Crafting Isn’t Meant To Be Clean, And Neither Are We

Are you a crafty crunchy traveler?

There’s nothing quite like the coziness of a homemade blanket while camping or on a road trip.

Even better is when you make it yourself, quirks and all.

It’s so satisfying to create items with fibers and textiles.

Sewing, quilting, crochet, knitting, cross-stitch, embroidery, tatting, weaving, punch needle, or macramé.

You name it, and I’ve either done it, have a work in progress (WIP), or it’s on my to-do list.

Feeling the components, honing fine motor skills, and experiencing the manifestation of a unique treasure from fiber “ingredients.”

It’s like meditation, hobby, therapy, and magic all rolled into one!

So as a lover of all sorts of textiles, you can imagine the crunchy disbelief over a new yarn that was marketed as ANTIMICROBIAL.

Antimicrobial Yarn?!?

Are you shaking your head too?

It was touted as CLEAN and SAFE, words that should never be heard in association with knitting or crochet.

I mean, if you’re making a crochet potholder, then YES of course that is to keep you SAFE…

From a hot kettle!

But why is antimicrobial yarn even a thing?

Its advertising made BOLD assurances against bacteria, allergens, and odor.

It was certified safe for BABIES and KIDS, even PET friendly.

So crafting a cute homemade dog toy means your pup could be chewing on polyester AND antimicrobial additive?

No thanks.

Knitting a newborn baby hat means a cute baby head hugged by stockinette stitch AND odor-free protection until kindergarten.  

So that the hat can stay FRESH! CLEAN! And SAFE!

On a little baby head.

Um…what?

Even if you’re crunchy now, you’ve probably worn performance workout clothing at some point in your life.

Polyester, spandex, nylon, this % recycled content, that % recycled content.

After only a few sweaty workouts, they always retain ODORS and look dingy.

It seems that the yarn solution stems from this problem, but it’s still an artificially created one.

And this fresh yarn technology fix is FAR from the actual solution.

Looking into this anti-microbial yarn technology, you’ll find that the antibacterial and antifungal additives are incorporated into the fiber itself during production.

It’s actually IN the fiber.

When spun into the fiber like this, these properties DON’T wash out like a topical treatment would.

They slowly diffuse and replenish themselves on the fiber surface, with stability said to endure 100 WASHES.

To suppose that our environment is dirty and teeming with bacteria that needs to be Lysol-ed, bleached, hand-sanitized, and repelled by antimicrobial garments is NOT accurate.

Not by a long shot.

How To Stay Dirty In A Clean World

So MUCH of what we are made of, as humans, is bacterial.

Our microbiome is vastly complex, ever-evolving, and really just exquisite.

Most people know this to some degree.

Have you SEEN the ever-expanding probiotic supplement section at the grocery store lately?

Somehow, we know that bacteria can be beneficial, and are willing to pay MONEY for it.

But there’s still disconnect between believing that bacteria from a capsule are GOOD, but everything else out there is BAD.

What happens when you encounter something else, something new?

Something OTHER than those five bacterial strains you dutifully took for digestive health/mood/immunity/better hair?

Sure, there are SOME bad guys out there.

But we should prioritize improving the overall environment over aiming at specific targets.

Our guts certainly aren’t what they used to be.

A lower diversity of the microbiome is associated with lower immunity.

As you can imagine, the microbiomes of industrialized humans are much LESS diverse than those of modern-day hunter gatherer populations.

If you are reading these words, then YOU are likely an industrialized human.

By living closer to the way humans have lived throughout history, we can create an environment (both internal and external) that STRENGTHENS our immunity.

Probiotics are fine, but they aren’t the whole picture.

We need to do ALL the things, like…

Spend time with other humans, even better if they are healthy ones.

Smooch cute animals.

Eat raw foods.

Sniff the smells.

Play in the garden, the park, the forest.

Make a batch of sauerkraut.

And get dirty!

Clean is overrated.