Fibershed

Growing a Movement of Farmers, Fashion Activists, and Makers for a New Textile Economy

By: Rebecca Burgess

Narrated by: Tia Rider

A new "farm-to-closet" vision for the clothes we wear - by a leader in the movement for local textile economies

There is a major disconnect between what we wear and our knowledge of its impact on land, air, water, labor, and human health. Even those who value access to safe, local, nutritious food have largely overlooked the production of fiber, dyes, and the chemistry that forms the backbone of modern textile production. While humans are 100 percent reliant on their second skin, it’s common to think little about the biological and human cultural context from which our clothing derives.

Almost a decade ago, weaver and natural dyer Rebecca Burgess developed a project focused on wearing clothing made from fiber grown, woven, and sewn within her bioregion of North Central California. As she began to network with ranchers, farmers, and artisans, she discovered that even in her home community there was ample raw material being grown to support a new regional textile economy with deep roots in climate change prevention and soil restoration. A vision for the future came into focus, combining right livelihoods and a textile system based on economic justice and soil carbon enhancing practices. Burgess saw that we could create viable supply chains of clothing that could become the new standard in a world looking to solve the climate crisis.

In Fibershed readers will learn how natural plant dyes and fibers such as wool, cotton, hemp, and flax can be grown and processed as part of a scalable, restorative agricultural system. They will also learn about milling and other technical systems needed to make regional textile production possible. Fibershed is a resource for fiber farmers, ranchers, contract grazers, weavers, knitters, slow-fashion entrepreneurs, soil activists, and conscious consumers who want to join or create their own fibershed and topple outdated and toxic systems of exploitation.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Rebecca Burgess (P)2019 Chelsea Green Publishing

Great with two notes for improvement

Really informative, well-written & well-narrated - but would have liked the audiobook to include the appendix and some names were mispronounced.

Sanctimonious author

The author's sanctimonious tone and repeated assertions of originality of thought are off putting.

Helped me change my career paty

The narrator was serious but it was still enjoyable to listen to. I’ve had the physical book of of Fibershed on my wishlist and I am very glad I got to listen to it as well. The experiences and knowledge shared by Rebecca helped solidy that I want my career to be sustainable fiber and fabric production. Thank you Rebecca!

Amazing!

Wow this is a must-read. I loved it. I learned a ton and will be sharing with my friends and family. Such a powerful and important book!

Excellent information

I learned a lot about fiber sheds, the impact of fast fashion, and steps that we as individuals can take to improve our world.