of bowls of water, rather than water running over the yarn from an open tap.
– Then all the water I’ve used which still has any dye remnants, I re-use to water my garden.
– I re-use clear water in the next dye bath.
I use the most eco-friendly professional-grade dyes I can find.
Only food-grade citric acid or white vinegar is used to fix the dye to the yarn. Both chemicals evaporate from the water during the dye process. So this water is also re-used.
My home studio here in France is never heated – I wrap up warmly on any cold days!
All of my hand-dyed yarn is dried naturally outside in the warm air,
The tissue paper and boxes you receive your purchases wrapped in are all made from recycled materials and can be recycled.