Usually, when I am shopping at my local yarn store (LYS), I do not think that much about labels. It's not like going to the co-op. Sure, I have to check for yardage, fiber content, and dye lots, but I don't have to think about chemicals and things that are bad for me. Aside from acrylic. Right?
Yeah, not so much.
I had never heard of moth proofing until recently. When I read about it, I thought, "Well, that's unnecessary use of chemicals," and I forgot about it.
Then a friend and I made a stop at a LYS where we have never been, and I was seduced by a skein of Lambs' Pride Bulky. It's this gorgeous variegated green. I found two other coordinating skeins, and I thought I could make something beautiful with them. I figured out what that was, and I started on the project.
Then I looked at the label.
Moth-proofing is done when they dye the yarn, so the stuff, called Mitin FF, is in there to stay. The federal government says that it has low to moderate toxicity and low mammalilan toxicity, but I still think it's unnecessary, and I want to stay away from it. I'll keep this yarn and finish the project. It's not for the boy, it's for me. Besides, the federal government is dragging its heels on BPA and the parabens, so I think I will be a maverick and blaze my own trail.
As it were.
It was a hard thing to do, and I still feel a little weird about it, but today, I dumped the American Automobile Association.
As far back as I can remember, everyone in my family has been a member of "The Three A's" as my grandfather calls it. I think I enrolled when I graduated from college. Free maps, travelers' cheques, discounts on hotels, lock-out assistance, towing, and jumpstarts, and less clean air.
Yup, apparently, AAA lobbys. It lobbies on behalf of motorists, and I think it believes I am a member of their organization because I am a motorist, when really, all I do is drive a car sometimes, I like free maps, and I often leave my lights on.
It lobbied against the Clean Air Act in 1990. It lobbied against stronger air quality standards, vapor traps, stronger tailpipe emission standards, and airbags. If it were lobbying against gasbags, then perhaps I would understand, but lobbying against things I am for? Yeah, no thanks. I just needed a tow because I am a dumbass, I don't need less safety features. It was great to know that an organization to which I have paid over a thousand dollars over the years has used that money to work against things I am for, and for things I am against.
That does not make sense in my consumer ethic. I don't buy Burt's Bees anymore because I don't buy bleach, and Clorox owns Burt's Bees, so why would I pay lobbyists for wider roads that encourage more driving, when I actually favor less?
No more.
I enrolled in the Better World Auto Club. It cost a few dollars less than AAA, and we'll see how it goes. It feels strange, like I am betraying an old friend, and I admit to being skeptical. Old habits die hard. But I don't think the Three A's will miss me much.
