In our throw away culture, it is refreshing to see a person, in this case, Northern California resident Rebecca Burgess, explore sustainability in a venue that is so often overlooked.
Clothing.
In this video, she describes how she clothed herself from garments made by a community of dedicated designers and artisans within a 150 mile radius of her home. Inspired by the 100-mile diet, Rebecca developed the Fibershed Project, or the 150 mile wardrobe project, alluding to the fact that like a watershed, all her raw materials – and artisans – are within a 150-mile area.
She doesn’t advocate going back to the hand loom, but simply highlights the availability of materials that more often than not, go to waste.
On her blog she states, “Now we have the ability through an information age that’s come. My goal is to use the best of modern technology and the best of self-sufficiency that we could learn from our ancestors. Combine self sufficiency with modern technology and that combo, like a solar-powered cotton mill on a farm. That mill is very advanced, yet at the same time, it’s very new and old. I love this new old thing.”
