Chemicals are prevalent in almost every aspect of modern life. We would find life very hard without them, but the worrying fact is that the annual world production of synthetic chemicals has skyrocketed from a million tons in 1930 to 200 million tons now.
Crafting is a relaxing, therapeutic, creative activity – we invest a lot of time in it – it is good for us – why not help make it good for our health and that of the planet too. You don’t need to do everything at once. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Balance is the key. If there is a perfectly good natural alternative available, why not use it?
The more time I spend researching the availability of eco-friendly products, the more I’m realising just how lovely they are to handle and to work with. I’m also finding out just how harmful the synthetic ones are.
As a designer I do have an influence, albeit a tiny one, on what people buy. I am, therefore, passing on a brief resume of the results of many, many hours of research both into what eco-friendly crafting products are available to buy and the harmful effects of the not-so-eco-friendly ones.
Fibres like cotton are often far from the natural product we believe they are.
Cotton production is one of the world’s most chemically intensive agricultural processes. It covers just 2.5% of the earth’s agricultural land but uses approximately 22.5% of the world’s insecticides and 10% of the world’s pesticides. Its production damages wildlife, contributes to climate change and contaminates water supplies.
20,000 people die each year from pesticide poisoning, many in cotton production. Another 3 million suffer side-effects from the pesticide residues including cancer, birth defects, respiratory problems, infertility and sterility. A single teaspoon of Aldicarb, the second most used pesticide in cotton production, on the skin can kill an adult. Two thirds of cotton is grown in developing countries where the people are least able to get medical to treat the side effects.
Organic cotton is becoming more widely available both as finished garments to buy and by the metre for your crafting.
All my designs involving cotton are now totally organic and whenever possible the cotton is Fairly Traded.
When purchasing fabric, yarn or finished garments we are now offered a mind boggling array of finishes - wrinkle-free, stain resistant, flame retardant, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-static, odour-resistant, permanent-press, non-shrink, softening agents....... and the goes on.
These finishes, although undoubtedly good time savers during the laundry process, can be harmful to people with chemical sensitivities… which is basically all of us – it is just the degree of sensitivity that varies.
These finishes along with conventional dyes can cause a wide variety of health problems for chemically sensitive people ranging from skin rashes, headache, trouble concentrating, nausea, diarrhoea, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, dizziness, difficulty breathing, arrhythmia, and seizures. Symptoms in children include red cheeks and ears, dark circles under the eyes, hyperactivity, and behaviour or learning problems.
It is often the dye fixative which is used to bond the dye colour to the fabric or yarn that causes the most problems. Heavy metals have often been used both in dye fixatives and in dyes. Toxic chemicals sometimes found in the dyeing process include:
Because clothing comes into prolonged contact with your skin, toxic chemicals are absorbed through your skin, especially when your body is warm and skin pores are open. Once absorbed by humans, heavy metals tend to accumulate in the liver, kidney, bones, heart and brain. The effects on health can be significant when high levels of accumulation are reached. The effect is particularly serious in children due to effects on growth and their relatively low body mass.
Toxic chemicals from dyes also create serious environmental issues. Large amounts of water are used to flush conventional synthetic dyes from fabric and then this waste needs be treated to remove the heavy metals and other toxic chemicals before it can be returned to water systems, sewers and rivers. Does this actually happen?
Most fabric is produced in developing countries where, through no fault of their own, the local people are least able to exert pressure to ensure that standards are enforced. Discharges from the textile production goes straight into rivers, turning the water bright green one day, purple the next – the same water that is used directly by the indigenous population.
So how do we ensure that the fabric or yarn that we are going to lovingly and creatively turn into a hand crafted item is as environmentally safe as possible for both the people manufacturing it and the person we are making it for?
But, we want to explore our creativity – extend the possibilities – so we want plenty of colour!
We therefore have to weight up the following options:
No single one of these option is perfect. You will have to make the choice that is best for you.
Low-impact, fibre-reactive dyes have become the dye of choice for many organic clothing manufacturers who want a diverse palette of vibrant colours. Many people with mild chemical sensitivity can tolerate organic textiles coloured with these dyes. They will be strongly favoured by crafters for whom colour takes priority.
