Living Life as if Every Day is Earth Day

April 22nd is Earth Day.  Did you know that Earth Day was founded over 50 years ago?  And over 40 years ago, it became recognised on an international scale.  Today, the entire month of April is celebrated as Earth Month because “we should care and learn about our home for more than just a single day of the year. Focusing one month of the year on climate change and sustainability can help everybody develop more eco-friendly lifestyles.”  (credit:  www.pela.earth)

Earth Day

At Knit Pickers PEI, we strive to celebrate Earth Day every single day of the year.  We are always taking time to reflect and ask ourselves what kind of company we want to be for you, our customers.   When we think about how our products can bring value to you, environmental sustainability and ethical treatment of animals remains our priority.
 
Part of what we do is to source everything we carry as locally as possible.  Nothing in our studio comes from outside the borders of Canada.  We are proud to support Canadian farmers, shepherds, mills, and artisans.

Inside the Knit Pickers PEI studio

We also support the concept of slow fashion.  What is slow fashion exactly?  It is the concept of purchasing fewer clothes, and the clothes that we do purchase are of a higher quality with a longer life.  Did you know that brands like H&M burn 12 tonnes of unsold garments each year?  (credit:  The Campaign for Wool Canada, The Wool Plan 2021-26)  Wouldn’t it be far better to reduce this waste and focus on quality garments made with sustainable fabric?

Slow fashion at Knit Pickers PEI

I read a couple of articles recently that were profoundly disturbing.  Did you know that 92% of the microplastic pollution in seawater samples came from synthetic fibres; 73% of this was polyester.  (credit:  Campaign for Wool).  Of course, these microplastic particles end up being consumed by aquatic beings (fish, seals, etc). Often they feel full but end up starving because of course there are no nutrients in the plastic that they are consuming.  But it’s not just in our earth’s water.  Microplastic has been found in human blood – in almost 80% of the people who provided blood samples!  Also, we are breathing in microplastics.  Polypropolene and PET were the two most common of the 39 microplastics found deep in the lungs of living people.  (credit:  World Economic Forum)

If we wish to leave a planet and a human race that is healthy for generations to come, we need to focus on a move towards natural fibres.  Wool is an ideal solution!  Wool is biodegradable, offers UV protection, is durable and breathable.

There is a great deal of misinformation about wool, including the premise that raising sheep is more damaging to the environment than synthetics.  Balderdash!  Synthetic materials are created from fossil fuels.  These materials will remain in landfills for centuries and will contribute to the air and water pollution as noted above.  On the other hand, using sustainable sheep farming practices such as strip grazing or rotational grazing is actually beneficial to the soil.  Sheep manure contains high concentrations of phosphorus and potassium.  Properly composted, it is extremely beneficial when growing fruits, vegetables and flowers.  Proper dietary management for sheep helps to reduce their methane emissions.  (photo credit: Blomidon Farm, PEI)

Icelandic sheep grazing at Blomidon Farm, PEI

So, if you knit, crochet, weave, hook or participate in any fibre-related craft, you are already contributing to the slow fashion movement by creating quality pieces with a long lifespan.  If we make the move away from synthetic yarns to wool – and specifically Canadian wool as Canadian creators – we can feel proud that we are actively contributing to Earth Year! 

Hand-knitting a sweater with Canadian wool at Knit Pickers PEI