We are stewards of the land and seas, if not for ourselves, then certainly for our kids. The small choices we make today affect the natural world that our kids come to know and love.
Everyday as parents, we collectively have the power to make decisions that will benefit our children and their relationship with nature. We are grateful for Mother Nature and respect her gifts.
And so, we bring reusable bags to the grocery store instead of using single-use plastic bags; we carry reusable water bottles instead of drinking from disposable plastic bottles; and, on a pleasant summer’s day, we bike to the farmer’s market instead of driving.
In the grand scheme of things, it may seem like these small choices don’t really matter. But the truth is that a waterfall begins with a single drop of water. Together, our small choices make a big difference.
The clothes we wear represent one of those small choices with big impact. According to a recent report, synthetic plastic-based fibers, such as polyester, are becoming ubiquitous in our clothes—and our waterways.
From 1992 to 2010, demand for synthetic clothing jumped 300%. When we wash these synthetic garments, micro-plastics (that is, tiny pieces of plastic) break free from the garment and go down the drain.
Eventually, those micro-plastics make their way to our oceans. Approximately one-third of the annual 1.5 million tons of micro-plastics come from washing synthetic clothing.
Thankfully, merino is different. Naturally biodegradable, merino wool returns to the Earth. When micro-merino-fibers go down the drain in the wash, they breakdown and become one with nature again. In fact, if you were to bury a merino wool t-shirt in the ground, it would take just nine months for the soil to reclaim the merino fabric!
And so, when we dress ourselves and our kids in merino in the morning, we act as faithful stewards of the land and sea. It may seem like a small choice but, when multiplied across hundreds and thousands of families, it makes a big difference.