Eco Friendly Yarn: Natural Alternatives to Wool

Cotton, linen and alpaca all offer alternatives to wool, each with their own feel, strengths and environmental trade-offs.

Wool is wonderful, anyone who knows us at The Snail of Happiness knows how much we champion wool, especially British wool, but it is not the only natural fibre available to knitters and crocheters.

If you are trying to make more environmentally thoughtful yarn choices, you may find yourself wondering about linen, hemp, alpaca, cotton or plant-based regenerated fibres such as lyocell (which we'll get round to in another post). Are they better than wool? Are they easier on the planet? Just as importantly, are they actually nice to work with?

Let's take a look at some of the natural alternatives.

Linen: Crisp, Cool and Long-Lasting

Linen is made from the flax plant (Linum usitatissimum).

Flax is widely regarded as one of the lower-impact fibre crops. It can grow with relatively little irrigation, often relying mostly on rainfall. It needs fewer chemical inputs than many other crops, and almost every part of the plant can be used. Plus, a real bonus from our perspective, it can be grown in the UK.

As a yarn, linen has very different characteristics to wool. It's not bouncy, and it does not have the same elasticity or memory. When you first work with it, it can feel stiff, firm or even a little string-like.

But linen has a secret. The more it's washed and worn, the softer and more beautiful it becomes. It has excellent breathability and strength, and develops a wonderful drape. It's great for summer tops, shawls, bags, light cardigans and home textiles. If wool is cosy and springy, linen is elegant and cool.

Hemp: Strong, Practical and Low Input

Hemp (Cannabis sativa), like linen, is a bast fibre, meaning it comes from the stem of the plant.

Like flax, hemp can be grown with very low water and pesticide needs. It grows quickly, can help suppress weeds and is often praised for its ability to regenerate soil.

Hemp yarn tends to be strong, durable and breathable. Like linen (and other plant fibres), it is not elastic in the way wool is. It can feel firm at first but softens over time with handling and washing. Hemp is particularly good for items that need strength and longevity, such as bags, dishcloths, summer garments and hard-wearing home items.

It is not as widely available as wool or cotton, partly because processing hemp into soft textile fibre can be more complicated. Still, environmentally, hemp is one of the fibres worth looking out for.

Alpaca: A Softer Animal Fibre Alternative

If you love wool because it is warm and soft but you are want to explore lower-impact animal fibres, alpaca is well worth considering.

Alpaca fibre is warm, lightweight and incredibly soft. It doesn't contain lanolin in the same way sheep wool does, which can make the cleaning and processing stages much simpler. This also suits some people who find sheep wool irritating to wear.

Alpacas are often described as much gentler grazers than sheep. Their padded feet cause less damage to the soil, and they are highly efficient feeders.

That said, alpaca is still an animal fibre. It still involves land, animals, transport, processing and welfare considerations. In knitting, alpaca behaves quite differently to wool. It is warm and drapey, but it does not always have the same bounce. A pure alpaca garment may stretch or grow more than a wool one, so your pattern choice really matters.

Cotton: Familiar, Soft and Useful

Cotton is familiar to almost all makers. It is soft, smooth, washable and vegan.

Conventional cotton can have a very high environmental impact due to its high water use, pesticide use and intensive farming practices. Organic cotton avoids synthetic pesticides and fertilisers, which is a significant improvement. However, organic cotton still requires large amounts of land and water, so it is not automatically a low-impact choice.

As a yarn, cotton is brilliantly practical for baby items, washcloths, summer tops, crochet toys and household items. Like linen and hemp, it lacks the elasticity of wool, so it can feel harder on the hands and may pull out of shape in heavy garments.

The Big Question: What's It Like to Knit or Crochet With?

Sustainability is very important, but a yarn also has to work for the specific project.

Here are some basic guidelines:

• Need warmth and elasticity? Try wool.

• Need softness and warmth with drape? Try alpaca.

• Need coolness and longevity? Try linen.

• Need strength and structure? Try hemp.

• Need washability and softness? Try cotton.

And, remember, other fibres are available - mohair, silk, angora, nettle, viscose, Tencel and bamboo (almost always a viscose), to name a few. I'll get round to the whole bamboo debacle in a future post, but if you come across an unfamiliar yarn, it's worth doing some research before you commit.

The most eco-friendly yarn isn't simply the fibre with the lowest theoretical footprint. It's the yarn that perfectly suits the project, gets used a lot, lasts well and doesn't sit unloved in a drawer.