Fiber artisans have the opportunity to support soil-regenerating practices and natural fiber producers by being selective about the type of fiber they work with.
Read MoreRecent Stories from Fibershed
A Story of a Working Sweater: In Collaboration with Sheep, Shepherds, and Artists
The following pieces are written by five Fibershed producer members offering their perspectives on the creation of a community-constructed sweater using Santa Cruz Island sheep wool.
Read MoreHow 10 innovative makers and designers are incorporating Climate Beneficial fiber into their products
At Fibershed, we see a nourishing tradition emerging that connects us to the fields where clothes are grown in a system that can last for countless generations into the future. […]
Read MoreAlley Cropping in the Liminal Zone: Growing Resilience in the San Joaquin Valley
What will the San Joaquin Valley–home to one quarter of the nation’s food production–look like fifty years from now? Fifth-generation farmer Nathanael Gonzales-Siemens and a team of farming and fiber systems advocates are undertaking an experiment in Buttonwillow, CA that may determine part of the answer.
Read MoreUnpacking ‘Sustainable’ Fashion
“Sustainability, as defined and measured in fashion, is currently an elitist, even imperialistic concept,” says Veronica Kassatly, analyst and consultant for data-based sustainability claims. In this four-part series, Kassatly examines how Western brands, consumers, and activists define the conversation around sustainability, based on their own interests and cultural values. She brings light to unfounded assertions about the long-lasting fiber traditions of wool, silk, and alpaca production in an effort to map out better solutions for moving toward “sustainable” fashion that is truly sustainable and socially just.
Read MoreCommunity is a Plant that Grows
Sarah arrived in balmy Penngrove, California to a plot of neglected land, overgrown with Spanish wild oats (Avena Barbata) in 2014. The adobe ground dried out and large cracks opened up the dry earth in the summer. She had two small children and no practical farming experience. A couple of scraggly oaks and willows adorned the edges of the property, with frequent traffic speeding by on the highway-like road. The house was small, awkward, and in disarray. She set down her roots and got to work.
Read MoreUnraveling the Truth about Alpaca Fleece
In a series of 3 articles, we examine the history and significance of alpaca farming in Peru and unravel the truth about who benefits from characterizing alpaca farming as environmentally harmful.
Read MoreMicroplastics Policy Moves Forward in California
Thanks to an outpouring of public comment earlier this year to the Ocean Protection Council, our Fibershed community’s voice helped shape next steps in California’s precedent-setting framework on state-led microplastic research, risk assessment and action.
Read MoreAlpaca Stories Part 3: When PETA Strikes, Certifications Follow
In the third and final article, we take a closer look at the claims for alpaca made by the ‘sustainable’ apparel sector. I walk through how these claims prioritize a global north perspective that diminishes the most disadvantaged, those in the global south who are producing the fiber. We conclude with an understanding of how the claims of ‘environmental harm’ are contributing actual harm to the livelihoods of small-scale alpaca farmers and call on the fashion industry to reexamine its categorization of sustainable materials.
Read MoreAlpaca Stories Part 2: Fibs, Lies, and Falsehood
In Part 2, we examine how alpaca fiber ranks in terms of environmental impact using the Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) and the Kering Environmental Profit & Loss (EP&L) account. We look at the shortcomings of these measurement tools in assessing alpacas’ cultural, social, and economic value to indigenous peoples. Finally, we dig into the competing interests in the mining industry for land use in Peru.
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