This book explores the importance of the agriculturally-based fiber and textile industry, and how local, small-scale operations and markets, coupled with a connection to soil health, can lead the way to new transformative changes. It draws on a four-year research project on Norwegian wool, as well as similar studies in Poland and Portugal. It also explores the role of women and the Indigenous perspective: in Europe this will constitute Sami and Inuit, in Northern America the Inuit and First Nations in Canada, along with Native Americans.
Born out of academic interest in the slow food movement, the importance of local raw materials has been put under the spotlight in recent years. Meanwhile, the havoc wreaked by the fast fashion industry has been drawing attention to the need for a new, sustainable approach to clothing and textile manufacture. This edited collection is unique in its scope, taking the conversation beyond traditional debates around fast fashion and agriculture, and examining how textile industry is rooted in the land, and within society and community. Featuring a diverse range of authors, the book will be valuable reading for academics interested in sustainable management, the study of consumption, the study of Indigenous perspectives, and the study of agricultural practices.
Author(s): Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Tone Skårdal Tobiasson
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 227
City: Cham
Preface
Contents
Notes on Contributors
Abbreviations
List of Figures
1 KRUSing into the Future: Restoring a Local Value Chain Through Cooperation
A Brief History of Wool Labelling
Textile History and Product Development
Other ‘Black Sheep’ in the Wool Industry
Old Norse Sheep—The ‘Wildest’ Wool
New Warps and Wefts Weave a Future
Updating Breed Standards for Wool
Projections and Failure
Serendipitous Cooperation
Local Clothing
References
2 The Fate of Natural Fibres in Environmental Evaluations: A Question of Volume
The Focus on Fibres
Evaluations and Comparisons
Plastic as a Blessing
Microplastics
The Variation in Materials
Natural Material’s Significance for Biological and Cultural Diversity
The Use Phase
Who Has the Credibility to Talk About Fibres?
A Question of Volume or Quality
References
3 Upping the WOOLUME: Waste Prevention Based on Optimal Use of Materials
The Proud History of Polish Wool
WOOLUME—The Best Use of Raw Materials
Breeds Vary as Product-Focus Differ
Waste Prevention in a New Light
Making Better Use of Wool
Labelling as a Strategy
Worthy Wool
References
4 Slow and Indigenous Approaches to Textiles Arts
Our World Today
Textile Traditions
Community Taking Centre Stage
Considerations of Material in Relation to Culture
Cultural Sustainability: Looking to the Sámi
Cultural Pride and Identity in Relation to Textile Traditions
Connecting Beyond the Surface
Intangible Cultural Heritage
References
5 Setting a New Stage: Small Scale as a Way Forward
A Place to Call Home
A Circle of Collaboration
The Nordic Region
Communities for Change
References
6 Rethinking the (Wool) Economy
Environmental Problems: A Biophysical Economy Perspective
Wool Inputs and Outputs
Problematic Social Aspects of the Current Globalised Economy
The Inadequacy of Political Responses
A Push for New Innovations and Subsidies
The Need for a Deep Economic Transformation
The Integral Part of Place in Creating an Alternative System
Localising Economies–Experiences from Alternative Food Networks
Living Economies in Living Landscapes
Creating Sustainable Change Through Collaborative Efforts
Conclusions
References
7 A Fashion Future: Fibre Diet
Is Second-Hand Actually Replacing New Purchases?
The New Business Lynchpins
The Fibre Diet
Starting Out with a Budget
Wardrobe Studies Methods
Missing Pieces and Further Work
References
Glossary
Index
