Image by Loopy Mango.
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For all the knitters and crocheters ready to take on the season, we have the perfect guide for you. If you love making holiday gifts instead of buying them, it’s important to make sure the materials you use are safe, sustainable, long-lasting, and wonderfully soft and cozy.
That’s why we’ve listed our favorite yarn brands, starting with the most sustainable at the top, and we’ve included any downsides as well so you can pick out the best one for you. Before you pour your heart into crafting thoughtful scarves and sweaters, take a look at our criteria for yarn that’s good for both your loved one and the environment.
How Can You Tell if Yarn is Sustainable?
With so many kinds of yarns available, trying to figure out which ones are safe and ethically sourced can be overwhelming. Whether you’re going to the craft store or shopping online, read our sustainable yarn criteria before getting started:
Natural Materials: Yarns that are made out of synthetic fibers are unhealthy, polluting, and much less breathable than natural fibers. Acrylic and polyester are synthetics made from petroleum derivatives. Acrylic materials can lead to health problems such as breathing issues, itching, and fatigue. Polyester is also known to cause hormone and reproductive issues, as well as rashes and other skin irritations.
The production of nylon yarn also releases a significant amount of emissions. One nylon manufacturer in Florida had greater emissions than that of a million automobiles in 2019. It’s also non-biodegradable and pollutes the soil when left to degrade in a landfill, which can also result in its chemical properties (such as moisture-wicking polyamides) ending up in water supplies.
Look for yarns made from natural materials such as organic cotton, linen, silk, merino and alpaca wool, hemp, mohair, or Tencel. Merino and alpaca wool are especially breathable and soft, which makes them great for crafting apparel such as sweaters and scarves for people who say they have a wool allergy.
Recycled (or Upcycled) Synthetics: Some brands incorporate deadstock fabric, recycled polyester, or even unraveled yarn from discarded sweaters. It’s important to be aware of microfibers if you go with a recycled synthetic blend, but it’s still better than letting the fabric go to waste, and many textile experts say it can lengthen the lifespan of clothing.
Non-Toxic: Synthetic dyes can be harmful to textile workers, the environment, and the wearer—especially if the wearer is a baby or child. “Knitting with any synthetic yarns, dyed yarns, or even wool, angora etc. releases millions of ultrafine, respirable particles directly into the breathing zone,” says Dr. Claudia S. Miller, an allergist, immunologist, and professor emerita at the University of Texas. “Thus yarns pose not only a potential problem via skin contact but also via inhalation.”
When H&M and IKEA conducted a study of secondhand textiles, tests found toxic substances over industry limits in almost all of the wool samples, including hormone-disrupting chemicals like APEO, and chromium.
You can avoid these contaminants by sourcing wool from the US or Europe where regulations are stronger, from artisan brands that sell undyed or safely-dyed wool yarn with natural dyes or certified-safe dyes, and from brands with third-party certifications such as Oeko-Tex.
Also avoid stain-resistant, anti-microbial, and moisture-wicking finishes, which are often achieved with toxic chemistry. If you really rely on washable wool yarn, which involves a thin polymeric coating, that should be okay. While anti-shrink treatments for wool can initially stunt the wool microbial degradation process, this typically ends after just two months. Then, the wool actually becomes even more biodegradable. A washable finish doesn’t alter the wool’s moisture-wicking and odor-management features, so you can still count on its natural benefits.
Supply Chain Transparency: Look for brands that are transparent about how and where their yarns were made. It’s important to know that the workers involved in the material gathering, spinning, and dyeing of the yarn were safe and paid fairly, and that the animals were well taken care of. Yarns made by small artisan groups typically have short supply chains and are often co-owned by their artists.
High Quality: We asked longtime knitter and friend of ours, Heather, to give us her feedback on some of these brands. You’ll see her thoughts below some of these brands, with hopefully more to come!
Our Favorite Sustainable Yarn Companies
1. Darn Good Yarn
What we love: This New York brand sells recycled silk yarns made by artisans from India and Nepal. In addition to its debut silk blend, it offers wool, linen, hemp, and banana-based fibers. Its materials are either upcycled from textile scraps or plant-based and locally sourced. Darn Good Yarn carries both naturally dyed and undyed yarns, practices ethical sourcing, pays fair wages, and maintains safe conditions throughout its supply chain. It also hosts a plethora of patterns and tutorials, so if you’re a beginner, this is a great place to start. It offers a huge variety of yarn options, including more than half a dozen weights.
