Rekindling Family Farming at Owl Oak Acres

By Koa Kalish, Fibershed

People need to eat. People need to have clothes to wear. So it’s important, it really is. For me, it’s about preserving that in whatever way we can.

Slowing Down Fashion with Italia A Collection

By Sarah Lillegard, Fibershed

By learning about sustainability at FIDM and being introduced to Fibershed’s perspective— that’s really grown my design philosophy. Since then, I have been making zero-waste products made only with sustainable materials.

A Gathering Place at Warner Mountain Weavers

By Sarah Lillegard, Fibershed

Listening to Bonnie share her history, this shift from personal studio to studio and store seemed inevitable. Bonnie is a gentle but persistent catalyst for building fiber communities.

The Hemp Casita of Rezolana — Rising up from the Ground

By Koa Kalish, Fibershed

Closely weaving together habitation, community, and society, Arnie pays attention to how culture was and is created.

From Soil to Skein with Mendocino Wool and Fiber Inc.

By Rebecca Burgess, Fibershed

The systemic failures brought to light by the pandemic have created an uptick of interest in the same local supply chains Mendocino Wool and Fiber Inc. is helping to build. The world — at least a portion of it — seems to be learning along with the Gilberts.

Harvesting Hemp: Reflecting on Opportunities with the One Acre Exchange

By Tyler Jenkins, Fibershed

While there are a number of points that could benefit from further exploration, perhaps the two greatest barriers to expansion of the industrial hemp industry are the availability of viable seed and the rigidity of the current regulatory structure in regards to hemp fiber production.

Cotton in Community: Field to Fashion with Acadian Brown Cotton

By Lauren Odom, Fibershed

This rich intertwined story of an heirloom seed, an age-old tradition, and a bright future all began when Sharon Gordon Donnan, an experienced filmmaker and textile conservator, spotted an old blanket while browsing at an antique sale in Washington, Louisiana.

Tula: A Return to India’s Regenerative Cotton Roots

By Harpreet Singh, Fibershed

This movement based on the intricate relationship between humanity and nature, forged through friendships with rural farmers and artisans, has tangibly changed cotton agriculture and khadi organizations throughout the country.

Growing 50 Acres of Hemp in North Carolina: Field Notes from the One Acre Exchange

By Tyler Jenkins, Fibershed

Any farm project considering the integration of industrial hemp as a market crop should be prepared for a 5-10 year incubation period in determination of crop yield and profitability. On the fiber side, a few acres of the crop will be processed into hurd-free, long staple fiber following best practices learned and iterated over the previous four years.

Questioning the Role of Biosynthetics in Regenerative Fashion

By Rebecca Burgess, Jess Daniels, Fibershed

The Nature of Fashion’s bold and necessary lens for holistic material analysis is not fully applied to the proposed vision for increasing fiber production through the expansion of “biosynthetics” via fermentation of microorganisms, including genetically engineered microorganisms.

Cotton in Community: Reconnecting to Traditional Indian Farming Practices in the Prakriti Fibershed

By Esha Chhabra, Jess Daniels, Fibershed

I don’t think I would have been as passionate about organic farming and ethical supply chains if I had grown up in Bombay or Delhi, somewhere far away. It’s because I saw all the damage happening first-hand that I’ve been so keen to bring about solutions and change.

The Worth of Wool

By Julie Baber, Sustainable Food Trust

Many businesses and industries have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Wool is no exception.