The Backyard Project represents our ongoing journey towards crafting responsible products from more sustainable materials. In 2014, we challenged ourselves to manufacture a collection of naturally colored hoodies, right here in our own backyard. Since then, we've established roots in the American apparel industry and built new relationships with domestic farms, fabric mills and garment manufacturers.
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Produced: California
Wool was shorn from Rambouillet sheep that were raised using practices that sequester carbon dioxide and improve soil health.
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Processed: The Carolinas
The National Spinning Company, founded in 1921, spun our wool yarn.
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Knit: New Jersey
Artex Knitting Mills, one of the last great knitting mills in the USA, crafted the wool yarn into sustainable beanies.
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Why Climate Beneficial™ Wool is Better
In 2014, Fibershed created the Climate Beneficial Wool program to encourage ranchers to adopt new carbon farming techniques that draw carbon dioxide from the atmosphere down into soil. Bare Ranch joined their pilot program to collect carbon data on land in Eagleville, California. Nestled near the border of Oregon and Nevada, it’s home to a few thousand Rambouillet sheep and their premium wool. This Climate Beneficial™ wool was used in our new Cali Wool Beanie.
From the pilot program, the ranch's owners expect to remove 4,068 metric tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere annually, offsetting emissions equivalent to 865 passenger vehicles a year. With one ranch and a flock of sheep, we are working with Bare Ranch to prove that a hyper-local, climate conscious approach to sheep ranching can reshape our relationship with our land.