Heather says: “Darn Good Yard offers really fun color options and alternative fibers like recycled saris and ribbons. My favorites are the ombre recycled silk and the twisted sport weight for really interesting color-shifting knits.”
Price Range: $15-$30 for individual skeins, $50-$300 for bundles.
2. Natural Recycled Yarn
What we love: This Virginia brand is led by an independent artist who hand-recycles sweaters, blankets, and knitwear by unraveling them into skeins of upcycled yarn. It only sources materials from natural fibers and offers cashmere, alpaca, linen, and cotton, as well as Shetland, lamb, and merino wool. The shop currently carries plenty of linen, wool, and cotton options, and uses recycled packaging.
Watch out for: Currently, there are much fewer options available for merino wool, Shetland wool, and cashmere.
Heather says: “Natural Recycled yarn does the incredible work of sourcing secondhand knitwear and giving it new life buy turning it back into workable skeins for new projects. If you’re a knitter who loves experimenting, this is perfect. Each batch is as unique as the garment it came from. You won’t be able to order more once you run out so measure your projects carefully before buying!”
Price Range: $12-$115 per whole recycled sweater bundle.
3. Loopy Mango
What we love: This beginner-friendly brand was born in 2004 in New York. It hand-makes chunky, colorful yarns from cotton, mohair, and merino wool sourced and dyed in Italy and the US. Its “Big Loop” yarn, which is made of merino wool and comes in several colors, is one of the thickest yarns on the market. In addition to its selection of sustainable yarns, it also sells over a hundred patterns and DIY kits and offers video tutorials for guidance.
Watch out for: There is little information available on the specifics of its supply chain. It currently only offers eight yarn types.
Heather says: “I love Loopy Mango Merino No. 5. It’s one of the softest super-bulky yarns on the market for fast knits. They also sell that uber-chunky Big Loop yarn that makes statement pieces unlike anything else.”
Price Range: $12-$200 for individual skeins.
4. Wool and the Gang
What we love: Wool and the Gang makes bold, thick yarns that are designed with the knitting experience in mind. In addition to non-mulesing wool, its REACH-Compliant and Oeko-Tex-certified materials selection includes recycled denim, cotton, hemp, mohair, and Tencel. Its yarns are made in Peru, Turkey, or Guatemala. It has a responsible sourcing agreement with 91% of its suppliers. Each yarn type has a different weight, bulkiness, and comes in a wide variety of colors. Wool and the Gang also offers tools, kits, patterns, and tutorials on mending old knitwear. Its selection includes over 50 yarns and bundles.
Watch out for: Some of its yarns are blended with a small percentage of synthetics. There isn’t much information available about its supply chain.
Heather says: “Wool and the Gang offers some of my favorite knitting/crochet kits and does collaborations with indie knitwear designers to keep things current and fun. Sugar Baby Alpaca and Feelin’ Good Yarn are my top choices because I have a weak spot for baby alpaca yarns. It’s my fail-safe choice when buying yarn online because it’s always soft!”
Price Range: $3-$30 for individual skeins, $50-$300 for bundles.
5. We Are Knitters
What we love: This brand carries bright yarns with 100% natural fibers sourced from Peru. The materials, including sheep wool, baby alpaca, merino wool, and pima cotton, are locally cleaned, dried, and processed. It also carries recycled cotton blends, bamboo, and recycled T-shirt yarns. All of its yarns are dyed either manually or with dyeing machines. We Are Knitters carries certifications from RCS, GOTS, Fair Trade, and Oeko-Tex. It has a wide selection of colors and compositions and also offers a selection of 100% FSC-certified beech wood needles and hooks.
Watch out for: Its recycled blends contain a small percentage of unidentified fibers.
Heather says: “We Are Knitters offers great kits for knitters of all levels. They have great summer yarn options like bamboo, linen, and cotton, including recycled versions.”
Price Range: $12-30 for individual skeins, $50-$250 for bundles.
