Bold steps needed at this time

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There are incredible changes happening in this period of time that will be important for the history of the human race, Queensland Government Minister Leeanne Enoch told The Circular Economy: it’s our future forum in Brisbane yesterday.

As Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, Minister for Science and Minister for the Arts, Ms Enoch said there are certain actions we have to take right now in the way we utilise materials, how we tackle climate change, and use energy and resources in everyday life.

“When I visited Wujal Wujal community in far north Queensland after recent weather events, the elders said there are no stories passed down the generations who have lived there to deal with rapid change in climate,” Ms Enoch said.

“We are a speck in time. There have been 3000 generations of people in this place, which is home to great natural gifts like the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree rainforests. But what is happening to our climate is new.

Minister Leeanne Enoch (top left), Uli Becker (bottom left), at The Circular Economy forum and (bottom right) Textile Beat’s Jane Milburn with Blocktexx co-founder Graham Ross.

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Posted in: consumption issues, leadership, reuse \ Tagged: , , ,

Bring on the fashion revolution

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Brisbane slow fashion practitioners bring on the revolution

It is time for a Fashion Revolution – and Brisbane slow fashion practitioners are bringing together an immersive experience on April 26-28 to celebrate all that is local, sustainable and creative.

Brisbane makers and menders, movers and shakers – led by Naomi Huntsman, Jane Milburn, Leah Musch and Kim Bailey – are bringing you a three-day event exploring ways we can revolutionise the fashion system through our choices.

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Posted in: Fashion Revolution, slow fashion \ Tagged: ,

Upcycling is on trend

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Who wants our waste, our rubbish and our cast-offs? Last year’s news was China rejecting our recycled materials, this year’s news is charity shops being so overwhelmed they called a temporary halt to donations. It is time for a serious rethink on stuff.

When we go camping or on holidays we realise how little stuff we really need. At home we may have wardrobes full of garments while studies show we only actively wear about 20 percent of them.

Marie Kondo, The Minimalists and others have turned stuff management into a profession as everyday people become overwhelmed with possessions that are ultimately of little value.

Melissa Iland and Jenny Donaldson upcycling at CWA Tambo, reviving existing natural-fibre resources for fun, creativity and as a hands-on local response to sustainability and climate change.

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Posted in: clothing waste, lifestyle, slow clothing, slow fashion \ Tagged: , , ,

Synthetic fibres do not break down

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An Australian backyard science experiment confirms synthetic clothing fibres do not breakdown in soil whereas within a year most natural fibres are returning to organic matter.

On 26 January, 2018, Textile Beat buried synthetic and natural fibre material swatches glued to cardboard by digging a shallow hole in relatively poor soil near a mango tree in a suburban garden in Brisbane. These were covered them with dirt and leaf litter, and occasionally watered (twice a month) until January 2019 when they were retrieved.

Range of synthetic and natural fibre swatches as buried in a Brisbane garden January 2018.

The material swatches were mostly remnants from Jane Milburn’s studio or from discarded clothing.

We were curious to confirm that synthetics are plastic-like and remain forever, while natural fibres return to nutrients and organic matter when broken down by microbes and insects in the soil.

We dug them up on January 15, 2019, and this is what we found.

Swatches of synthetic clothing materials before, left, and after being buried for one year in 2018.

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Posted in: fibres, leadership, slow clothing \ Tagged: , , , ,

Rural Press Club life member profile

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In 1972, when 23 people paid $3 for lunch at the Pelican Restaurant in Fortitude Valley and listened to a veterinarian criticise the Queensland Government’s policy on restricting artificial insemination centres, the Rural Press Club of Queensland was born.

Almost half a century on, the Club’s events now attract hundreds of guests who still come to hear what’s happening in the bush and network with the people who matter in rural Australia.

While so many have voluntarily contributed countless hours to make the Rural Press Club the success it is today, past-president and Life Member Jane Milburn is one that we owe a debt of gratitude.

