"These records are made up of international millers, spinners, dyers, and stockists who, in the face of new tariffs that stripped low-value imports of their duty-free status, could no longer afford to supply the tens of millions of U.S. knitters and crocheters with the yarn they'd come to rely on for the past 50 years. For them, this isn't just a setback. This is yarn-ageddon."
"For the same reason we don't just drink coffee from American beans, knitters source some of their favorite yarn brands from all across the globe. Livestock from Argentina, Iceland, Norway, and more produce distinctly varied types of wool, from merino to lambswool, cashmere to mohair. U.S. dyers relied on this wool as the base for their own brands, which make up the rich (and literal) tapestries of U.S. crafters."
Announcements began on Instagram and via email informing U.S. knitters that, out of an abundance of caution, U.S. shipping was suspended. Members of r/knitting documented these notices as international millers, spinners, dyers, and stockists stopped supplying the U.S. after new tariffs removed duty-free status for low-value imports. The loss of imported fibers from Argentina, Iceland, Norway, and elsewhere threatens the range of wools used by U.S. dyers and hobbyists, from merino and lambswool to cashmere and mohair. A century of trade policies and outsourcing left domestic production insufficient to replace those imports, producing widespread shortages and angst among crafters.
Read at Slate Magazine
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