Embracing Sustainability: Making our UK small business creating weaving loom kits as eco-friendly as possible

​Sustainability is a key consideration for our small UK business as we work to design, make and supply weaving loom kits

Sustainability lies at the heart of the practice of weaving your own fabric, making your own clothes and creating your own gifts. With this in mind it is our mission to be as sustainable as we can in our own UK small business creating weaving loom kits. We are continually reflecting on how we can make further improvements with respect to the sustainability of our business along side reassessing our working practices to minimize our environmental footprint. This blog post highlights how we are adopting sustainable methods by focusing on eco-friendly packaging, utilizing solar energy, sourcing local materials and using British wool in our weaving kits.

Our business goes against fast fashion improving sustainability

Our rigid heddle weaving loom kits are designed so that a new weaver can learn to weave fabrics including scarves. Weaving your own scarf from British wool is a quiet act of resistance against fast fashion. In a world of mass-produced clothing much of which is often disposed off too quickly taking time to create something unique and handmade serves to make something which is thoughtful which we hope will be both lasting and meaningful.

Wood as a raw material for our weaving looms - sustainable wood from local businesses

Out weaving kits are designed and made by us in the UK and we source as many of our raw materials as possible from local businesses. Our weaving looms are made from FSC and PEFC Birch Plywood.  FSC-certified wood is a type of sustainably-sourced wood that has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Wood with FSC certification has gone through a rigorous set of environmental, social, and economic requirements to be considered sustainable.  Whilst the wood we use is imported into the UK we purchase it from a brilliant local supplier Totton Timber.

We have designed all of our looms and we hand sand and construct the looms ourselves.  The frame looms and combs are 100% wood.  Our rigid heddle looms have no plastic parts being made of wood and metal screws and bolts.

Our plastic threading hooks are made by us using a 3D printer and PLA (poly-lactic acid) filament which is a more environmental choice, being made from plant materials rather than petroleum and it is theoretically compostable, although only in industrial composters.

Harnessing Solar Energy to cut our weaving loom kits

Energy consumption is a major area where we have enhanced our sustainability as we have transitioned to using solar energy to lower our carbon footprint. Most of our looms are cut on sunny days when we are able to generate our own electricity to power the CNC (computerised cutting) machine.

Using British Wool is an aspect of our business that we are particular pleased about

We use predominantly British wool in our weaving kits. British wool can be used to create luxurious scarves and fabrics, but it also has much lower transport miles than wool from elsewhere.  

You can read more about British wool on the British wool website. Wool products typically have a longer lifespan when taken care of properly, they can maintain their appearance over many years. Supporting local helps reduce our carbon footprint, boosts British agriculture and supports our local economies.

A commitment to eco-friendly packaging - recent developments and improvements

Packaging often leads to significant environmental issues and traditional packaging materials can create unnecessary waste and pollution.  How our products are packaged is important to us because we want our weaving kits to arrive in perfect condition and for them to be a joy to receive. Initially when we started our business our small weaving kits were sold in plastic envelopes. These bags were great when selling at events as customers were able to see what each kit contained but we became aware that the bags were not ideal for the environment. With this in mind we have now moved predominantly to recyclable packaging.  We now package our small weaving kits in colourful paper bags without the need for plastic packaging with some kits sold in small brown boxes.   Larger looms are sold in brown recyclable cardboard.

We are confident that investing in eco-friendly packaging is of benefit to the environment and it is our hope that our customers will recognise our commitment to responsible eco-practices.

The Path Forward

Transitioning to sustainable practices is a continuous journey that requires commitment and creativity. By focusing on eco-friendly packaging, harnessing solar energy, and utilizing local resources like British wool, we have achieved improved environmental impact. The drive towards sustainability not only supports a healthier planet but we hope that it also aligns with our consumers who often prefer brands that demonstrate environmental responsibility. With continual review of our work we hope to make further improvements in future.

Rigid heddle looms with scarf weaving kits and our smaller frame loom kits can be purchased from our TabbyandTweed website shop for UK delivery and our TabbyandTweed Etsy shop for delivery elsewhere.

In the fast paced world we now live in it is our opinion that it is something quite special to take time out of life to be creative. Weaving fabric and scarves as unique items of clothing for yourself or gifts is hugely rewarding and helpful when trying to both unwind or keep warm!

Interested in learning to weave? Then our workshop page has all the details found by clicking the link here.

If you are interested in keeping up to date with our weaving work then do sign up to receive our newsletter by clicking the link here.