You might ask, how on earth did a project on wastewater’s impacts on natural dye plant growth and color come into being. It all started with a visit to a Cape Cod Air Force base and what looked like an X-Files set… Month’s ago I was interviewed by Brian Baumgaertel, Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test […]
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The Lost Art of Garment Grooming Part 3 : Modern Athleisure
What does modern athleisure share in common with textiles made from the ancient natural fibers produced in the Fibershed? Textile sustainability pioneer Reed McLaren of The Sustainable Garment explains the underlying nature and how to nurture this contemporary fabric in the final installment of her series that seeks to uncover the long lost tools and […]
Read MoreThe Lost Art of Garment Grooming Part 2 : Cashmere and Fine Woolens
Just in time as we prepare our most cherished sweaters for summer storage, Southeastern New England Fibershed joins with textile sustainability pioneer Reed McLaren of The Sustainable Garment in the next installment of her series that seeks to uncover the long lost tools and practices that help us better care for the clothes we own. […]
Read MoreA Toolkit for Fibersheds & Brands: Creating a Conversation for a New Era of Design
I’m so excited to announce the launch of the Fibershed sponsored Toolkit for Fibersheds & Brands: Creating a Conversation for a New Era of Design! When Sarah Kelley of Common Threads Consulting and I first decided to write this toolkit, apparel brands’ interest in working with fibersheds was already picking up—but throw in a worldwide […]
Read MoreThe Lost Art of Garment Grooming Series Part 1 : The Overcoat and the Brush
By the end of this year, Americans will have discarded an average of 81 pounds of clothing per person, the equivalent of 5 full wash loads of laundry in our modern home machines. Some of the main culprits: shrinkage, discoloration, and damage. In celebration of Earth Month, Southeastern New England Fibershed joins textile sustainability pioneer […]
Read MoreThe Southeastern New England Fibershed and Fibershed Launch the Waste Wool Working Group!
I’ve been talking about waste wool to lots of folks for months and finally people are excited and listening. Can you imagine if farmers weren’t throwing away their “waste wool” and instead creating valuable building materials, packaging, fertilizer, soil remediation, wool sheeting for environmental cleanups, erosion and more? I mentioned last month that Uncommon Strands […]
Read MoreMia Lumsden Takes on Waste Wool With Uncommon Strands
A few weeks ago I gathered a small group of farmers, processors, retailers, supply chain experts and the Connecticut and NY Textile Lab Fibersheds on Zoom to talk waste wool. Mia Lumsden and I had been talking for a few months about a wool processing space she wanted to start in Worcester, Massachusetts. Traditional scouring […]
Read MoreGamine Workwear Launches The (Regionally Sourced + Made) Hope Vest!
We were honored to be a switchboard operator connecting Taylor Johnston, Founder of Rhode Island-based Gamine Workwear to her supply chain for the amazing Hope Vest! I’ll let Taylor tell her own story about the vest: “Rewind to the summer of 2020, during a ‘lull’ in Covid cases, I found myself with a 100-year-old Brown’s […]
Read MoreSoutheastern New England Fiber Production Survey
The Southeastern New England Fibershed and SEMAP conducted this survey to know more about the potential for regeneratively-managed fiber animal grazing land in Southeastern New England. Based on the information from this survey, we will be able to provide education, outreach, and marketing opportunities to fiber animal producers in our region. Be part of our […]
Read MoreVIDEO: The Common Thread- Color + Ecology
Thank you to all who registered for the 4th and final conversation in The Common Thread series co-hosted by the RISD Nature Lab and the Southeastern New England Fibershed. For those who missed it, below is a recap along with a recording of the whole conversation. Here are answers to a few of the questions […]
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