it . My purposeful work is bringing awareness to these and other material issues .
More than 90 percent of garments sold in Australia are now made overseas , mostly in Asian factories . Most people buy offthe-rack or online , with very few making anything for themselves to wear .
As a natural-fibre champion , I am troubled that synthetic fibres made from petroleum now dominate the clothing market at a time when research shows these plastic clothes are shedding millions of microplastic particles into the ecosystem with every wash .
To be sustainable , we can borrow from Michael Pollan ’ s guide to eating and say “ dressing is an agricultural act ” because unless we are wearing natural fibres , we are wearing synthetics derived from petroleum .
I created Textile Beat in 2013 based on social-enterprise principles and began this journey into creativity , empowerment , thrift , sustainability , ecological health and wellbeing – woven with threads of childhood education , professional expertise , networks and nature .
Textile Beat is a platform to discuss ethical issues around clothing culture which include : burgeoning consumption ; changing fibres ; waste and pollution ; modern-day slavery ; and a loss of understanding and knowledge about how clothes are made .
In 2014 I undertook an action research project called Sew it Again which won the social media category of the Queensland 2015 Excellence in Rural Journalism Awards , with the judges commenting that it engaged the community , had a call to action , was transformative , and actually “ made a difference in the world ”.
In 2015 I developed the Slow Clothing Manifesto as a summary of 10 ways ( think , natural , quality , local , few , care , make , adapt , revive , salvage ) to thrive in a material world and began presenting workshops and talks with teachers , local councils and community groups .
During 2016 I implemented The Slow Clothing Project to share stories about Australians choosing to make some of their own clothing , partnered with Brisbane City Council to create ReviveBNE at South Bank as a pop-up preloved fashion event for young people , and presented the figures behind fast-fashion consumption trends at a textile recovery workshop in Sydney .
Continuing to be open to change and taking risks , exciting opportunities are being woven into the 2017 calendar – including a keynote speaker role at the Home Economics Institute of Australia conference in Melbourne .
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