Thank you so much for this! Also less can be more. Knitting one project with high quality, local, natural wool is sooooo much more satisfying than lots of less fulfilling projects with underwhelming yarn.
I have a local yarn shop that I love to check out to see what is new. One way I like to work on my budget is to first of all save and set aside an amount of money I would like to spend and then take a look to see what is on the clearance shelves. Rather than just random spending, I find this method as giving some thought on what is available, what colours you like and what you would like to make with your finds. Of course there is such a wide variety of options at the smaller independent yarn shops including the cheaper varieties and mixed yarns.. The added bonus is that you can see and feel the yarn to know if it's to your liking and not having an unwanted surprise shipped to your door
Thank you for talking about consumerism and waste. I don’t know if it’s a popular stance to take but I hope people will think about it. On the topic of thrift stores and felted sweaters, I would love to give away some sweaters I don’t wear but feel they will be ruined and therefore wasted
All my knits that I don’t wear are at some point unraveled and the yarn added back to my stash for more knitting fun in the future. I wonder if this would work for you too.
Yes I do hope it sparks more discussions about sustainability in crafting. For the sweaters, generally I try to find someone in my family or friends that will love it as much as I did but if it's truly not going to serve anyone, I'd say it's better in someone's hands that doesn't have the money for a brand new wool sweater even if it felts, it will still keep them warm.
Too bad I cant get those sweater from you. You can donate to local knitters. They know how to take care of the untreated wools. Personally I find its harder to find non superwash yarn, especially the fingering weight, my go-to yarns these day. I knitted a sweater out of superwash yarn out of ignorance bc I didnt know any better back then. I just love the color way and heard it was a “durable” merino yarn from Wolleisme (?). But regretted it bc my other untreated sweater merino is 100% more warm and cozy. I dont mind the pilling, just the feeling. Not the same with superwashed.
@@cloknits I hear you. I am HORRIFIED by the state of consumerism which is, as you've noted, killing our planet. I work actively to reuse the yarn from knitted objects I'm not wearing and to use every last yard of the yarn in my stash. We need so little to knit with, in the scheme of things. BTW - I'm enjoying your English podcast. I've listened to the French one (but my French is not excellent so I have to go slowly) 🙂
Thanks , that was enjoyable . I hope people will consider what you said . What a difference a few months make, I definitely live in an area with all the seasons. I wish it was warmer at the moment , Sept had some Indian summer days but have been ready for the snow to stop . :) I live in the states , like you I do not buy from places like Temu, or Shein but feel pressured or rather encouraged daily by even the local leaders, because of what has happened to the economy :( Even big box stores like Michaels closed some time ago, Walmart no longer keep items on the shelves even if you wanted some acrylic yarn or wanted simple knitting needles . If you go there in person it is difficult to find items they once had. Example, Needed a microwave , they had ONE tiny one , not the size I needed nor were there even another like it ( I will assume because of theft like the foods under lock ) , you have to choose delivery and most items are shipped from China , it is a wait, and don't get me started on the loofa on a stick, what Walmart misleading had up on the site vs what I got shipped from china in the mail I do not order from them anymore either. We are fortunate to be in an area where there are Amazon warehouses that purchase in larger quantities from China, which they sold more made in america to be honest, but because they have these warehouses, time wise and option wise, it would be like buying from a US company. The days of local needlework shop and that community sadly ended with covid , no one could keep up with having a brick and mortar type store.
So very glad that you brought this to the forefront! Any channel that has any mention of temu, and their “hauls” I blocked. Makes me so sad that people are actually so gullible and hungry for stuff. That company is laughing at their foolishness.
I agree. I am always concerned about the workers making these products at ridiculously low prices. I have never used Temu. .. And do take the time to think about Amazon purchases as well. I can still reduce my consumption and that is a personal goal for 2025.
