Common Threads

Thanks again to Phyllis Wolff for this:

EVENT: Common Threads

Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 April

The fast fashion industry is increasingly coming under scrutiny for its environmental impact and it is known that the increasing popularity of cheap textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of clean water globally, after agriculture. Cotton production is causing headlines for the high levels of pollutants used to grow it and polyester – the most popular fabric used in the fashion industry globally - sheds fibres in our washing machines that end up in the worlds oceans, adding to the many threats posed to aquatic life on our planet today.

Greater understanding of the facts can help inform our opinions and choices. We hope you will join us over the weekend to discover more about what we are doing and what we could be doing differently.

Our process weekend 'Common Threads' is a series of talks and workshops devoted to all things fabric with a focus on sustainability and ethical production. We have a Plastics Workshop devoted to upcycling the material, demo talks by weavers Zoe Ritchie and Catarina Riccabona who only work with sustainable natural fibres, Zoe even dyes her own using the plants she forages locally (see photo). We pose the question 'Can Creativity, Productivity & Sustainability Overlap in Textiles? to our panel of guests who include Galahad Clark of Vivobarefoot who make shoes made from plant-based and upcycled materials, including a croc-like shoe made from algae biomass.

Children can join in too with the chance to use vintage hand-crank sewing machines when they learn to'Make Do & Mend' with Georgina Faulkner-Bryant.

Google and check out the website for more information (or use the links, if they work).