Tell me why

Jul 5, 2009 at 5:50 PM
9 comments

I just got back from my level 5 Master Spinners class. Very exciting and challenging!!

Now I am starting to do some research for my homework and I keep coming across blogs, posts, websites, whatever that are being done by people who want to be "vegan" in everything. This includes the fibers they choose to knit etc. My question is: "why not wool". Is it because it is animal based? What about wool from animals that naturally shed wool/hair? Is that out too??? Is it because you want to be good to the planet??? So synthetics made from petroleum products are okay?? Hmmmm. Can some one please explain this to me???

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The problem is that most wont have a good answer for you. I think its less cruel to use domestic animals then to discard them completely dooming them to extinction but thats just me.

yeah, the answers I've found aren't entirely convincing or 100% based on fact. A lot of the arguments are about the treatment of sheep on huge sheep farms where wool is an industry and not all of them can be treated as beloved family pets. The other argument that I've heard but have never found a fact to prove is that, sheep don't need to be sheared because they have evolved to grow enough wool to protect themselves from hot and cold and that they aren't shorn in the wild so it's unnecessary and causes the animal suffering. None of these groups or individual regurgitators cite any sources.

personally i blame super-capitalism. veganism didn't come about until the early 1900s and the term was officially coined in 1944. there would be no need to avoid animal products based on suffering if the animals lived in manageable numbers where they could be treated with respect.

Good point. The point about sheep not needing shearing is false. Look at stories about Shrek and Shrek 2, sheep in New Zealand who went missing for years and then turned up with enormous fleeces they could barely carry around. If a sheep isn't shorn the fleece becomes a place to harbor insects that can do all sorts of damage to a sheep, not to mention the illnesses they may suffer due to just being filthy.

About shearing. It comes down to the fact that sheep are a domesticated animal. the expression of thier genes has been molede to fit out needs, not the sheeps. A wild sheep doesnt need to be shorn but a domestic one certainly does. Thats why its so important that we take care of them, and use the poducts that they've so graciously provided for us.

I totally understand the point about corporate farming though. That is definately one of the problems of of our society. We are completely disconnected from the food and materieals we use. I guess thats why spinning and stuff is so important. At least there are people out there that still remember that fibers and clothing come from nature, not the department store.

This was a conversation we had in our class this year. Organic vs non-organic. There are actually people out there who are trying to create "Organic Wool". There definition means that if you have a sheep in production and it gets ill and you have to treat it with antibiotics, you have to take that sheep out of production for that year. What a waste. I don't get it. We also discussed how the term 'organic' is creating an 'elite' class. Because 'organic' is so much more expensive, only well to do can afford it. The gap widens. Not good.

AMEN! I'm so glad to see i'm not the only one that just doesn't "get it". It seems much more humane and "natural" to me to use wool than synthetic fibers, but since I think it is a "political" thing I try and stay out of it. I spin what I want and hope that there are people out there who want to knit with it.

an aside - i see things being touted as "vegan" and "ecofriendly" that use cheap, synthetic yarns. how is that a good thing? don't they think about how that yarn is produced? i get the wanting to not harm animals, but what about the humans? i can't believe all that yarn is mass-produced in wonderful, "green", worker-friendly environments!?!

We raise angora goats and I can tell you for a fact these animals live the good life. They all have names and matching personalities. They follow us around like puppies. And yes, we shear them for their fleece. They provide us with the loveliest mohair...try comparing that to acrylic yarns!

I have yet to hear from the vegans. Any one out there??

Thanks for the post..

Tell me why

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