NATIONAL SWEATER DAY

NATIONAL SWEATER DAY

If you're feeling a little cold today and need an extra layer, look no further. February 4th is National Sweater Day! Today we are honoring one of the most appreciated garments of the winter months and raising awareness about climate change.

#NationalSweaterDay

We all love a comfy sweater. Wearing a sweater helps us tolerate the cold winter temperature and also allows us to adjust to cooler indoor temperatures, too. National Sweater Day acts as an audit for our energy costs by forcing us to realize that we don't need to have our thermostats set high during the winter months. We can wear a sweater inside, lower our thermostat and be just as cozy.

Wearing a sweater indoors indirectly lowers the demand for carbon-heavy energy. On average, if everyone in one home wore a sweater every day indoors and lowered their heat by 2 degrees, their heating bill could be reduced by at least 10%. That's a significant savings during the winter months. Now, imagine if every home did that in a city. The reduction in carbon dioxide emissions would be the equivalent of taking thousands of cars off the road for an entire year.

Brief Sweater History

The sweater has rough had a rough beginning. First appearing around the 15th century, these now fashionable clothing garments were called "guernseys" or "ganseys" and used as fisherman armor in the Channel Islands. Coastal wives would knit thick, wool tunics for their husbands, often leaving the natural lanolin (sheep oil) on the wool to make the sweaters water-resistant for their husbands while at sea. Each village had their own knitting pattern, making it easy to identify a fisherman if they were lost at sea.

In the late 1800s, the term "sweat-er" appeared when athletes (especially rowers) would wear them to encourage sweating and weight loss. Because they were so good at absorbing sweat and keeping muscles warm. During the 1920s, designer Coco Chanel turned the garment into a chic piece of women's clothing when she created the "Cardigan". The 1950s became the "Sweater Girl" era. Actresses like Lana Turner and Marilyn Monroe popularized the sweater when they began wearing tight-fitting cashmere or wool blends. Today, you can find sweaters made of a variety of material that are transformed into unique styles.

6 IDEAS OF CELEBRATION FOR NATIONAL SWEATER DAY

1. Take the "Thermostat Challenge" by lowering the heat in your home or office by 2 degrees and compare monthly bills to see if you did, in fact, save money.

2. Wear your favorite, coziest, or most "vintage" knit and encourage others to do the same.

3. Host a donation drive to collect sweaters for a local shelter.

4. Register for a knitting class or follow a tutorial online. January is also National Hobby Month and knitting is a great hobby to learn.

5. Organize a sweater swap. Instead of buying new sweaters, invite friends, family, and coworkers over one evening and ask everyone to bring their gently used (and clean) sweaters to swap with others.

6. Use the hashtag #NationalSweaterDay and #CelebrateEveryDay to share with us how you're celebrating National Sweater Day.

CREATOR OF NATIONAL SWEATER DAY

We are currently in search of the creator of National Sweater Day. As of today, we have been unable to find who that could be. We have discovered Canada celebrates their own Sweater Day on February 5 that focuses more on wearing a sweater to lower the carbon footprint. We'll keep searching for the creator while wearing a sweater. Let's face it, North Dakota is cold this time of year.