How I work
THE DYEING PROCESS
I only use dyes certified with OEKO-TEX label and heavy metal free. I only use dyes with the OEKO-TEX label that are free of heavy metals. Furthermore, my dyeing method ensures that no color residue remains in the water after it's discarded (even after multiple uses).
Eco-friendly dyes aren't natural dyes, and although I have extensive experience with them, I no longer use them. As my business grew, I realized that these dyes, without proper infrastructure, use a lot of water, which made me uncomfortable. Depending on how they're used, they aren't as eco-friendly as they might seem. The dyes I use are acidic (synthetic) but eco-friendly.
I try to reduce the water waste to the minimum, reusing the water as much as I can. I usually discard the water only when I know I'm not going to use it for a while, but I usually use the same once and again.
The process of dyeing wool needs a specific pH to bond the color to the fibers, and I use food grade citric acid to get it (non harmful to human, animals or plants). At the end of this reaction I neutralize pH to ensure no harm to the aquatic environment.
THE FIBERS
My yarns come from different places, take a look at my BASES page, where this is specified for each yarn.
Unfortunately, in our country the yarn is still very undervaluated, and yet it is difficult to find local sources that can provide a continued supply of the same yarn base. But there are a few! ONDINE was my first local base, and then came TERRA, SOL and AYRE. I hope to keep adding more!
All my yarn bases are mulesing free. At this moment mulesing is forbidden in almost all the countries of the world, except in Australia. My merino fibers come from Argentina, Uruguay and Spain, where mulesing is forbidden.
Mulesing is only done on sheep (and almost only on merino sheep), so obviously silk, alpaca and vegetable fibers of course will always be mulesing free.
Superwash is a treatment of the fibers that prevents felting (and also makes them more prone to absorb dye). This treatment generates a residue which must be recycled correctly. The yarns I use have been treated under heavily regulated water disposing laws in a plant with OEKO-Tex certification with a closed circuit.
BIODEGRADABILITY
With the exception of the nylon and polyamide in my sock bases, all the fibers I use are natural and therefore biodegradable in the right environment. Superwash wools are also completely biodegradable.
Fibers like nylon and polyamide are NEVER biodegradable. If anything, they break down very quickly and become microplastics, remaining in the environment without decomposing.
At the moment, I don't dye cotton or linen, although I have in the past. The dyes and techniques used with plant fibers are completely different from those I use with animal fibers, and this is a change I'm not considering making at the moment.
I do NOT use bamboo. Bamboo is a viscose (like rose, soy, lotus, banana fibers, etc.), which, although it has a plant-based origin, has been so denatured that it often ceases to be biodegradable. Its production generates a lot of chemical waste and uses an excessive amount of water. Given the existence of wonderful alternatives, I prefer not to use these types of manufactured fibers. I hope that one day they will be produced in a more environmentally friendly way; then I'll be happy to change my mind.