More ecofriendly yarns to consider

Glad to see that over the past three years, more knitting yarnmakers are featuring organic cotton and other earth-friendly yarn. My main criteria are primarily organic plant material that's naturally dyed, and secondarily, fair-traded. Pakucho meets both. Then after that... not much.

Still, I'm making this list to consider other options for those yarns that meet my first criterion. The third would be, recyled... and fair-traded, of course. Fourth would be, recycled.

Not in any particular order, here are my candidates for my Plan B wish list for the year (in progress):

1. "Good Earth Cotton" Yarn by Tahki--100% organic cotton yarn spun from naturally colored fiber

2. "Natural Earth Cotton" Yarn by Tahki--worsted-weight little sister of Good Earth Cotton

3. "Cottonwood" Yarn--certified 100% organic cotton by Fibra Natura, complying with the standards of the EKO as a sustainable textile, the strictest in the industry,

4. "Links" Yarn--with the prestigious EKO Sustainable Textile certificate  of 100% organic cotton

5. "Biosoja" Yarn--crafted in Italy of 40% organic soy, 34% organic cotton & 26% organic bamboo (no mention of certification though)

6. "Eco Cotton" Yarn by Debbie Bliss--the premier yarn in her Fair Trade Collection, authenticated as 100% organic through the BioRe textile chain,  using non-toxic, non-carcinogenic dyes, and all water is recycled and made drinkable. (sounds great!)

7. "Purelife Organic Cotton DK" Yarn by Rowan --a 100% organic, environmentally responsible yarn (connected with BioRe). Spun from cotton organically grown in India, the fiber is then naturally dyed in Italy.

8. "Purelife Revive" Yarn by Rowan--crafted in Italy of 36% recycled silk, 36% recycled cotton & 28% recycled rayon.

9. "Riveting Worsted" Yarn--soft recycled blue jeans fiber imported to the US where it's into 4-ply yarn.

10. "Recycled Silk" Yarn from Himalaya Yarn--Composed of 100% recycled silk fibers from the industrial weaving mills of India, the fibers are handspun in Nepal, supporting a cottage industry of spinners with each one working independently.