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Posted in: leadership \ Tagged: , , ,

Slow Clothing in libraries

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I found my book Slow Clothing on the shelf at @brisbanelibraries Kenmore this week.  I was curious to know how it is categorised and pleased to find it under Social Science, Economics.
Economist Richard Denniss, author of Curing Affluenza, and the ABC’s War on Waste warrior Craig Reucassel earlier launched the book in Canberra and Sydney respectively, which affirms this library classification.
I have been doing values-based action research since 2013 as a response to fast fashion culture, textile waste and pollution. My goal was to make a difference, to influence and inspire change. Slow Clothing was self-published in late 2017. It is a holistic narrative around dressing for health and wellbeing, living lightly through the everyday practice of how we choose, wear and care for clothes.
There’s a lot more awareness and talk about sustainability in fashion now than when I started this work. That’s a good thing. It may, or may not, translate into substantial and sustained change. Keeping a watching brief on that and charting my next body of work.
#slowclothing #libraries #economics #culture #bethechange #livelightly #sustainableliving #climatechange #curingaffluenza #waronwasteau #sustainablefashion #fashionrevolution #leadership #naturalfibres #nomicroplastic
Posted in: clothing waste, consumption issues, leadership, lifestyle, slow clothing

Peak stuff is here

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Consumer culture is overwhelming us. New stuff arrives with Christmas gift traditions and Boxing Day sales, then we seek to shed old stuff and declutter for the New Year ahead. We take wisdom from the Minimalists and Marie Kondo and aim to move on stuff that isn’t bringing us joy. But there’s nowhere for it to go because almost everyone’s got too much stuff.

ABC News revealed shocking images of stuff dumped outside charity shops which are so overwhelmed by offerings that many have called time on donations for now. On top of that, there’s nowhere for our recycled stuff either.

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Posted in: consumption issues, leadership, lifestyle, slow clothing \ Tagged: , , ,

Return to natural fibres

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Growing concern about plastic in our environment sees natural-fibre industries poised for resurgence if they demonstrate eco-credentials to increasingly discerning customers.

Natural fibres like cotton and wool have been losing market share to synthetics for some time but the tide is turning, courtesy of the plastic legacy of main alternatives which are petroleum-derived fibres polyester and acrylic.

Currently two-thirds of new clothing is made from synthetic fibres and washing these clothes is significantly contributing to plastic pollution in oceans, with each polyester garment shedding thousands of microplastic particles adding up to tonnes of ocean plastic pollution over time.

Microplastic is showing up in seafood we eat, water we drink and air we breathe. The human health effects are still under study, although it is known these fibres carry chemical endocrine disruptors that influence hormone functions and chronic disease.

A recent report from the International Union of Concern for Nature confirmed primary microplastics in the oceans predominantly come from machine-washed synthetic textiles.  Continue Reading →

Posted in: fibres, leadership \ Tagged: , , , , , ,

Culture change is coming

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The burying and burning secrets are out. A culture shift is happening as individuals and groups respond in various ways to reducing fashion waste and creating a more sustainable clothing culture. We all have capacity to change and influence behaviours when we believe in something and are comfortable to defy convention and conditioning.

Evidence continues to mount that we are overusing resources, indulging in wasteful consumption, polluting our atmosphere and oceans with CO2 and plastic. As individuals we can influence change through more responsible purchasing decisions, while we wait (sometimes in vain) for national governments to adopt sensible policy.

Sustainable and slow clothing opportunities in three states: Jane Milburn with Ana at Parkes New South Wales workshop, speaking at Revive Brisbane in Queensland, and with La Vergne Lehmann in Victoria.

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Posted in: consumption issues, leadership, slow clothing, slow fashion \ Tagged: , , , ,

Refashioning a future without waste

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Refashioning clothing and textiles for new life is one way to reduce waste, and reuse organisation Reverse Garbage Queensland (RGQ) is set to demonstrate the limitless possibilities when their wearable art exhibition, WornOUT, returns for another year.

WornOUT 2018 will be co-presented by Textile Beat and proudly sponsored by Brisbane City Council.  It will kick off with an opening night launch event at the Princess Theatre in Woolloongabba on November 24 from 7pm.  The event is free, open to the public and will feature runway showcases for Refashion, Wearable Art and Cosplay.

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Posted in: clothing waste, consumption issues, leadership \ Tagged: ,