Organic wool—is that important to you, or not really?

Hi everyone
I’ve never really thought about whether organic wool exists—or rather, I’ve never paid attention to it. When it comes to food, I’m now very particular about organic products, but with wool, I’ve never really cared much about it. As long as there’s no acrylic in it, the rest didn’t really matter to me. As long as the wool feels good, doesn’t come across as too chemical, has a high cotton content, and the price is affordable, that’s been fine with me so far. You just don’t really think about it—at least that’s my impression. I don’t know if it’s the same for you guys.
But I mean, that’s not how it should be. Well, not really. You have to—or at least you should—think about what you’re using.
Keyword: consumer responsibility and all that
I just realized this when I was over in the thread about baby comfort blankets, wondering if they’re washable.
https://www.crazypatterns.net/de/forum/topic/9420/neuer-trend-schnuffeltuecher-haekeln
But I think it’s really important that the wool used—especially in items you give to or put on a baby—be free of harmful substances. How many harmful substances are actually in regular wool? Are there even that many? Is this even important for the average, healthy person—someone who does crafts? I mean, we’re exposed to harmful substances in everyday life anyway—through food, clothing, and all sorts of other things. So does the wool even matter, or should we make a special effort to ensure that at least the wool itself doesn’t contain anything harmful? I’m not entirely sure what’s good and what isn’t, but that’s why I’m asking you. Then we can talk about it.

Anyway, I did a quick Google search, and it turns out there are actually products available that address this.
Up until now, I’ve always thought it would be enough to just wash the items thoroughly. But babies are very sensitive. There’s really no need for a baby’s immune system to be put under so much strain right away.
We once had an organic thread somewhere about wool and everything—I’ll have to see if I can find it again.

What are your thoughts on this, and how do you handle it?
 

Great for babies

Hi... when I crochet something for children, I pay close attention to quality and to it being low in harmful substances. Of course, depending on the item, that also has its price. I explain this to parents who ask me to make something for them beforehand. I explain why. Many people think you make it from cheap discount-store yarn so it won’t be too expensive. But I refuse to do that. There are several reasons for it, and most of them understand. 

In various Facebook groups, three discount-store yarns from three different suppliers are very popular. Sure, great colors and cheap, but for me that yarn is okay for practice at most. But in terms of durability, quality, and harmful substances, I can only say: “Hands off.” If you’ve had different kinds of yarn in your hands over the years, you can already tell by touch whether a yarn is good or bad.

How can you tell if wool is low in harmful substances?

You can’t test every type of wool that way beforehand, but wool that smells or feels strange is definitely not low in harmful substances

Thanks

Do you think this topic will become more important, or not really? I mean, if the experienced DIY people already know how to deal with it well and beginners might not know much about it yet, will it still be discussed at all—I mean here on the forum, not when it comes to custom orders. I’m really not sure. I mean, organic products are very much in demand. But when people see the price of organic products, maybe they won’t be quite so popular anymore. It’s no use buying just one ball of organic or low-pollutant yarn once,
you really have to stick with it consistently. And that costs money,

I think this will continue to develop and the prices will improve. I think a lot will have changed in two years, and then we can talk again in 2017. *grin*
But we should keep following this

Thanks to Nicole and Hamster for discussing the topic of organic wool with me here.
Apparently, though, this topic isn’t really resonating with people right now—otherwise there would have been more replies. I don’t know if that will change. We’ll see, so to speak :)