Wear It Well First Eat Local, Then Dress Local
Buying local isn’t just about food choices. In supporting community businesses and reduc- ing our
ecological footprint, fiber is another important
consideration, encompassing farmers that grow cotton and hemp or raise sheep for wool, fiber artisans and textile designers. The U.S. presently imports about 95 percent of Ameri- cans’ clothing, reports the Ecology Global Network (Ecol-
ogy.com), with most manufactured in countries where sweatshops and human rights abuses are common. Poly- ester and nylon, the most commonly used synthetic fibers, are derived from petroleum and processed and dyed using synthetic, often toxic substances. According to a 2010 re- port by China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, the textile industry is that country’s third-worst polluter. The nonprofit Center for Urban Education about Sus- tainable Agriculture’s (
cuesa.org) Fibershed program raises public awareness of the issue in Central California. Robin Lynde, a shepherd, weaver and teacher at Meridian Jacobs Farm, in Vacaville, also sells yarn, fleece, felt, lambskin, hand-woven garments and blankets. “Fiber producers, users and designers may not know that there are sheep 10 miles away from them and they can get that fiber,” she says.
Fibershed also promotes a Grow Your Jeans program, comprising area sourcing, dyeing and sewing of a lim- ited run of jeans. While textile sustainability in any given region is developing, the organization recommends that residents mend, instead of discard, old clothes, swap clothing or buy used, while resisting marketing pressure to augment wardrobes every season to keep up with trends. Someday, we might be able to visit a nearby field where our clothing is grown. The Sustainable Cotton Project (SustainableCotton.
org), based in Winters, California, conducts a Cleaner Cot- ton program that helps conventional growers transition to more sustainable practices using non-GMO varieties and integrated pest management practices to more gently solve ecological challenges. A big part of the challenge is to get the word out. “To get cleaner cotton to a spinner, someone has to request it,” says Executive Director Marcia Gibbs.
natural awakenings August 2013 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64