The wool I use for the socks you saw yesterday is a sock wool from Opal - with 420 m on 100 g slightly thinner than normal sock wool (which is why I'm using 1.5 mm needles instead of the usual 2 mm ones for normal sock wool). It's also made from German sheep wool, all production steps done in this country, and thus supports regional shepherds.

But there's even more... it's possible to support the shepherds and their herds through a Schafpatenschaft (sheep sponsorship, so to say). For 60 €, you buy one year of sponsoring; you'll get a special something worth about 20 €, a little goes into the overhead costs and tax, and about 25 € go into a fund for helping the animals and their herders with things such as buying new rams for breeding. They also get more money for wool out of that fund.

The site seems very transparent about where how much of the money goes, and there's also a list of projects supported with the sponsoring money - plus some very nice sheep pictures. I think it's a lovely idea!

Some info about the Schafpatenschaft was on the ball band around the wool I'm knitting with, and after reading it for the approximately umpteenth time, I've decided that this is definitely something I need... so now there will be a sheep called Herlind, somewhere. And I'm very, very curious to find out what the special treat for the sponsors will be!