I really appreciate this. I recently saw a miniaturist that I respected do a Temu haul and when I expressed sorrow and explained why (they also steal artist works and resell) I had a bunch of people and the podcaster say I was wrong, that temu is just a third party seller (if that's true, how is it better? as if that negates their unethical decisions to find out where the stuff is coming from?) It's exhausting. ❤
Sérieux tu as tellement raison! Moi ce qui me fait mal au coeur, c'est quand je vois des posts sur les réseaux sociaux où les gens montrent qu'ils ont acheté genre... du mohair sur Wish (exemple dont je me rappelle). Ça me tue de penser aux pauvres animaux qui peuvent avoir souffert pour qu'on puisse avoir de la fibre animale à un prix aussi ridicule. Quand j'achète de la fibre animale, je vérifie toujours ce que la compagnie a à dire au sujet de la cruauté ou du bien-être des animaux. Ça me fends le coeur de voir que plusieurs personnes ont l'air de s'en foutre complètement. Je comprends aussi vraiment quand tu dis que tu fais plein d'efforts et que tu les vois réduits à néant par de l'incitation à la surconsommation à outrance. Oui. C'est très très frustrant. Et après ça, il y en a qui se moquent de l'anxiété liée aux changements climatiques... lol... Entk, j'arrête ici parce que je pourrais continuer pendant longtemps. J'espère que ta vidéo va avoir fait réfléchir quelques personnes. Au plaisir!!
Thank you for your frank opinions on how unsustainable the Temu model is. Their poor track record on human rights is another reason i will never buy from them.
I agree with you fully! I also block people who promote TEMU and others. I do so because I feel they take advantage of other people who have less choices than we do for employment! They can barely eat on what they get paid, let alone support a family. It's truly sad. I invest a lot of time into my sweaters - and I want them to last. Good job, Clo!
The planet goes thru cycles because the sun goes thru cycles we have had varied temps over many, many decades example in the 1930's there were many record high and low temps what we are going thru is no different......it is not climate change it is weather change. I ♥your tips as a new knitter they are helping me greatly and when I have some good swatches I will be making my first sweater using your first sweater pattern for it......THANK YOU!!!!
That's a whole preaching service but i get it. In USA i think it started with Walmart knocking out the mom & pop stores & Walmart saying all their stuff was made in the USA but when Walmart founder's kids took over they started making deals with China gov. companies made products, when China gov. had stolen so many USA patent makes for products. On & on it goes right? Dollar stores, General Dollar, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree have all been owned by China gov. companies. Anyways people will buy cheap made cheap priced products when they want to. I myself realize the scheme & i shop for quality at a reasonable price whether yarn or other items. I have used Facebook Marketplace & other 'used' sale sites as well as Thrift Stores etc. I have found wonderful products for very reasonable prices. Its the art of bargain hunting 🙂
Thats wonderful for You. Maybe do a little research on the reasons the company is able to keep everything they sell at such a low price point. The working conditions in China, the endless crap that is sold that just fills landfills etc. I'm not trying to insult you but hopefully you will do that research and make a more informed decision.
I couldn’t disagree more. Believe me, Chinese people know about good quality, too. Especially when you go at home in a little shop to buy maybe some little stich markers. Where do you think were they made? The shop buys things as cheap as they can in China. They don’t care about anything. But we, the customers, pay at least triple the price. China works for high end designers as well. They’re as good as any country when quality is demanded and paid for. I would recommend you go in your preferred shop and have a look at certain items and their prices. Then blame the importer and shop for the price they charge you. You would get the exactly same article probably for half of the price at Temu. Things have mostly different sides to look at.
Oh believe me, I dislike big markups on items that are white label as well. But Temu's way of pushing indecent consumerism for crap product is much beyond what you are saying. Yes there are great products made in China. The ones you'll find on Temu, could be great but also could be complete crap that is not even what's advertise. You are basically playing the lottery with your money. In that sense, i'd rather buy the marked up product at my local yarn store which is still encouraging my local business without buying more than I need. Also generally I like to buy from local businesses that make their own product, which could mean that they use part of a product bulk ordered from China but put their own creativity to upgrade/personalize it. Or maybe they are buying their raw material locally (which makes it more expensive obviously). So all that to say that China is not the issue, Temu's sketchy business practices is.
