Building a Healthier Fiber Future: Highlights from Fibershed’s 2024 Annual Report

Across fields, farms, and fiber mills, a quiet transformation is taking place—one rooted in soil health, environmental resilience, and a deep commitment to reshaping the way we produce durable goods and textiles. Fibershed’s 2024 Annual Report highlights a year of growth, impact, and meaningful collaborations that are redefining what’s possible for climate-beneficial fiber & dye systems.

From Soil to Textile: A Year of Climate Action
This year, we worked with 33 producers to implement 13 climate benefitting agriculture practices across 4,214 acres  in California, helping reduce over 7,900 metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually through Fibershed’s CDFA Healthy Soils Block Grant. 

Through the USDA Climate-Smart Commodities Grant, Fibershed and five project partners enrolled 38 producers, collectively stewarding over 360,000 acres across 10 states in the US. In this five year pilot program, conservation planners are now developing Carbon Farm Plans to identify opportunities for carbon capture and provide resources for soil health, biodiversity, and climate resilience.

Rebuilding Regional Textile Economies
Local fiber systems are gaining strength. In 2024, Fibershed’s microgrant program funded 26 regional projects, supporting everything from small-scale wool processing to flax research and regenerative cotton initiatives. With 79 Fibersheds worldwide, a global network is growing to advance climate-smart fiber production and advocate for sustainable textile solutions.

Shepherding for the Future: Vocational Training for a New Generation
One of the most exciting developments this year was the expansion of Sheep School and Shepherding for the Future vocational training programs. Fibershed provided scholarships and equity pricing for shearing schools, grazing management workshops, and hands-on lambing classes, ensuring that new and aspiring graziers can access the skills needed to care for their flocks and steward the land. These programs support not just fiber production, but climate-adaptive land management, helping to reduce wildfire risks, improve soil health, and strengthen rural economies.

The Evolution of the Fibershed Movement
From a single pilot project in Northern California to a global network, Fibershed has grown into a thriving movement of 79 regional affiliates across 18 countries. Over the past few years, the Fibershed Affiliate Network saw a 36% increase in regional fibershed groups. The movement’s rapid expansion underscores the growing momentum behind localized textile economies and climate benefitting  fiber systems.

In 2024, the Northern & Central California Producer Network—Fibershed’s founding regional network—entered an exciting new phase. Beginning in 2025, the producer-led advisory group will guide regional priorities and program development, ensuring that the people growing, harvesting, and processing fiber play a central role in shaping the future of their bioregion.

Policy Wins: Pioneering Change in the Textile Industry
Fibershed played a role in the passage of SB 707, California’s landmark Extended Producer Responsibility legislation, which requires brands to take responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their textiles. This policy shift marks a critical step toward reducing textile waste and creating accountability in an industry that has long prioritized fast fashion over sustainability.

Closing the Loop: Textile Composting & Circularity
In 2024, Fibershed continued pioneering textile composting research, successfully composting 300 pounds of natural fiber waste and collaborating with scientists to explore how textiles can return safely to the soil. This research is helping lay the groundwork for a truly biocircular fiber economy—one that eliminates reliance on plastic-based textiles and wasteful production models.

Looking Ahead
As we move into 2025, Fibershed remains committed to expanding support for farmers and ranchers, scaling climate benefitting  fiber systems, and pushing for systemic change in the textile industry. The solutions we need already exist—they’re in the soil, in the hands of skilled fiber producers, and in the communities working to bring these traditions back to life.

 

Read the full 2024 Annual Report

Join us in creating a future where textiles regenerate the land, not deplete it.