I’m answering the questions I had for my guests in upcoming episodes. I’ve been making since I was a kid. I was taught to embroider and sew clothing early on. It was a valued skill in my family. As a young adult I picked up needlepoint and even started to paint my own canvases. I was mesmerized by the wall of color in the needlepoint store. I learned to weave and dye and spin on my journey as well. And when I needed to have a smaller footprint in creative endeavors I went back to sewing and began to quilt. This has led me to wanting to creative more slow fashion for myself. But the reality of fast fashion and its environmental problems has made my goal of a local slow wardrobe more tangible and has become a passion project.
Listen here or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Would you rather watch the powerpoint? You can see it here on You Tube.
In the new podcast episode, I teach you about how our clothing choices affect climate change around the world. Each time we purchase textiles that are made by big centralized industries in countries far, far away, that decision adds to the greenhouse gases that are responsible for climate change.
It’s not a coincidence that this month we have seen the hottest temperatures in our country for the longest period of time. We have more flooding and more severe storms. There are wild fires around the world as well.
We can make choices that will make a change for the better. Will it be easy? No! Will it be quick? No! But it will be something.
In this episode, Lisa discusses the human cost of fast fashion. There is a high price to be paid for cheap clothing and other textiles. It is paid by the garment workers who are paid by the piece but never reaching a living wage. It’s paid for by the dyers, farmers, spinners and weavers who don’t have access to health care for occupational injuries and illnesses. What can we do about it?
Listen to this episode here or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. OR watch on Vimeo or YouTube. You will find a couple of simple ways to support the supply chain and those who work to make your clothing.
Slow fashion is the opposite of fast fashion. It has arisen from the concerns about the planet and about concerns about wage equality and the equal treatment of people in all countries, not only as workers, but also as the end users of these products and concern about our climate. It started by a lot of people pivoting to buying organic clothes, when possible. And then people started looking at the idea of these organic sustainable fibers are going to be grown on a farm somewhere. Read the TranscriptListen to the podcastWatch the Video
Toxins, Mutagens and Hormone Disrupters…. These are just a few consequences of buying and supporting the fast fashion industry. We just don’t know what has gone into making our clothing and household textiles. There aren’t studies about using know carcinogens in clothing against the biggest permeable organ in our bodies: our skin. We don’t have adequate labeling and these global textile industries just are not transparent.
In this episode, Lisa explores what fast fashion is and what the issues are with this overconsumption of textiles. She talks about what you can do to turn away from this consumerism and start to heal ourselves and our planet.
A new episode of the podcast dropped last Monday. I thought I would blog a little bit about it in case you missed it.
This new season is all about Slow, Climate Beneficial Fashion vs. Fast, polluting fashion. In this episode, I talk about the fibers that fabric is made from. I talk about the pros and cons of the fibers. Of course there is a call to action should you choose to take it.
You can listen to the episode here or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
In this episode, Lisa talks about slow fashion: what is it and how can it help to heal our planet. She also introduces the Fibershed movement and their call to action. You can join our Wardrobe project in a special facebook group.
Corosprine Sweater made with natural colored mohair and wool
We can cloth ourselves more mindfully and save the planet from trash, pollution and climate change, one little bit at a time. Listen to the podcast to find out how you can start this journey. Or go to itunes and subscribe so you don’t miss and episode.
I’ve known about the California Fibershed movement for quite some time. I long to have a movement like that here in the Mid Atlantic. Have you heard of it before? It started as a local indigo project and grew to a movement to source one’s clothes responsibly and preferably with 100 miles of your home. This can be really hard to do.
The first part of this book details how Fibershed got started and also the really alarming cost of our clothes to our health and the health of the environment. The fashion industry has brought us fast fashion. Clothes that are popular right now for a very short period of time. The 2 biggest manufacturers of fast fashion produce one billion items per year. Most of which are worn a few times and thrown away. Most of these clothes end up in our landfills, becoming more than 5% of all of the municipal waste each year. Over 80 billion garments were sold in 2017 which equals a $1.3 trillion industry employing 300 million people from nearly every country. The majority of those jobs pay a very low wage.
I didn’t realize just how damaging washing your clothes could be. Of course the detergents an be unhealthy for many people. And these synthetic clothes shed microfibers in each and every washing. These microfibers make their way into our water, where up to 40% end up in rivers, lakes and oceans. We know what these plastics are doing in our environment.
What can you do? Well, you buy clothes that will last for a long time, those made from natural fibers and not made from petroleum by-products. You can recycle your clothes by mending them or repurposing them into quilts or other textile items in your home. You can wash your clothes when they are soiled but probably not every time your wear them. And as knitters, crocheters, sewers and makers, you can be part of the fibershed movement. Consider making a wardrobe for yourself or others. Of course wool, alpaca, mohair and cashmere grown locally is sustainable and renewable. We fiber farmers are happy to help you build a wonderful, colorful wardrobe.
I encourage you to read this book and consider the impact of choices we all make in clothing ourselves and our families.
Where to find us
We are located in Frederick MD. You can shop in person with a mask and lots of social distance! Or buy online and stop by to pick up…I’ll run your purchases out to you in your car.
If you are coming here, please enter Flying Goat Farm into WAZE. That app will reliably get you to our farm.