@@cloknits First of all: I appreciate the civilised discussion we are able to manage despite our different views. Your thoughts are taken into my consideration from now on as well. - When it comes to wool: since I first tried Australian Merino I was hooked. For me, it is the best wool in the world. I am spinning, knitting and weaving with it and sometimes even know the name of the sheep it comes from. When I am looking for already spun wool, I am lucky enough to have a woollen mill in my city. They are running a factory shop and I wouldn’t use anything else. - But for all the other things I need, I will continue to find a good deal (taking your thoughts for a decision from now on as well as using Temu, Amazon, Ebay and so on) 😊
Civilized discussions is how we can make the world better in my humble opinion. Thank you for being here and sharing your opinion in a respectful way. ❤️
I had a biiiig yarn haul... of yarn I got for free at work because it's old unused cone yarn "remnants" that have been sitting in storage for something like ten years. 😅 I'm not in favour of hauls either, but when it's something like that? Goodness gracious I got greedy. I got soooo greedy. 🫣
A very thoughtful and important message - thank you for taking the time to say all this x (and I love your ideas of ways to knit on a budget!)
I'd love to make other videos on this subject. Budget is a big issue for most of us these days.
Thank you for talking about this!!! And thank you for standing up for your beliefs and not accepting the money Temu offered you for a video!
It just baffles me the amount of people that jump right in and don't question the ethics behind it.
Thank you! It is so good to hear others speak out against the mindless consumerism that Temu and other companies are pushing so hard.
It really needs to be spoken of. Thanks for commenting.
Thank you so much for this! Also less can be more. Knitting one project with high quality, local, natural wool is sooooo much more satisfying than lots of less fulfilling projects with underwhelming yarn.
Absolutely!
Agree with you 100% - thanks for making this episode!
Thank you for your comment, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I have a local yarn shop that I love to check out to see what is new. One way I like to work on my budget is to first of all save and set aside an amount of money I would like to spend and then take a look to see what is on the clearance shelves. Rather than just random spending, I find this method as giving some thought on what is available, what colours you like and what you would like to make with your finds. Of course there is such a wide variety of options at the smaller independent yarn shops including the cheaper varieties and mixed yarns.. The added bonus is that you can see and feel the yarn to know if it's to your liking and not having an unwanted surprise shipped to your door
That's a very smart way to shop.
Thank you for talking about consumerism and waste. I don’t know if it’s a popular stance to take but I hope people will think about it. On the topic of thrift stores and felted sweaters, I would love to give away some sweaters I don’t wear but feel they will be ruined and therefore wasted
All my knits that I don’t wear are at some point unraveled and the yarn added back to my stash for more knitting fun in the future. I wonder if this would work for you too.
Yes I do hope it sparks more discussions about sustainability in crafting. For the sweaters, generally I try to find someone in my family or friends that will love it as much as I did but if it's truly not going to serve anyone, I'd say it's better in someone's hands that doesn't have the money for a brand new wool sweater even if it felts, it will still keep them warm.
I love this. I do feel like sometimes I just fall out of love for the yarn but I've repurposed old sweaters before and it's so empowering.
Unfortunately I’ve learned I don’t like wearing this yarn but thanks for the suggestion @@seaweedeater3104
Too bad I cant get those sweater from you. You can donate to local knitters. They know how to take care of the untreated wools. Personally I find its harder to find non superwash yarn, especially the fingering weight, my go-to yarns these day. I knitted a sweater out of superwash yarn out of ignorance bc I didnt know any better back then. I just love the color way and heard it was a “durable” merino yarn from Wolleisme (?). But regretted it bc my other untreated sweater merino is 100% more warm and cozy. I dont mind the pilling, just the feeling. Not the same with superwashed.
I couldn't agree with you more. This is an important message. Thank you.
Thanks, I've felt that way for a while and I just needed to get it out of my system.
@@cloknits I hear you. I am HORRIFIED by the state of consumerism which is, as you've noted, killing our planet. I work actively to reuse the yarn from knitted objects I'm not wearing and to use every last yard of the yarn in my stash. We need so little to knit with, in the scheme of things. BTW - I'm enjoying your English podcast. I've listened to the French one (but my French is not excellent so I have to go slowly) 🙂
I 💯% agree with you on this Clo.
