wool! {and a little hemp too!}

maybe it's ireland that's lingering in my veins, but i am kinda fascinated and thrilled by the idea of wool right now. no not itchy bulky wool, but organic superfine merino wool and shetland wool, with perhaps a touch of spandex. {i might be addicted to spandex.}

a lot of people will ask me, 'what fabric is the most earth and people friendly?' and the answer is pretty complicated. when we humans create something, a product, there is always a foot print. organic cotton requires massive amounts of water from countries where people are starving, bamboo and tencel and modal require chemicals to dissolve the wood pulp, and nylon is non-biodegradable and produces dangerous greenhouse gases. not to mention all these fibers require petroleum to be processed into their fabric form. 

hemp is one fabric that is really environmentally friendly, but the fabric is a bit stiff and doesn't hold vivid colors well unless blended with other fibers. i would actually love to use hemp, but i feel like brighter colors and super soft fabrics are a key ingredient in yoga/lounge clothing. what do you think? are you down with the hemp? :) i just orderd some hemp blend swatches, so we'll see what happens! {perhaps a hemp blog post in the near future. hehe!}

but for now, back to wool. some facts : wool requires no petroleum for production or finishing. it's biodegradable {can return to the earth and decompose quickly}, sheep herds on grassland can provide nutrients to soil, fibers are sustainable as sheep are shorn annually, and if you are buying organic wool there are no synthetic pesticides being used on the pasture lands. plus, wool is the ultimate wicking fabric- the fibers 'breathe' by pushing away moisture from the body and releasing it into the air, it's wrinkle resistant, it's colorful as it absorbs dye easily with no chemicals, and it has great temperature control- keeping you warm in cold temps and cool in warm temps. 

and a big deal for the long term wear of the garment- the fibers are so soft. we all want to do our part to buy consciously and support brands we believe in, but i think #1 you have to be in love with the product itself. for me that means it's gotta be super soft, stylish without being overly trendy, and did i mention super soft? for real though, i notice myself putting on what i find most comfortable against my skin, and these are the pieces i hang on to over time. they don't get donated to goodwill. 

so i'm on the hunt for some awesome wools. the perfect wools for t-shirts and lounge/yoga pants. preferably i would like to find some rare breed sheep wools {a lot of sheep have become endangered as we are using less kinds of sheep for wool production. by bringing back rare breeds, we allow for diversity and therefore ecological resilience.}, but as a small clothing company, i have to start with what i can and hope for these bigger better things when the time and money allows.

i'll keep y'all posted on the wool progress, and post as i test out some fabrics and some designs! xo!