In 2021, the Southeast Ohio Fibershed became an affiliate of the main Fibershed organization based in San Geronimo, California. While affiliates generally follow the examples of Fibershed HQ, each affiliate usually starts by looking at and researching their region’s textile history, then meld that with current or desired practice.
The Southeast Ohio Fibershed represents a focus on our growing textile ecosystem in the southeast Ohio region. At our core, we know textiles must support our climate ecosystem, not work against it, and that resilient textile development must also show a deep respect for the people who live and work here — and the beautiful rural countryside that surrounds us.
We recognize that much of our work as educators and supporters of the use of natural fibers will focus on the farmers in our region who shepherd flocks of fiber-producing animals and steward the land they graze.
We also need to consider products made from other renewable sources, such as flax, hemp, and cotton to help us move away from petroleum-based textiles and toward fabrics that just feel right to wear.
Sheep are a large part of the historical food and fiber-sheds of this region, with at least one sheep farm near Athens County that has seen seven generations of sheep farmers continuously on the same land! Today, for a lot of reasons, though, the wool from these animals generally goes to waste.
Part of the Southeast Ohio Fibershed’s work involves education for farmers and community members to dispel the all-too-common perspective that wool has no value. As we move toward the development of sustainable textiles in the southeast region of Ohio, we hope to show sheep farmers that their wool has value (yes, even the meat breeds!) by identifying and developing supply and production chains for it. Ultimately, we as a community of textile consumers need to pay for the wool in a way that is meaningful to farmers. Cents on the pound, as has been the case for at least a decade, does not sustain wool farming.
We also hope to introduce alternative crop opportunities to farmers interested in diversifying their operations. Flax and cotton (maybe silk?) are viable options to grow in Ohio; however, we need to build the operational capacity to process it into cloth.
Another agricultural product that we need if we hope to create a circular textile economy would be dye plants. This includes flowers, trees, and other plants that are grown specifically to provide naturally produced pigments to dye our textiles.
Three generations of people have grown up wearing clothes that are petroleum based or made with fibers that are chemically altered then extruded. Read that again: these fibers are chemically altered and extruded. These synthetic textiles, some of which are used as blends with grown textiles are Bamboo Viscose, Cupro, Tencel, and Rayon/Viscose, all of which have their start in grown fibers but do not resemble their source fibers in the end product. Here is a great primer on the history of fast fashion.
As we are now aware, polyester and other synthetic textiles cause widespread pollution from micro-plastics. The chemical processes that create the extruded synthetics could create environmental and health effects that we are only just now beginning to understand.
The breakdown of our regional textile supply and production chains complicate the issues we face as we move forward to redevelop our textile economy. We need to develop new business models that center our community with smaller scale manufacturing and accepting a regional, instead of global, focus.
Are you ready to make connections within our community to help bring textile production back to southeast Ohio? Please take a moment to join the Southeast Ohio Fibershed as a member!
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