Thank you for putting this msg out there
Thank you! I truly think we need to think about it more.
Thank you for this and agree completely!
Thanks for watching!
Thank you. I began blocking channels promoting Temu because I agree with you.
Good to hear
I have never bought anything from temu and I never will. Thanks for this great video ❤
Thanks , that was enjoyable . I hope people will consider what you said .
What a difference a few months make, I definitely live in an area with all the seasons. I wish it was warmer at the moment , Sept had some Indian summer days but have been ready for the snow to stop . :)
I live in the states , like you I do not buy from places like Temu, or Shein but feel pressured or rather encouraged daily by even the local leaders, because of what has happened to the economy :( Even big box stores like Michaels closed some time ago, Walmart no longer keep items on the shelves even if you wanted some acrylic yarn or wanted simple knitting needles . If you go there in person it is difficult to find items they once had. Example, Needed a microwave , they had ONE tiny one , not the size I needed nor were there even another like it ( I will assume because of theft like the foods under lock ) , you have to choose delivery and most items are shipped from China , it is a wait, and don't get me started on the loofa on a stick, what Walmart misleading had up on the site vs what I got shipped from china in the mail I do not order from them anymore either.
We are fortunate to be in an area where there are Amazon warehouses that purchase in larger quantities from China, which they sold more made in america to be honest, but because they have these warehouses, time wise and option wise, it would be like buying from a US company. The days of local needlework shop and that community sadly ended with covid , no one could keep up with having a brick and mortar type store.
It is very sad that local businesses are being pushed to the side because of those big corporations. The worlds is a little upside down right now.
So very glad that you brought this to the forefront! Any channel that has any mention of temu, and their “hauls” I blocked. Makes me so sad that people are actually so gullible and hungry for stuff. That company is laughing at their foolishness.
It's a disease, really!
I so agree with your points, I try not to buy too many things. I won’t buy from Temu because it is a Chinese company. Thanks for this video.
I agree. I am always concerned about the workers making these products at ridiculously low prices. I have never used Temu. .. And do take the time to think about Amazon purchases as well. I can still reduce my consumption and that is a personal goal for 2025.
It's a huge conversation! I'm trying to reduce all the time!
I really appreciate this. I recently saw a miniaturist that I respected do a Temu haul and when I expressed sorrow and explained why (they also steal artist works and resell) I had a bunch of people and the podcaster say I was wrong, that temu is just a third party seller (if that's true, how is it better? as if that negates their unethical decisions to find out where the stuff is coming from?) It's exhausting. ❤
I'm so sadden at the number of people that promote Temu... I just can't understand.
Great information, thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to comment!
I so agree.
Temu is a plague!!!
Thank you for this 🙏. Now I like following you even more.
When values align, it feels right!
A lot of articles are reporting that the temu app get access of everything on your phone and that is scary .
Yikes! I'm not surprised unfortunately.
Sérieux tu as tellement raison! Moi ce qui me fait mal au coeur, c'est quand je vois des posts sur les réseaux sociaux où les gens montrent qu'ils ont acheté genre... du mohair sur Wish (exemple dont je me rappelle). Ça me tue de penser aux pauvres animaux qui peuvent avoir souffert pour qu'on puisse avoir de la fibre animale à un prix aussi ridicule. Quand j'achète de la fibre animale, je vérifie toujours ce que la compagnie a à dire au sujet de la cruauté ou du bien-être des animaux. Ça me fends le coeur de voir que plusieurs personnes ont l'air de s'en foutre complètement. Je comprends aussi vraiment quand tu dis que tu fais plein d'efforts et que tu les vois réduits à néant par de l'incitation à la surconsommation à outrance. Oui. C'est très très frustrant. Et après ça, il y en a qui se moquent de l'anxiété liée aux changements climatiques... lol... Entk, j'arrête ici parce que je pourrais continuer pendant longtemps. J'espère que ta vidéo va avoir fait réfléchir quelques personnes. Au plaisir!!
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Thank you for your frank opinions on how unsustainable the Temu model is. Their poor track record on human rights is another reason i will never buy from them.
