Part 4: The Plot Twist (Or: It’s Actually Getting Better Out There)
Right, after three parts of complicated nuance and occasional moth-related trauma, let’s talk about something genuinely hopeful: the sustainable yarn landscape is actually improving.
This isn’t greenwashing or wishful thinking – there are real innovations happening, real companies doing good work, and real shifts in how we think about materials.
The Sustainable Yarn Companies Actually Worth Knowing About
Recycled fibres are getting good. Companies are making yarn from recycled cotton (fabric scraps from garment production), recycled denim, and yes, recycled plastic bottles. The quality has improved dramatically in recent years. It’s not perfect – recycling still takes energy – but it’s keeping materials in circulation rather than in landfills.
Hemp is having a renaissance. Modern hemp yarn isn’t the scratchy rope-adjacent stuff from the 90s. It’s soft, it’s drapey, it has beautiful stitch definition, and hemp farming is genuinely low-impact. It doesn’t need pesticides, it improves soil health, and it uses relatively little water. If you haven’t tried hemp yarn recently, give it another chance.
Nettle yarn exists and it’s weird and fascinating. Stinging nettles can be processed into a linen-like fiber. It’s been done historically in Scandinavia, and now small companies are reviving the tradition. Is it widely available? No. Is it affordable? Also no. But it’s interesting, and it shows what’s possible.And it blows my mind how soft and silky it is!
Ethical wool certification is becoming more robust. Look for certifications like ZQ Merino or Responsible Wool Standard (RWS). These aren’t perfect systems, but they’re attempts to address animal welfare and environmental concerns in wool production. They’re not guarantees, but they’re better than nothing.
Local and small-scale producers. In the UK and Europe, there are small yarn companies working directly with local farms, processing fiber regionally, and creating genuinely transparent supply chains. They’re often more expensive, but you know exactly where your yarn came from and how it was made. That’s worth something. I am aiming to offer kits in the future using locally produced yarn, and with the option not to have anything in the kit you already have, to avoid needless waste.
The Innovation Front
Mushroom leather and mycelium textiles are emerging in fashion, and while we’re not quite at crochet-able yarn yet, the technology is developing. Imagine: fungus-based fibre that’s biodegradable, grows quickly, and doesn’t require agricultural land. It sounds like science fiction, but it’s happening.
Milk protein fibre (yes, really) is being made from spoiled or excess milk that would otherwise be thrown away. It’s soft, it’s biodegradable, and it’s genuinely bizarre in the best way.
Algae-based yarns are in development – seaweed and kelp processed into wearable fibre. Kelp farms can actually help with ocean health, so this could be net-positive for marine environments.
Will these be mainstream and affordable soon? Probably not. But they show that people are thinking creatively about materials, and that’s encouraging.
The Community Shift
Here’s what’s genuinely making me optimistic: the crochet community is increasingly having these conversations.
Five years ago, sustainability in crochet wasn’t really a topic. Now? People are actively discussing it. Destash culture is normalized. Stash-busting is celebrated rather than seen as “making do.” Vintage and secondhand yarn is cool (sorry, not sorry, I was born in the 60’s so saying cool is cool for me), not just cheap.
Yarn swaps are happening regularly in local communities and online. It’s not just about sustainability – it’s about connection, about sharing resources, about building a culture that values what we have rather than constantly acquiring more.
Transparency is being demanded. Crocheters are asking yarn companies about their supply chains, their environmental practices, their labour conditions. Companies that can’t or won’t answer these questions are increasingly being called out.
Teaching and skill-sharing is exploding. People teaching others to unravel thrifted sweaters, to wind yarn from hanks, to dye yarn with natural materials, to fix mistakes rather than frogging entire projects. This knowledge distribution is powerful.
Practical Optimism: What You Can Actually Do
Stop waiting for perfect. Perfect doesn’t exist. Perfect yarn from perfect sources made in perfect conditions is not coming to save us. Start where you are.
Use what you have. Seriously. That acrylic in your stash? Make something. That weird color you’re not sure about? Experiment with it. The yarn you’ve been “saving” for the perfect project? Pick a good project and use it.
Buy secondhand first. Make it a habit to check secondhand sources before buying new. It’s not always possible, but often it is.
When buying new, research a bit. Not exhaustively – you don’t need a PhD in textile supply chains – but spend ten minutes. Look for transparency. Look for certification. Make incrementally better choices without guilt-tripping yourself.
Share your skills. Teach someone to crochet. Help a beginner. Participate in knowledge-sharing. The more people who can make and mend, the better off we all are.
Advocate for better. Tell yarn companies you want sustainable options. Support designers who think about these issues. Make noise about transparency and ethical production. Individual consumer choices matter, but systemic change matters more, and that requires collective action.
Enjoy the process. This is crucial. Sustainable crochet shouldn’t feel like punishment or endless self-denial. It should feel like you’re participating in something meaningful while doing something you love. If it’s not bringing joy, you’re doing it wrong.
The Actual Plot Twist
Here’s the thing nobody tells you about sustainable crochet: it’s often more fun.
Working with constraints breeds creativity. Unraveling a thrifted sweater feels like treasure hunting. Finding the perfect secondhand skein is genuinely thrilling. Making something last through repair and care creates actual attachment.
The fast fashion equivalent – buying cheap yarn, making something quickly, getting bored, moving on – is actually kind of hollow. It’s the craft equivalent of doomscrolling. Sustainable making, by contrast, is satisfying.
You remember what you made. You know the history of your materials. You have skills that build over time. You’re part of a community that shares knowledge and resources. You’re making things that last, that matter, that have actual meaning beyond just filling time.
That’s not sacrifice. That’s actually just… better.
In Conclusion: You’re Already Doing Better Than You Think
If you’re reading this, you’re already engaged with these questions. You’re already thinking about sustainability in crochet. You’re already miles ahead of people who aren’t considering these issues at all.
You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to only use organic hand-spun wool from happy sheep that were gently massaged while listening to classical music. You don’t have to feel guilty about your acrylic stash or the fact that you sometimes buy new yarn because you wanted a specific color and couldn’t find it secondhand.
You just have to be thoughtful. Intentional. Willing to make incrementally better choices when they’re available to you.
The most sustainable crochet isn’t the one made from perfect materials – it’s the one that gets made, gets used, gets loved, and lasts. Whether that’s acrylic or alpaca, vintage or brand new, expensive or budget, the sustainability is in the making and the using and the caring.
So make things. Use your stash. Buy secondhand when you can. Support good companies when you can’t. Teach others. Fix things. Be part of building a crafting culture that values materials, skills, time, and the actual joy of making.
And for goodness sake, check your wool stash for moths. I’m not kidding about that part!
And just for good measure, when I eventually get a gallery of my made Wonky Bags up you’ll see some possibly dubious colourways but I’m using up my stash, and they may not be to my taste but as we are all different they’ll be to somebody’s taste. I have 4 Wonky Bags in different colourways and sizes to match an outfit or occasion and I use them all the time. Wonky Bag love. Check out the free pattern on my website –Welcome to Indie Heart Crochet! paid version coming soon.