Undyed, natural colour or colour-grown fibres are the best choice for people with severe chemical sensitivity or who want only pure fabrics on their skin. For the crafter they are beautiful to work with. They allow skilful stitching or intricate knitting designs to be shown off to full advantage. Subtlety, elegance and an affinity with nature are the order of the day.
“Don’t worry – it’s just a piece of paper!”
Something I confess to having said many, many times to students – not out of disregard for our eco-systems, but to get them to relax and enjoy the workshop. It IS only a bit of paper, something we encounter everywhere in our daily lives, but it is how that bit of paper was made and printed that counts.
Recycled paper is already part of our everyday lives. We know that paper production is eroding our forests at an alarming rate, but paper doesn’t just have to be made from trees. Before the 1900s it was usual to make it from rags and hemp. The Japanese have always made the most beautiful paper from mulberry leaves. It is because trees were so plentiful that they became the dominant source. Environmental problems are not restricted to the source product however. Paper mills have to pulp the trees using chemicals. The brown pulp has in the past been, and still is in some cases, bleached with chlorine. The chemical emissions from these processes have contaminated the air, the rivers and subsequently the ecosystems. More than a thousand chemicals including organochlorines, heavy metals and resins can be found in mill effluents. New bleaching methods have lowered the number of toxins, but in many cases the discharge still goes directly into our rivers, lakes and seas.
The answers are available. In Sweden most modern mills have totally eliminated organochlorine discharges and new pulp mills are required to have the capability to run Totally Chlorine Free.
Paper can be made from other materials – hemp yields 4 times more fibre than the same acreage of trees. Wheat straw and rice straw can also be used.
Paper can be whitened using alternative methods such as hydrogen peroxide, oxygen bleaching, ozone and enzymes.
Mills can use a closed loop system, fully reusing their water and chemicals and safely burning the waste.
Paper can be made using as near as possible to one hundred percent post consumer waste.
Any scrapbooker will already know to look for labels that say acid and lignin free, but we need to look even more carefully to ensure our paper crafting isn’t adding to the world’s problems.
Look for items that say 100% Post Consumer Recycled and Processed Chlorine Free (PCF) or Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) – some might say Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) – but beware, this usually means they just use chlorine derivatives.
You may be surprised to know that even the printing inks used on the paper have an environmental impact. Some of the pigments used in ink contain metallic substances which are harmful to human health and the environment such as cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury. Conventional printing inks are petroleum-based and used with alcohol-based solvents. As alcohol and petroleum evaporate Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are emitted. VOCs react with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight to create ozone pollution or photochemical smog. One solution to VOCs is the use of soya or vegetable-based inks which have minimal rates of VOC emissions and are a renewable resource.
Enlightened stationers have used soy or vegetable inks for a few years now and K & Co, one of the first paper crafting companies to adopt an eco-friendly approach has recently launched its first range of card and printed background papers under the title of “Remake”.
So........ if you’ve stayed interested enough to read this far, you are probably thinking that all this is totally baffling and you haven’t the faintest idea where to start being a “greener crafter”, and that’s before you look with dismay at the enormous stash of products that you already have bulging out of every drawer and cupboard possible. Well don’t despair. As I said before, it doesn’t have to be a case of all or nothing. Use up your existing stash, and when, and only when you need more supplies try to buy a “greener” product.
If you go the links page you’ll find all the sites that I’ve found, and in several cases used, for eco-friendly craft products. I’m constantly updating the page, so if you know of others please let me know. I want to list sites in as many countries as possible so that your goods aren’t shipped thousands more miles adding to their carbon footprint. In the meantime I’ll leave you with a little thought provoking tale to help you on the way.
Making a Difference
Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking along the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day, so he began to walk faster to catch them up. As he got closer he called out “Good Morning. What are you doing?”
The young man paused, looked up and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”
“I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”
“The sun is up and the tide is going out, and if I don’t throw them in they’ll die.”
“But young man, don’t you realise that there are miles and miles of beach, and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young man listened politely, then bent down, picked up another starfish, gently threw it back into the sea, beyond the breaking waves, and said “It made a difference for that one.”