I Knit With The World's Deadliest Yarn

What if I told you the softest yarn I've ever knit with is also technically an instrument of ecological warfare? New Zealand has a possum problem. As in: approximately 30 million brushtail possums — introduced from Australia in 1837 for a fur trade that went SPECTACULARLY sideways — and they are eating the native forest alive. So at some point, someone looked at all of that and said: what if we made yarn out of it? In this Fiber Story, I dig into the full context: how the brushtail possum got to New Zealand in the first place, what they're actually doing to the ecosystem (it's bad), how the possum fiber industry developed as a byproduct of government-mandated pest control, and whether buying possum merino is actually sustainable — or whether it just feels that way because the label uses the word "eco." Spoiler: the ethical reality is more complicated than the marketing copy, and as always, I have thoughts. If you enjoy this video and want to support my channel, consider joining the Patreon:   / goodyarnbadknits   Thanks for dropping by and watching! I post new videos every Saturday, so subscribe if you'd like to see more! Every view, comment and subscription means a lot to me.