Now offering 100% Recycled Cotton Cord
As a small business, we are always looking for ways to minimize our impact on the Earth! Last year we expanded our recycled fiber offerings to include ribbon made from recycled silk saris, RPET poly rope made from plastic bottles, and 6mm 2-ply recycled, cotton rope.
Today we are pleased to announce that our recent shipment of our most popular cotton rope and string products are all made from 100% recycled, pre-consumer, European, cotton garment waste.
That's right! Moving forward, all Modern Macramé cotton cords are recycled so you can craft happily, knowing that your art is gentler on our planet. Our best-selling cords just got… better!
Let's be honest; running a craft supply company is never going to be entirely sustainable, there is some inevitable waste. Macramé and fiber arts are not a minimalist hobby. And, as a small business, making choices to be a more environmentally friendly company is challenging, both financially and logistically. While we will never claim to be perfect in our environmental efforts (and frankly, any company that does should be more closely looked at), we will share the hard work that has gone into reducing our carbon footprint.
Over the past few years, we’ve been working with our supplier to transition our rope to 100% recycled cotton. Through the process, we’ve come against many roadblocks.
Cotton production has a huge environmental impact. That’s the hard reality of what’s behind this beautiful fiber craft. Originally, we began seeking out organic cotton products. When our supplier began to inquire up the supply chain about the prospect, they were met with greenwashing left and right throughout the cotton manufacturing industry. We continued to press on, and eventually found success with another vendor that offers GOTS certified organic cotton rope, allowing our organic cotton dreams to finally come to fruition in our shop last year. Explore our organic cotton rope here!
This year, continuing to work closely with our primary supplier, we were able to make the switch to recycled cotton rope for all of our cotton products. This upgrade offsets pre-consumer garment waste and transforms clothing scraps into the same high quality, cotton rope and string that you love knotting into your wall hangings, plant hangers, rugs and more. As we work through some of our remaining 2021 stock, we will be fully transitioning our cotton rope and string products to 100% recycled cotton as we move forward this year.
Our cord remains 100% Oeko Tex Certified, which means that our cords have been tested and proven free of harmful substances. To learn more about our rope and the factory it's processed in, read Our Rope Story here.
As previously mentioned, moving towards reducing our carbon footprint is no small task. We must weigh each decision against our budget and, wherever possible, choose the more eco-friendly option.
What that looks like on a monthly basis is; shipping in recycled boxes whenever possible financially, choosing biodegradable, recycled poly mailers and packing with recycled paper tape. On an annual basis it means working with our suppliers to find solutions to expand our offerings to include more recycled fibers. It means transitioning our best selling rope to 100% recycled cotton and doing so without raising prices for our customers.
It means being transparent about the areas of our business over which we have very little control; that our rope is shipped across the world on pallets packed with plastic wrap and that the reality of cotton production is a far from perfect system. And until we find a domestic cotton supplier who makes a product that is ethically produced, of the highest quality and financially viable to our company and to our customers, our rope will continue to make a very long journey to arrive at your door.
To close, we want to remind you that you too have a choice. Your choice to shop with Modern Macramé is a statement that you care about the environment, you care about supporting companies that offer living wages, time off and health care to their employees, you care about women-owned businesses, and you care about consciously choosing to practice your art with intentional choices to minimize your impact on the world.
Thank you for coming on this journey with us and choosing to support us as we work towards more environmentally friendly practices.
XO,
The MM Team