Yarn Made From Corn
by Rose Fox, New York City on 08. 7.06
We're always interested in hearing about new fibers being made available to hobbyists, and the latest one sounds particularly intriguing: yarn made from corn. Kollage Yarns recently developed Cornucopia, and the South West Trading Company, creator of Soysilk, offers Amaizing. The corn fibers are knit into tubes that then flatten into a slightly stretchy ribbon. Knitter's Review has an in-depth review of Cornucopia that concludes, "Although I don't see corn fibers making cotton obsolete any time soon, I do see them serving as a fresh, fun, and environmentally friendly alternative to cotton (although I don't know if the corn used for these fibers is genetically modified or not)." We did some research and couldn't find anything bearing out the idea that corn is better for the environment than cotton, especially since we have no way of knowing how much fiber can be made from an acre of corn vs. an acre of cotton or what kind of processing the corn goes through (from the mechanical processes of extracting and spinning the starch to the chemicals used in bleaching and dyeing the fiber) on its way to becoming yarn, so take that pronouncement with a grain of salt; but for those who prefer to avoid wool and other animal fibers, another vegetarian yarn on the market is always good news. We welcome informed comments on the relative environmental impacts of growing cotton, corn, and soy, especially with respect to their use in fabrics and yarns. ::Cornucopiaand ::Amaizing via ::Knitter's Review
What's wrong with wool??? It's great! Don't ya think that's taking the whole vegan thing a bit too far?
I'm not sure about the environmental impact of corn vs. cotton crops, but if this yarn is made from Ingeo fiber (produced by Cargill Dow) it is compostable/biodegradable.
As to the wool issue, well, many vegans don't want to use animals for anything, including their fur, especially when they don't know how they were treated. In terms of the fiber itself, there is no cellulosic/plant fiber that has the heat-retaining properties of wool. When cotton or other cellulosics get wet, they won't keep us warm, unlike wool which insulates regardless. There isn't a comparable vegan substitute that I know of.