As part of our series on cotton in community, we are honored to share this article produced by Harpreet Singh, exploring the connections between cotton, colonialism, cloth production, and community-based economies. As Harpreet writes, tula is a Sanskrit word that means cotton and also means balance or equilibrium. The vision and approach of this work […]
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Growing 50 Acres of Hemp in North Carolina: Field Notes from the One Acre Exchange
One Acre Exchange supports the development of an agricultural economy centering the sustainability of farmers, workers, and the planet. In North Carolina and beyond, we support farmers and artisans in the growth and development of industrial hemp because of its tremendous potential to revitalize local economies and regenerate the environment. Read past dispatches to learn […]
Read MoreQuestioning the Role of Biosynthetics in Regenerative Fashion
Written by Rebecca Burgess and Jess Daniels Fibershed is honored to be featured in an important and newly published report: The Nature of Fashion: Moving towards a regenerative system by our colleagues and collaborators at the Biomimicry Institute. The paper is a refreshing analysis of the textile industry via the lens of natural cycles and […]
Read MoreCotton in Community: Reconnecting to Traditional Indian Farming Practices in the Prakriti Fibershed
Written by Esha Chhabra with supplemental reporting by Jess Daniels. Photography by Ashish Chandra and Nishanth Chopra, as noted. Nishanth Chopra grew up in a city that’s seeing record cancer rates. But it’s not a coincidence, he says. “I don’t think I would have been as passionate about organic farming and ethical supply chains if […]
Read More3 Maps Show How We Can Unlock Local Clothing Industries
How Fibershed’s RFMI Ecosystem Mapping is setting the stage for designing and implementing key expansions in textile manufacturing in the Western United States Written by Nicholas Wenner Each year, the United States produces enough wool to create millions of sweaters and enough cotton to cut and sew billions of t-shirts — so, why is it […]
Read MoreCrafting a Family Business with Milk & Honey 1860
Written & photographed by Sarah Lillegard Off the highway and along a dirt road in Butte Valley, California there is a large white house with a wraparound porch sitting at the front of forty acres. This house was built in 1860 and is now home to the Larson family and their farm business named for […]
Read MoreBenefitting Climate & Communities: How Clothing Cooperatives Could Grow Equitable Regional Economies
Cooperative structures like the Carolina Textile District provide an inspirational example of the type of regional networks that could grow and flourish throughout the country. By Nicholas Wenner and Adrian Rodrigues What does it look like to coordinate a manufacturing vision that will regionalize the production of textiles in the Western US and contribute to […]
Read MoreWeaving Expression with Gather the Universe
Written and photographed by Koa Kalish As Mary Diaz works at her loom, it’s not clear if she’s the one weaving or if it’s the large ornate spider on her arm that is weaving her. “Weaving is a great metaphor for my life, “Mary says. “To me, the spider humbly embodies the beauty in the […]
Read MoreDisease as a Driver For Change: Reflections Through the Lens of Ecology
Natural systems provide us the road-map for making sense of these confusing and befuddling times; they support us in seeing what is important to do right now and what our next steps could look like Sheltering in place and social distancing is distilled as a critical form of collective intelligence Ecosystems are a model for […]
Read More5 Ways You Can Strengthen Our Fibershed While Sheltering in Place
By Jess Daniels It’s clear that our economy is shifting. A chasm has formed, and it’s uprooting so many systems that have been dysfunctional for far too long — systems that harm human and ecological health. Fashion and material culture are part and parcel of those systems. We see that the industry that clothes us, […]
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