About "Giving Back":

Hi, it's Liz here, and part of the biggest reason I wanted to start my own store was so I could donate my own money instead of my dear husbands...haha. But seriously, I was raised volunteering in nursing homes and animal shelters...I was also raised on hardship and frequently donated Christmases, gifted shoes, gifted tuition support, etc. I've been both- a recipient of community support and the one who does the giving. Giving back is in my soul and it'd be wrong to operate a business without it. 

Some non-profits I plan to support are:

 Foster America (is there a nice way to say I, myself, was a ward of the state? These kids need support)

 Wounded Warrior Project (my husband is a disabled veteran, himself...I understand the hardships)

 Feeding America (lived through poverty, myself)

 The Rainbow Youth Project (love our LGBTQ+ community, they need more support)

And, also by donating my paintings (the plan is to paint to inspire colorways/ collections) to my personal counseling center...each of the therapists there see some clients for free, and they have a gift shop to support the free services. The paintings will be offered in the gift shop. 

Pope Vergara's "Stillness Burns" kits- 100% of these profits will be given directly to Pope to support her family.

Giving Back to the Fiber Arts Community:

Designers: I provide yarn support AND give you a share of profits for kits sold from your pattern. I'd love to work with you on your design to bring your most beautifully imagined color palette to life. I'll send you whatever you need, support you during the process, and support your testers. You must be a size inclusive designer.

I require having ample time to create my own sample and require size inclusive and supportive testing deadlines. 

Testers: Tester support will be finalized by myself and the designer but should look something like either a 30% discount for Augustine Yarns LLC, for testing materials only, -- or -- complete support for a set number of trusted, usually repeat/ successful testers (to mitigate ghosting), with the shipping responsibilities on the tester.

 I do not believe in making money off of test knitters, but they may have to pay for the bare yarn used in their project. 

When I have my own designs to be tested, every tester can have 30% off Augustine Yarns LLC, for testing materials only, and those who have successfully completed the test and helped with photos of fit, will have their entire order refunded including any shipping (but not customs charges, I cannot control those).

I'm small currently, but I am happy to help promote any patterns used in my yarn, to include professionally modeling my own sample and having detailed notes and photos of fit. Email me! Let's lift each other up in this small community of lovely fiber artists. :)

 

Ethics/ Animal Welfare:

Supplier Info:

Good ethics was an absolute non-negotiable for me. All of my yarns are mulesing free. I carefully consider the ethics of my suppliers on the workers involved in the milling and am happy to say I chose to support a small business that treats its workers fairly and kindly, and cares about their impact on the environment, and also frequently supports charities.

Superwash: yes, the treatment is not the prettiest. The wool is treated with chlorine to keep the fibers from sticking to themselves/ felting. BUT! All water in this process is thoroughly filtered before going back into the world, to the point the water is "cleaner than tap water". 

My superwash merino bases come from Uruguay and Argentina, mohair is sourced from South Africa, and alpaca comes from the Peruvian Andes.

All yarns are held to the highest OEKO-TEKS standard and are EU FLOWER endorsed.

Augustine Yarns Ethics:

I filter my dye water before disposing it (it usually waters my plants :) ). Filtering is a tedious, but most important step for me. I use spare skeins "yarn mops" to soak up excess dye and then filter the clear water. I live in the middle of the woods and use well water. I care to not waste water and reuse dye water when I can. 

My labels come from eco friendly, recycled paper.

I use "impack co" for shipping packaging, and although they are a bit more expensive, it's worth it to me to use recycled and biodegradable materials. The mailers have clear disposing instructions

The wool is biodegradable, even the ones containing nylon. The nylon is recycled, as well.

I am sure to be masked and have any pets or family members far away from me when I am mixing dye stock. Don't let "needing to be masked for dye stock" scare you, my dyes are earth friendly, you just don't want to breathe that stuff in.

I custom make my stickers at my home and use a thermal printer and recycled paper stickers :)

I test my colorways on micro skeins, and frequently gift these randomly to avoid waste.

All of my equipment is glass or metal and always reused! We care about our impact on the environment over here!