Regional textile economies (aka soil-to-skin)
January 29, 2023 4:27 PM   Subscribe

Each year, the United States produces enough wool to create millions of sweaters. But a big hunk of that wool production ends up composted or even landfilled. The Regional Fiber Manufacturing Initiative at Fibershed includes tons of research, e.g. current capabilities of Western U.S. fiber manufacturing (artisanal bottlenecks and all) and their Fiber Visions of how dogbane, wool, and cotton could honor Indigenous practices and regenerate soil health for Central & Northern California. Small wool mill Ewethful (in Oregon) on what goes into the price of a skein: 12 lbs of unprocessed wool --> skirt the wool (remove any vegetable matter, poop and/or unwanted fiber) --> 9 lbs of raw wool --> wash --> resulting in 6.5 lbs of clean wool.

Fibershed's founder also co-wrote a book!

Podcast episode: What would it take to make clothing regionally?

More from Ewethful, on the staple length of mohair, shetland and alpaca.
posted by spamandkimchi (5 comments total) 28 users marked this as a favorite
 
There's also a global Fibershed network.
posted by spamandkimchi at 4:44 PM on January 29, 2023


Clothing fiber has less reason than food to be regional, because fiber keeps and ships so well. So the consumer argument for a fibershed is accordingly weaker.

But very mixed agriculture with a mosaic of crops and creatures, I think that can pay off in sustainability; and it needs organization at a interfarm-to-regional level to replace the Bad Landfill Clothes, not just the Anthropologie Lap Throws. So that’s the fibershed back again, relevant to producers not consumers.
posted by clew at 5:58 PM on January 29, 2023 [4 favorites]


Thank you, this is very interesting!

If you are interested at all in wool, especially in the Western US, Raw Material: Working Wool in the West by Stephany Wilkes is very good.
posted by Lycaste at 9:29 PM on January 29, 2023


Sheep wool has uses other than fine woven textiles, such as insulation for houses and DIY van conversions.
posted by TrishaU at 3:36 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]


I just stumbled into this article and historical photos of the Willamette Valley flax industry.

First link: "From the mid-1840s until the 1950s, fields of blue-flowering flax flourished in the fertile Willamette Valley to support the only flax industry in the United States. The soil and climate were perfect for growing superior flax, and the plants were transformed into lustrous linen yarn and fabrics."

Second link: "Despite a fertile growing area and government support — including a flax processing plant built at the state penitentiary in 1915 — the industry collapsed after World War II. Since that time, there has been continued interest and excitement in reviving the crop in Oregon."
posted by spamandkimchi at 6:18 PM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]


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