Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship
More and more people, especially in the younger generation, have taken up slow crafts like knitting and crochet in recent years. Social media posts and videos featuring slow crafters are common on YouTube and TikTok, and there are many classes to introduce people to handicrafts.
Reasons behind the popularity vary. Some crafters want to avoid overconsumption and pursue more sustainable fashion. While handicrafts are more eco-friendly than so-called fast fashion, involving large-scale manufacturing, there are still concerns around the yarn used for knitting and crocheting.
“Synthetic yarns are often petroleum byproducts, or plastics,” commented Arianna Soloway, owner of The Makery, a Burlington-based thrift store. “But it’s a give and take. Synthetics are often cheaper and are washable, which is appealing to beginners and kids.”
Natural fibers are derived from plants like bamboo or cotton, as well as animals like sheep and llamas. Though often softer, they are significantly more expensive and can cost between $20 to $30 per skein compared to a synthetic, which can be as cheap as $5.
“It’s on a case-by-case basis,” said Elianne Wijler Klinefelter, a knitter who participated in the Vermont Fiber Fans’ 2026 Knit for Food Knit-a-thon. “Natural fibers are softer and have nicer colors, but if I’m making something like plushies for kids, synthetics are much easier to wash.”
The price differential between synthetic and natural yarn is a major factor when people choose what yarn to buy, especially for those who do not have a large expendable income.
“Things are more expensive right now, so people have less money to spend on yarn,” Klinefelter said.
Natural fibers can be more costly due to the time that fibers like wool take to grow.
“If you look back at the amount of sheep and wool that was produced in the 1800s compared to today, it’s wildly different,” said Bella Butzirus, manager of Must Love Yarn, a Shelburne yarn store. “Acrylic is just a lot easier to produce. We have a lot of manufacturing set up for it now in a way that we just don’t have for wool mills anymore.”
Although synthetic yarns like acrylics can be cheaper, their plastic-derived fibers can have an environmental impact. Some of the worries with synthetic yarns, such as acrylic, stem from their non-degrading nature. Their fibers can get into water supplies, causing both adverse environmental effects and affecting human health. Klinefelter worries specifically about microplastics from synthetic yarns. These microplastics, which are often shed when synthetics are washed, end up in water systems, which can have adverse impacts on aquatic life and the safety of potable water, according to the EPA.
In general, natural fibers are easier on the environment. Merino wool and alpaca wool biodegrade, and the animals the fibers come from, “are often multi-purpose,” according to Soloway. She explained that sheep, goats, and alpacas can be used in several ways beyond their coats, including for milk, as companions and sometimes as a source of meat.
Natural fiber yarns are not without environmental impact, however.
“The chemicals used for cleaning and dyeing the yarn can also be pretty bad for the environment,” Klinefelter said.
It can be difficult for fiber artists to tell which brands are the most sustainable, especially with the lack of transparency from some yarn makers.
“There’s a lot of greenwashing in the yarn industry. We need to have more knowledge and transparency,” Soloway said.
Thus, knitters like Klinefelter have to rely on the reputation of the brand when making sustainable choices.
Transportation of natural fibers can also be an issue due to carbon emissions.
“A concern for me is the supply chain of growing the wool in Argentina, then shipping it to Turkey to then ship it back to the United States to ship it around the world,” Butzirus said.
Some countries are tackling supply chain inefficiency by setting up spinning mills close to where the fiber is produced, cutting down on both transportation costs and carbon emissions.
There are multiple ways to incentivize the use of natural fibers, including better strategies to care for them. A standard wool sweater can shrink in a regular washer-dryer cycle and some consumers do not have the time to properly care for wool.
According to Butzirus, “figuring out machine washable technology because people really gravitate towards natural fibers that are machine washable” would be a great way to incentivize natural yarn usage. For Klinefelter, the ability to access local craft stores and feel the difference between synthetic and natural yarns would be a major benefit. “I want to feel it (the yarns), but we need stores in the local area.”
Alternatively, buying second-hand yarn is a great alternative for budget-conscious fiber artists.
“It’s cost-effective and reduces the waste of yarn,” Soloway said. “Thrifting sweaters and then taking them apart for yarn is great as well.”
Ultimately, slow-crafting like knitting and crochet is viewed by some as a sustainable alternative to fast fashion, whether its natural or acrylic yarn being used.
“If you’re choosing to knit something out of acrylic yarn, it’s definitely going to have less of an impact than if you were to go buy a mass-manufactured good,” Butzirus said.