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Eco Friendly Art Supplies

Introduction

For anyone who loves crafting and/or sewing, it can be a bit daunting to try and sift through all the information to work out what materials are actually eco-friendly or not. The following is mostly copy/pasted from a reply about finding/identifying vegan crafting supplies, with some formatting changes.

Why Choose Eco-Friendly Art Supplies?

Not only to protect the environment, but your own health too!

Dangerous Ingredients

Dangerous chemicals including heavy metals and respiratory irritants can have serious impacts not only on the environment, but the workers producing art supplies and the people using them too. In some cases, such as lead, these contaminants can continue to poison unsuspecting people, their children, and their pets.

Heavy Metals

Phenyl Mercuric Acetate (PMA)

"Phenyl mercuric acetate (PMA) and similar mercury compounds have been widely used as water-based paint additives, and may still be used in some countries. These compounds were used as “in-can” preservatives to extend the shelf life by controlling bacterial fermentation in the can (biocides), as well as to retard fungus attacks on painted surfaces under damp conditions (fungicides).

Inorganic mercury compounds of very low solubility have also been used as additives in marine coatings and paints to impede bacteria formation and to hinder the development of marine organisms. This use is believed to have been largely discontinued by the mid-1970s (US DOC, as cited in NJ MTF, 2002)." - Zero Mercury: Paints and Varnishes

Mercury

Crafting Supplies

Cruelty-Free Supplies

Vegomm offers "The Ultimate List of Vegan Art and Craft Supplies" and Double Check Vegan has "List Of Vegan Art Supplies", but seems to focus mostly on paints, glues, canvas, and paint brushes.

The Ultimate List of Vegan Art and Craft Supplies - VegommWe did all the work for you. A huge selection of vegan supplies, without natural hair, gelatin, rabbit skin glue and other hidden animal ingredients. Check out our huge list.

List of Vegan Art Supplies - Double Check VeganHere's a list of vegan art supplies that were not tested on animals. List includes acrylic, watercolor, oil paint, pens, pencils, papers, brushes, and more.

Vegan Womble has listings for craft materials and seem to include links or at least names of companies who supply them.

Vegan Art and Craft Supplies • Vegan WombleWith the help of our community, we've put together a list of art and craft supplies that are not animal tested and contain no animal derivatives.

Pollution-Fighting Supplies

Crayons

Crazy Crayons: Recycled Sticks This company offers crayons shaped like flowers, dinosaurs, stars, and other fun shapes. They have a national crayon recycling program, and you can find small buisnesses on their map which sell their crayons.

Recycled Crayon SticksThese crayons are made with crayons collected by the National Crayon Recycle Program. The Purchase of this product supports crayon recycling and recycling education, creating a positive impact through the art of coloring! Crayons and packaging are made in the USA with 100% Recycled Non-Toxic materials. Size: 10 crayo

Paint

As people become more concerned about remediating pollution, some are getting extremely creative. This video demonstrates "How To Make Paint From Pollution" which shows pollution from an abandoned mine being used to create rich paint colors.

6:26 minute video about turning mine waste into paint.

The paint is sold by Gamblin Colors. You can click here to see their map of partners to learn which shops near you sell their reclaimed colors.

Reclaimed Earth Colors | pollution to paint - Gamblin Artists ColorsAs a colorhouse that promises to be kind to artists and the environment, turning this pigment into paint was something we felt compelled and honored to do.

Don't forget that many art supplies used to come from nature, with cultures learning clever ways to use common foods, flowers, rocks, etc. to create beautiful colors for clothing, pottery, and more.

Reclaimed Materials

Reclaimed materials such as wood, tiles, textiles, metal fixtures and hardware can be used in artistic and creative ways, reducing pollution from making new materials while also reducing landfill overload.

Reclaimed Building Materials

Wood Recycling

Sewing: Textiles & Notions

HEALable is a super useful resource as it helps you learn which materials are derived from animals, plastics, or more eco-friendly sources. As a crafter/sewer I tend to go for organic cotton if possible, but with thread your choices are usually regular cotton or polyester. I try to avoid polyester as it sheds microplastic into waterways and the ocean via our laundry machines. Patterns are usually just paper, you might be able to find recycled paper or soy-based inks, but I've not bought any since before going vegan, so I haven't looked into this.

Materials | HEALabelEthical materials. A material guide to see quick info on fabrics, materials and textiles. See if materials are vegan, sustainable, fair and more.

Vegan Crafting Made Easy: Vegan Sewing Supplies • Crafting a Green WorldOne of the main things I hear from non-vegans about the vegan lifestyle is that it seems difficult. While I agree that any lifestyle change is tough, I don't think going vegan is any harder than any other big life change. It takes a little bit of research, a bit of knowledge, and some compassion. More

6 Sustainable Vegan Silks That Do No Harmvegan silks, sustainable silks, spider silk, peace silk, what is ahimsa silk, eco friendly silk, vegan silk alternatives, cruelty free silk

This article specifically talks about sewing for vegans and warns that buttons often contain animal products including bone, shellac, etc. So it's a good idea to look for glass, wood, bamboo, or other non-animal alternatives.

