For local fiber growers , artisans , and mills , the benefits of regional textile economies are crystal clear . However , convincing consumers to kick their fast fashion habit is the biggest challenge groups like Fibershed face .
“ We ’ re all conditioned to expect the least possible cost for something ,” Mary Kingsley said . “ The way the system is set up , the way it operates , is to give consumers what they want , at very cheap prices , so that they ’ ll feel empowered to want more and buy more . So , you ’ re feeding into this huge machine that ’ s creating things that are cheap for the consumer , but at a very , very high cost to human rights , the environment , and our health .”
Luckily , many people in the Chesapeake Fibershed are already familiar with the merits of buying local .
“ I think that the people in the
DC area are really pretty attuned to knowing about local fiber ,” Lisa said . “ Especially the ones that are going to fiber festivals , like Maryland Sheba , which is the biggest one in the area and the oldest in the country .”
To help educate people , Marian Bruno says the Chesapeake Fibershed has started including cards on locally made products that explain where each step of the process took place .
“ So , when a consumer picks up that product , they say , ‘ Oh , Fibershed , what ’ s that ?’ And then the card shows them how so much of this product actually was produced quite close to where they ’ re standing .”
Although the Chesapeake Fibershed is still relatively new , they ’ re already redefining what it means to shop local .
“ There ’ s an entire industry between us , and everything we need for daily life , for food , clothing . There ’ s marketing , there ’ s big box stores , there ’ s giant distributors ,” Mary said . “ But if you could just encourage people to get in touch with the source of what we use every day , that ’ s going to transform everything .”
Sophie Kidd is a senior at Washington and Lee University studying journalism and creative writing and serves as news editor of the university ’ s student-run newspaper . She has an internship writing for magazines , PLENTY and WAN - DER , as well as the Dallas-based D Magazine . Sophie is pursuing a career as a writer with a focus on developing a deep knowledge of her community .
Shelley Sims is a mixed media artist , Illustrator and media coach .
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