Bast fibers have been highly regarded for beautiful, durable textiles throughout history and into the modern era. Over the past year, Fibershed’s Lead Process Engineer Nicholas Wenner has been connecting with bast fiber growers, researchers, processors, and artisans to better understand the state of soil to soil systems for these unique plants. This series examines […]
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California Cotton Fields: Can Cotton be Climate Beneficial?
Written by Esha Chhabra and Jess Daniels, photographed by Paige Green In this series, we highlighted stories of cotton producers in California who are continuing the legacy of growing cotton in the state but in a manner that’s more in tune with the current climate, weather conditions, and soil health challenges. Cotton can be grown […]
Read MoreCalifornia Cotton Fields: Building Biodiversity with John Teixeira
Cotton is part of the broader California agricultural system wherein shifting practices opens pathways for whole systems regeneration. For the past year, and throughout a planting cycle, Fibershed has been visiting cotton growers throughout Northern and Central California in an effort to understand the system as it is. This is an examination formed through proximity […]
Read MoreCalifornia Cotton Fields: Sally Fox reinvented cotton — by going back to its roots
Cotton is part of the broader California agricultural system wherein shifting practices opens pathways for whole systems regeneration. For the past year, and throughout a planting cycle, Fibershed has been visiting cotton growers throughout Northern and Central California in an effort to understand the system as it is. This is an examination formed through proximity […]
Read MoreCalifornia Cotton Fields: Scaling Carbon Farming Practices with Bowles Farming Company
Cotton is part of the broader California agricultural system wherein shifting practices opens pathways for whole systems regeneration. For the past year, and throughout a planting cycle, Fibershed has been visiting cotton growers throughout Northern and Central California in an effort to understand the system as it is. This is an examination formed through proximity […]
Read MoreCalifornia Cotton Fields: Nathanael Siemens on a 10 Acre Model Toward Regeneration
Cotton is part of the broader California agricultural system wherein shifting practices opens pathways for whole systems regeneration. For the past year, and throughout a planting cycle, Fibershed has been visiting cotton growers throughout Northern and Central California in an effort to understand the system as it is. This is an examination formed through proximity […]
Read MoreCalifornia Cotton Fields: a Renewed Opportunity for Rebuilding Soil
Written by Esha Chhabra with photography by Paige Green America’s history with cotton is contentious — to say the least. The crop became the backbone of the colonial economy and was the driving force of slavery as an institution and a labor force that historians say is “necessarily imprinted on the DNA of American capitalism.” […]
Read MoreShifting the Impact of our Clothing: Tips from the Fibershed Community
Written by Jess Daniels with photography by Paige Green and infographics created by Fibershed The latest large-scale assessment of the systems and supply chains that get us dressed reveals that the fashion industry’s sustainability efforts have “slowed by a third in the past year” and overall are “not moving fast enough to counterbalance the harmful […]
Read More4 Simple Guidelines from the Fibershed Clothing Guide
Written by Jess Daniels based on the Fibershed Clothing Guide, available now as a free download Visuals created with Paige Green Photography except for the microplastic image courtesy of the Rozalia Project It’s an everyday act: rise in the morning and slip on something to wear. Regardless of personal style, age, or activities in our […]
Read MoreRooted in Community: Chico Flax
Written by Sarah Lillegard & Photographed by Paige Green Tucked in by the entrance of the artisan barn at this year’s California Nut Festival is a booth that seems perfectly at home with its setting. The light from the open door is catching bundles of dry flax and the barn floor is slowly acquiring little […]
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