I agree with you fully! I also block people who promote TEMU and others. I do so because I feel they take advantage of other people who have less choices than we do for employment! They can barely eat on what they get paid, let alone support a family. It's truly sad. I invest a lot of time into my sweaters - and I want them to last. Good job, Clo!
The planet goes thru cycles because the sun goes thru cycles we have had varied temps over many, many decades example in the 1930's there were many record high and low temps what we are going thru is no different......it is not climate change it is weather change. I ♥your tips as a new knitter they are helping me greatly and when I have some good swatches I will be making my first sweater using your first sweater pattern for it......THANK YOU!!!!
Thank you for your comment Wendy.
So agree with you about ‘weather change’, most have short memories.
That's a whole preaching service but i get it. In USA i think it started with Walmart knocking out the mom & pop stores & Walmart saying all their stuff was made in the USA but when Walmart founder's kids took over they started making deals with China gov. companies made products, when China gov. had stolen so many USA patent makes for products. On & on it goes right? Dollar stores, General Dollar, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree have all been owned by China gov. companies. Anyways people will buy cheap made cheap priced products when they want to. I myself realize the scheme & i shop for quality at a reasonable price whether yarn or other items. I have used Facebook Marketplace & other 'used' sale sites as well as Thrift Stores etc. I have found wonderful products for very reasonable prices. Its the art of bargain hunting 🙂
I agree with everything you said.
ironically, a temu ad played in front of this video 🙃
That's almost funny!
I love Temu and I have had no problems with anything that I have bought from them.
I'm happy it's working out for you
Thats wonderful for You. Maybe do a little research on the reasons the company is able to keep everything they sell at such a low price point. The working conditions in China, the endless crap that is sold that just fills landfills etc. I'm not trying to insult you but hopefully you will do that research and make a more informed decision.
I couldn’t disagree more. Believe me, Chinese people know about good quality, too. Especially when you go at home in a little shop to buy maybe some little stich markers. Where do you think were they made? The shop buys things as cheap as they can in China. They don’t care about anything. But we, the customers, pay at least triple the price. China works for high end designers as well. They’re as good as any country when quality is demanded and paid for. I would recommend you go in your preferred shop and have a look at certain items and their prices. Then blame the importer and shop for the price they charge you. You would get the exactly same article probably for half of the price at Temu. Things have mostly different sides to look at.
Oh believe me, I dislike big markups on items that are white label as well. But Temu's way of pushing indecent consumerism for crap product is much beyond what you are saying. Yes there are great products made in China. The ones you'll find on Temu, could be great but also could be complete crap that is not even what's advertise. You are basically playing the lottery with your money. In that sense, i'd rather buy the marked up product at my local yarn store which is still encouraging my local business without buying more than I need. Also generally I like to buy from local businesses that make their own product, which could mean that they use part of a product bulk ordered from China but put their own creativity to upgrade/personalize it. Or maybe they are buying their raw material locally (which makes it more expensive obviously). So all that to say that China is not the issue, Temu's sketchy business practices is.
@@cloknits First of all: I appreciate the civilised discussion we are able to manage despite our different views. Your thoughts are taken into my consideration from now on as well. - When it comes to wool: since I first tried Australian Merino I was hooked. For me, it is the best wool in the world. I am spinning, knitting and weaving with it and sometimes even know the name of the sheep it comes from. When I am looking for already spun wool, I am lucky enough to have a woollen mill in my city. They are running a factory shop and I wouldn’t use anything else. - But for all the other things I need, I will continue to find a good deal (taking your thoughts for a decision from now on as well as using Temu, Amazon, Ebay and so on) 😊
Civilized discussions is how we can make the world better in my humble opinion. Thank you for being here and sharing your opinion in a respectful way. ❤️
I had a biiiig yarn haul... of yarn I got for free at work because it's old unused cone yarn "remnants" that have been sitting in storage for something like ten years. 😅 I'm not in favour of hauls either, but when it's something like that? Goodness gracious I got greedy. I got soooo greedy. 🫣
It was yarn that did have any purpose and now it does. It's the best kind of haul.