Category Archives: repurpose

Sew 311 – Immersing in slow fashion

I was fortunate to spend formative childhood years on a family farm in Otago, New Zealand, and have memories of mushrooming after rain with Nana and sitting on Great Grandma’s porch shelling peas from the field garden. These authentic slow food experiences have informed subsequent life choices.

It is a logical side-step in a diverse career across agricultural journalism and advocacy that I am now part of the slow fashion movement in Australia, sharing ways to extend the life of clothes and reduce our clothing footprint.

Slow fashion – as distinct from fast fashion – is based on principles similar to those of the slow food movement which is a conscious cultural choice to slow down and share local, seasonal food grown in sustainable ways. Continue reading →

Sew 308 – REfashion a winner

The Melbourne Cup has been run and won – this year by a German horse Protectionist ridden by English jockey Ryan Moore. I was idly watching the post-race coverage on Channel 7 only to see an upcycled silk creation win the Myer Fashions on the Field.

The winning design worn by Christine Spielmann started life as a free-flowing much-loved Camilla kaftan that became torn. As the story goes, Christine was attached to the fabric (a gift from her mother) so she gave it to bespoke designer Nadia Foti to upcycle into a fresh and winning look. A fabulous result – and great second-life for beautiful silk natural fibres. Continue reading →

Sew 307 – Most clothes now synthetic

My home city of Brisbane, Queensland, is in the final stages of planning to host the largest ever gathering of world leaders in Australia’s history with The G20. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said this year’s focus will be on building a stronger world economy – because economic growth means more jobs, higher living standards etc.

This is juxtaposed against the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which says human influence on the climate system is clear and growing, with impacts observed on all continents. The latest report says continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of widespread and profound impacts affecting all levels of society and the natural world.

Climate change is not on the G20 agenda. Despite the fact that there’s a link between continued economic growth (read consumption) and emission of greenhouse gases, particularly in Australia where coal is our second-largest export earner and underpins our economy. Continue reading →

Sew 304 – Turning skirt into shift

One of my goals this year is to help shift people’s thinking about the way we dress by encouraging creative, individual, empowering, thrifty and sustainable clothing options through refashion.

This is primarily driven by my background in sustainable agriculture and interest in natural fibres – as well as a desire to reduce waste and excess consumption.

When I spoke with ABC Local Radio Brisbane presenter Rebecca Levingston about the Sew it Again project last year, she totally got what it was about and has been following progress through the year. Today is Day 304 and it was great to have an opportunity to catch up with Rebecca on the 612ABC radio drive show for an update on the sustainability or otherwise in the way we now choose and use our clothing. Continue reading →

Sew 303 – Favourites given new life

It is always good to hear repair and reuse stories on the airwaves because they run counter to the perpetual consumption messages so dominant in today’s throwaway society.

I enjoyed this 612ABC chat yesterday between Kelly Higgins Devine and Chrissy Keepence, who is singing from the same song-sheet as the Sew it Again project, about repurposing quality older clothing rather than buying newer cheap stuff.

Dionne – who features on the blog today as Sew 303 – hates waste, so yesterday she refashioned two garments from her wardrobe to extend their life. This look was created from a top and skirt that had fallen out of favour (because they had become shabby under the arms with wear) but with which she didn’t want to part. Continue reading →

Sew 296 – Silk for Sydney Town Hall

It was such a privilege to be at Sydney Town Hall last night for the 100 Women of Influence awards dinner, at the invitation of my friend Georgie Somerset who is a regional influencer named in the 2014 list.

Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly announced Elizabeth Broderick as the overall 2014 Woman of Influence for her strategic and far-reaching work as Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner.

There were some fabulous speeches, with Kelly saying women of influence know how to share their stories, have purpose and generosity, and co-sponsor Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood saying gender diversity is still an issue – because men inevitably revert to male-group-think, society needs women in positions of influence. The other point Mr Hywood made was women journalists from Fairfax currently hold the nation’s top journalism awards, led by Joanne McCarthy with a Gold Walkley. Continue reading →

Sew 288 – The rest of the cotton story

Australian cotton has a great story to tell about its reduced use of pesticides and water, as outlined in yesterday’s post. What has enabled those efficiencies is that cotton plants have been genetically modified to resist insect attack by heliothis pests.

Additionally, cotton growers routinely engage agronomists to check the crop several times a week to oversee the level of beneficial insects and decide when irrigation needs to be scheduled for best effect.

Cotton plants not only produce fibre, but also food in the form of cotton seed which is used as animal feed – with the ratio being two tonne of cotton seed for every one tonne of fibre produced. Continue reading →

Sew 287 – Great story of Aussie cotton

The Australian cotton industry has a cracking story to tell about its sustainability credentials, with pesticide use down by 95 per cent and water use down by 40 per cent according to Cotton Australia’s CEO Adam Kay.

Speaking at the Rural Press Club of Queensland in Brisbane today, Mr Kay said telling the story of Australian cotton to clients and customers enables the industry to take its place as a sustainable source of natural fibres – and face-down creeping competition from synthetic fibres such as polyester which is derived from petroleum.

Having begun its Best Management Practice program in 1997 along with environmental auditing, water-use efficiency measures and more recently the Better Cotton Initiative, the Australian industry is now sharing its story with global customers interested in sustainable natural fibres. View Mr Kay’s talk below.

Continue reading →

Sew 286 – Going green in Brisbane

A lot of interesting, green and thrifty people come to the Green Heart Fair. They come to pick up their free trees from Brisbane City Council, to see Peppa Pig and to gather ideas on how to live more sustainably.

Green Heart Fair values are in alignment with Textile Beat and Sew it Again values. As my rough-hewn signage says, Sew it Again values are creative, mindful, ethical, original, thrifty, eco-friendly, sustainable, unique and zero waste.

Thanks to my friends Neroli Roocke and Leanne McKnoulty for helping out, and the many interested folk who stopped by the Textile Beat activity tent. Continue reading →

Sew 279 – Think outside the circle

It is easy to be caught up in a lifestyle in which competitive market-driven forces whip up a frenzy of ‘need’ for bigger, brighter, newer and supposedly better. Through glossy advertising, we’re sold an illusion that happiness and satisfaction can be bought with the latest and greatest material possessions. Even the promotion of ‘light-green’ or so-called sustainable living often involves buying more stuff.

So it is refreshing to hear discussion about how to move beyond growth economics and towards a ‘steady-state’ economy, with a focus on simpler, less consumptive ways of living.

Last week at the University of New South Wales, the 2014 Australian Academy of Science Fenner Conference on the Environment topic was: Addicted to Growth? How to move to a Steady State Economy in Australia This spawned an article about life in a degrowth economy on The Conversation website, written by research fellow at Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute at University of Melbourne, Samuel Alexander. Continue reading →