I'm a big fan of buying used items from vintage places, and have a ton of mystery buttons but I also cut off buttons from clothes I can't repair or donate, so that I always have a stash of matching sets if I have to button or rebutton a shirt or something. Similarly (an not all vegans will agree here) I'm fine with buying old, used pieces of clothing with made of silk or silk linings, since the fabric is soft and breathes really well. My feeling on this is that most people can't tell silk from other fibers (so it doesn't feel like people will get envious and go buy some new silk) and it helps keep those items out of landfills, vs polyester clothes which I worry will shed massive amounts of microplastics if they are washed for many years.

There are supposedly "vegan silks" where the silkworms aren't boiled to death (the traditional/normal method used), and are instead allowed to hatch, but this is very expensive compared to regular silk. Alternatively some genuinely/100% vegan silks made from banana waste, milkweed floss or other plants, some of which you might have already heard of (I personally do not consider spider silk to be vegan as it costs them a lot of protein and other resources to produce it).

Vegan Silk 101: Ultimate Guide to Vegan Silk Alternatives | ClothedUpCheck out our ultimate guide to vegan silk, including the different alternatives and everything you need to know about them.

Yarns & Ribbons

Vegan yarns can be made from many plants including banana, cotton, hemp, nettles, milkweed floss, milkweed fiber, dogbane.

World of Vegan offers this "Vegan Knitting Guide: Tips for Terrific Ethical Knits"

Reclaimed sari silk in another eco-friendly alternative that might use non-vegan silk, but helps keep those textiles from landfills, and help employ female artisans. It can be stripped into ribbons.

Vegan Knitting Guide: Tips for Terrific Ethical KnitsWe have the most comprehensive vegan knitting guide you'll ever need! Learn how to make the mst beautiful cruelty-free creations!

Natural Paints & Dyes

Many modern dyes are quite toxic, causing serious water pollution. We must remember that "natural" doesn't necessarily mean "safe" or "non-toxic" as our ancestors learned from creating colours with lead and other dangerous, but naturally occurring metals, minerals, plants. Fortunately we have modern science to help us avoid the more dangerous ingredients as we experiment with our own custom shades made from kitchen scraps and home-grown wildflowers. Click the resources in this section to learn more.

Nature-inspired Art: How to Make Your Own Nature Brushes and PaintsHow to Make Your Own Nature Brushes & Paints - Learn how satisfying it is to make natural paint supplies on your own.

Stuffing & Batting

Modern stuffing is almost always synthetics that support the fossil fuel industry. Our ancestors were clever and used all kinds of materials from their local ecosystem, and would add more of these stuffings to the original over time to keep their beds stuffed with Spanish moss, or their seat plump with horse hair.

We've forgotten the old options like moss, milkweed floss, and more, but here we discuss some stuffings, and where you can harvest, grow, and buy locally.

Africa

Typha capensis/ Bulrush

Common names: bulrush ( Eng.); papkuil, matjiesriet (Afr.); ibhuma (Zulu, Swazi); ingcongolo (Xhosa); motsitla (Sesotho)

These reeds are important wetland plants that attract wetland birds, stand eve without the help of water, and can help clean up pollutions such as heavy metals. They are considered medicinal, but the entire plant can be used. They are important sources of building and crafting materials.

"The fleshy, spongy rhizomes are dried, pounded to a meal and used as a source of starch. The pollen may also be used as a high-protein food."

Asia

Bamboo

This grows very easily with little to no ecological impact, but the process to create fibers uses energy, water, and chemicals.

Kapok

Fiber comes from the pods.

Europe

Flax

Flax fiber, linen, flax meal (used as an egg replacement in vegan baking), and oil come from this one plant.

Hemp

Hemp provides oils, fiber, nutritious hemp seeds, and more. It needs little to no irrigation, and can be grown indoors if a farmer wants to convert from factory faming animals to something more environmentally friendly.

Cotton

Cotton can require a lot of water, and diverting irrgation water to cotton has caused entire ecosystems to dry up, so finding organic/rain-fed cotton will minimize your impact.

North America

Dogbane?

Milkweed Floss

This grows naturally from Canada, throughout the USA, and down to Mexico. Famers have historically wiped it out for fear of it poisoning their livestock (yet another victim of farming's "war on wildlife"), but now even farmers are begining to understand it's many benefits. Famers for Monarchs is among the many groups who are working o help bring back milkweed, and the Monarchs who rely on this amazing plant.

Hypoallergenic Filler Milkweed Floss for pillows and craftsOur Grade A Milkweed Floss is a natural hypoallergenic filler grown on family farms in Vermont and Quebec ready for use in pillows and crafts.

This was the only vendor we've found so far, other than buying through Etsy. Please let us know if you know of other vendors we can list.

Milkweed Fluff - EtsyCheck out our milkweed fluff selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our seeds shops.

Uses for Milkweed Floss: Hypoallergenic Sustainable Textile MaterialThere are many uses for milkweed floss - as a hypoallergenic sustainable textile, material, pillow and bedding fill, and more.

Click the Milkweed button to learn more about growing milkweed, how much actually helps monarchs (above a certain percent of space no longer improves their numbers), and which parts of the plants' anatomy is good for different uses.

Milkweed

Spanish Moss

Spanish moss was once used for stuffing mattresses. It's a common plant found on older trees, and falls during windy weather.