What if designers could go all the way back to the source of the fibers their garments are made from? Many of fashion’s favorite fibers — and our favorite garments — begin on farms. From cotton to wool, hemp, and linen. But, often, designers are so far removed from the places where these fibers are produced. Bringing designers back to the source would result in greater transparency and traceability in fashion that would allow designers to make choices that are kinder to people and the planet.
The fast fashion system thrives on building one, uniform, global fashion system that requires a lack of transparency and traceability to continue perpetuating its profit-seeking harms. On the other hand, a more equitable future of fashion will comprise multiple regional and local textile systems that are each in tune with the contexts of local communities.
But what will it take to get there, in practice?
Well, in today’s episode, Stella is chatting with Laura Sansone, who is passionate about creating regional and regenerative textile systems. Laura is an Assistant Professor of Textiles at Parsons School of Design and the creator of New York Textile Lab, a design and consulting company that supports environmentally responsible textile methods, and bioregional systems of production.
She is also the founder of the Carbon Farm Network, a purchasing cooperative that connects designers to Climate Beneficial™ fibers that are grown on New York State farms practicing Carbon Farming on their lands.
This conversation unpacked a lot of complex terms, such Climate Beneficial materials, purchasing cooperatives, and bioregional textile systems.
Even if you are not a designer, this conversation was great to dive deeper into the stories behind our clothing and think about where our clothing begins. It also got me curious to look into the materials and fibers that are available in my geographic context and find ways to advocate for building up localized textile systems.
Listen to This Episode:
Tune in to this episode of the Conscious Style Podcast below, on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.
Links From This Episode
- Instagram: New York Textile Lab
- Organization: Fibershed
- Podcast Episode: EP30: Regenerative Fashion & Building a Seed-to-Sew Supply Chain
- Brand: Wol Hide
- Brand: Vincent James Designs
This Episode Was Brought To You By:
Kotn
Kotn is a slow fashion brand that’s taking transparency to a new level with their fully traceable supply chain.
The brand sources the cotton for their collection directly from over 2,000 smallholder cotton farmers in the Nile Delta in Egypt and ensures living wages and fair working conditions along every step of the way, from seed to final stitch.
Each piece from Kotn is made ethically and transparently with natural materials — like long-staple Egyptian cotton, recycled cotton, and linen — by people earning living wages.
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Juliemay
Juliemay offers a natural alternative to the synthetic-heavy lingerie market. They use GOTS-certified organic pima cotton as their main fabric, line all of their products with Mulberry peace silk’ and do not use harsh chemicals in production.
The brand is accredited by AllergyUK to be friendly for people with allergic reactions to synthetic fibers and who have sensitive skin. This is something that I have become personally really interested in since I started to experience psoriasis after wearing synthetic undergarments myself a few years ago.
Additionally, Juliemay has bras for a wide range of circumstances, like post-surgery bras or bras that offer back support. Juliemay also supports several environmental and social impact nonprofits.
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