Would you buy cashmere blended with soya of all things? The new ‘eco-friendly’ option in the US is a blend of 85% soya residue (eeew!)and 15% cashmere.
Knitwit (shopknitwit.com,) is introducing an eco-friendly soybean/cashmere blend for next Autumn 2009 and calling it “Tofu Cashmere”. The fibre is made from a mix of the unused proteins left after the production of soybean oil, tofu and soyamilk and cashmere.
They say that by turning this waste into an ‘all-natural’ product which possesses some of cashmere best characteristics the wearer’s carbon footprint is somehow reduced. Erm, it’s hard to see how this works, exactly. I can see that producing a fibre from the waste is possibly a good idea – but it rather depends how much energy input is needed to turn it into fibre doesn’t it? So I think we need to be a bit cautious about these claims to be ‘green’. Eco-friendly’s a rather catch all term and I find it hard to see how something that involved an industrial process like this can be greener than natural cashmere, which seems to be what they are implying.
They say:
“Tofu Cashmere’s” incredible soft-to-hand feel, second-skin comfort, luster and durability keep in line with Knitwit’s uncompromising quality, style and comfort.
It seems the fabric produced, although soft to the touch doesn’t have cashmere’s heat retaining properties and that might be a big advantage in some parts of the world. Here in the UK we like cashmere for it’s comforting warmth so maybe not so great here!
Still their Tofu Cashmere collection includes some celebrities favourite styles, like a printed zip hoodie (seen on Paris Hilton, Denise Richards, Heidi Montag.)
Apparently it will come in Knitwit’s four signature prints; leopard, zebra, camouflage and geometric pattern and as crew-necks, v-necks and reversible wraps.
Anyway it will be in shops, even on in the UK, from July 30th. I was really thrown by their claim that they had a retailer in Stradmore (Never heard of it? Me & google either!)Turns out they meant Stanmore (Ah right! Y’know, not far from Watford, that sort of area.) Or you can shop online & they ship world wide, so might be worth a look. I quite like the sound of their cashmere/silk blend too.