Ecolonomic Life

I bought a sweater a while back that was made from a super soft material. I didn’t really care about what it was made from I just bought it because it was soft. After buying the garment I looked at the materials and found that it was made from Angora rabbit fur. This unnerved me. All I could think about is how a rabbit (if not several) were killed in order to make this sweater. I was not happy about my purchase after that. It wasn’t until later that I came to realize no rabbit was killed in order to produce the fibers of my sweater.

Angora rabbits look like very large piles of fur. If not groomed, you can barely make out the rabbit’s features. Their fur can be trimmed off or plucked out when they molt. This is then spun into yarn. It’s very intriguing to read about this animal, but they are not the only creature with soft fur that can be made into yarn. The most common animal that we think of when we mention wool would be sheep, but there are also llamas, alpacas, goats, and many other animals that have garment worthy wool. My family owns alpacas and I know from experience that their wool is extremely soft and extremely valuable.

But what’s so ecolonomic about wool? Owning these animals may not be suitable for many. Some don’t have the land, others don’t have the time, and many don’t have the experience. The nice thing about the latter detail is that people have been through it before and have blogs, forums, and websites all about raising these creatures. Experience is not necessary. For the people who have the land and the time for these animals, they can have a huge cost benefit. Not only is their breeding valuable, but so is their wool. The wool is one hundred percent natural, making it very eco-friendly. You can sell the fiber right after the sheering, spin the fiber yourself and sell it as yarn, or make something out of the yarn for yourself or to sell.

The nice thing about producing this wool yourself is that you know for a fact that it is all organic, a sweatshop did not produce any of the yarn or items that can be made with the wool, and you get 100% of the profits. If you can’t raise any of these fiber rich creatures, but you like to knit or crochet, you can always buy yarn from your local farmers and support the community. If you do already raise these animals and already sell their wool, let me suggest composting their manure and selling this as all natural fertilizer. That is just another way to make a buck from some very sustainable animals. Tell us if you think that this might be an idea that you could use for helping us all improve the planet.