Reflecting on what I’ve learned from this 365-day Sew it Again journey, I had the opportunity to summarise it in a one-minute pitch at #TEDxSouthBank today, as follows:

Every day we eat and we dress. We’re now conscious of our food – it’s time to become more conscious of our clothes. Do you know: 

•  Two-thirds of clothing is synthetic, derived from petroleum, coal or gas

•  Australia ships 70 million kgs of cast-off clothes to developing nations every year

•  Almost one-third of clothing goes prematurely to landfill (in UK and most likely in Australia too)

I choose creative, upcycled clothes that don’t exploit people or places.  I refashion and repair instead of buying new.

Clothes have stories. Question where your clothing comes from, who made it and from what? Then choose ethical and sustainable options – for yourself, for society and the planet.

Many great stories were told at TEDxSouthBank and I particularly enjoyed the Heartfelt Men talk by Liam Casey and Jane Caro on the many upsides of growing old.

Meanwhile the upcycling goes on, with Sew 340 being another #nowaste Christmas decoration idea that uses found objects from nature. Crows Ash pods last for decades and make earthy, authentic decorations, which can be enlivened with strips of fabric or gold paint. I found these pods on the ground in a park after Brisbane’s big storm last week. If pods don’t have their stem still attached, you can easily put a screw in them to attach a fabric bow and the hanging cord. For bows, I tore silk strips from fabric leftover (and hoarded) from a sewing project years ago.