BK 25 (Jul 7th, 2020): Fibershed: Growing a Movement of Farmers, Fashion Activists, and Makers for a New Textile Economy

Hi Everyone...

Right now on Jul 7th our discussion will be on Fibershed: Growing a Movement of Farmers, Fashion Activists, and Makers for a New Textile Economy by Rebecca Burgess (Nov 2019).

With 224 reading pages it will be approximately 8 pages a day.

Check out the bio & videos below:

"A new "farm-to-closet" vision for the clothes we wear--by a leader in the movement for local textile economies

There is a major disconnect between what we wear and our knowledge of its impact on land, air, water, labor, and human health. Even those who value access to safe, local, nutritious food have largely overlooked the production of fiber, dyes, and the chemistry that forms the backbone of modern textile production. While humans are 100 percent reliant on their second skin, it’s common to think little about the biological and human cultural context from which our clothing derives.

Almost a decade ago, weaver and natural dyer Rebecca Burgess developed a project focused on wearing clothing made from fiber grown, woven, and sewn within her bioregion of North Central California. As she began to network with ranchers, farmers, and artisans, she discovered that even in her home community there was ample raw material being grown to support a new regional textile economy with deep roots in climate change prevention and soil restoration. A vision for the future came into focus, combining right livelihoods and a textile system based on economic justice and soil carbon enhancing practices. Burgess saw that we could create viable supply chains of clothing that could become the new standard in a world looking to solve the climate crisis.

In Fibershed readers will learn how natural plant dyes and fibers such as wool, cotton, hemp, and flax can be grown and processed as part of a scalable, restorative agricultural system. They will also learn about milling and other technical systems needed to make regional textile production possible. Fibershed is a resource for fiber farmers, ranchers, contract grazers, weavers, knitters, slow-fashion entrepreneurs, soil activists, and conscious consumers who want to join or create their own fibershed and topple outdated and toxic systems of exploitation."

May 29, 2019

Here are twop EXCELLENT documentaries concerning fashion:

* The True Cost

* SLAY

* UN: The Environmental Cost of Fast Fashion

Here is a piece from the NRDC on New York lawmakers and climate advocates working together to create the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act. 
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This is what we discussed at the meeting...

* Feelings about the book

* History of materials used for clothing

* Hemp

* Comfort of Wool in Summer (Blends)

* Cottons

* Social/Moral Ethics of clothing being made outside the country

* MI Fibershed (will try to contact them as they state they serve IL)

* Cost of clothing in our economy...affordability

* Farming methods (amount of water similar to BioChar)

* I'll put their resources on my resource webpage

* Gender differences on attitudes & behavior of fashion

* Culture differences on attitudes & behavior of fashion

* Age differences on attitudes & behavior of fashion

* COVID and fashion stockpiles

* How fashion has changed over the years (cost, quality of material etc.)

** If there is anything incorrect or that I forgot please let me know greenbkclub@gmail.com