This is an article sent to me by a non-knitting friend & I think the message is fabulous. I realize it is "preaching to the choir", but I wanted to share this perspective. Thanks, Nancy!
I’ve
started knitting again after a year-long break. I bought some beautiful
hand-dyed, locally spun yarn in a brilliant mottled fuchsia, and then I
got to work, knitting furiously for two days straight until I realized
that my new infinity scarf was disproportionately huge. I had to undo
everything and start over, my enthusiasm somewhat dampened.
When
I took my knitting to a friend’s house, someone asked an interesting
question: “Why would you bother knitting a scarf? It’s so much work and
you can buy a great scarf for cheap anywhere.” It’s a good question. If
it’s easy to buy a decent scarf for $10 at H&M, why would I spend
$50 on handspun yarn and another week of knitting in order to get a
finished product? It’s hardly economical.
But
there’s more to it than that. The act of knitting is a strange
combination of relaxation and activism, of protest and tradition. My
urge to pick it up again started last month after reading Overdressed:
The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth Cline. The author
pushes for a “slow clothes” movement, the fashion equivalent of “slow
food,” in which consumers start paying attention to the background of
their clothes and what has gone into their production. Knitting is my
small contribution to the slow clothes movement for the following
reasons:
I’m creating a product of high
quality. Because I’ve invested money and time into this scarf, it is
far more valuable than anything I could buy for $10. I will care for it
and it will last for many years, keeping its shape and colour long after
cheaper scarves have fallen apart. Clothing is devalued in North
America to the point where it’s practically disposable. It would be far
better for the Earth if we stopped buying cheap items that don’t last
and invested in fewer, higher quality items that do last.
Knitting
is a way to reclaim independence. We live in a world where we depend on
certain individuals and companies to perform highly specialized tasks
for us. There’s something satisfying about taking on some of the
responsibility for clothing production and sending a message to the
industry that I don’t need them to make my scarves.
Knitting
can help a local industry. It wasn’t cheap to buy two skeins of that
locally produced yarn, but at least I’m making a statement with my
consumer dollars to a nearby farmer, endorsing his or her decision to
make a living raising sheep. According to Cline, if every American
redirected 1 percent of their disposable income to domestically-made
products, it would create 200,000 jobs. Cheap imported clothes become a
lot more expensive when you calculate the loss of domestic jobs.
Finally,
it feels really good to make something by hand. There’s something very
peaceful about performing a simple, repetitive act with my fingers that
results in useful yet beautiful things.
Do you knit or have another ‘slow clothes’-related hobby?
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/why-should-you-knit-a-scarf.html#ixzz2qUEP14ry
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