Category Archives: sustainability

Sew 93 – Getting your stuff together

Desire, buy, use, reject and toss are the five stages of engagement with stuff that make our world go around.

New Scientist magazine this week says humans are materialistic by nature, but we have an odd relationship with the things we own. Possessions enrich our lives but they also come at a cost, both environmental and psychological. In a fabulous 10-page spread, the magazine dissects our relationship to material goods and ponders the future of ownership.

Alison George writes that tools for hunter-gathering were our first possessions and over time objects became valued not just for utility but also for prestige to advertise the owner’s skill or social status. When people began to live in one place their possessions began to accumulate. Continue reading →

Sew 92 – Pursuing mindful creativity

Refashioning existing clothing is my chosen creative practice this year as I tap my roots as an agricultural scientist cum rural communicator and branch into eco-leadership bringing awareness to the stories wrapped up in our clothes.

This upcycle is a linen double-breasted coat dress from which I removed the shoulder-pads and extended the hemline by adding sheer panels cut from a reject silk shirt.

Over decades I found myself returning to natural fibres and threads for the pleasure, relaxation and purposefulness they provide that appeals to all my senses. Chances to make paper, textile art, fabric paint, pot, spin, eco-dye, knit, crochet and sew crept into my consciousness between career and children. In fact it was playing with paint and clay when my three gorgeous children were little (now grown) that I attribute my creative development.

Leadership study last year heightened my awareness that the world is drowning in clothing, with cheap and cheerful ‘fast fashion’ feeding society’s over-consumption of textiles – many being synthetic fibres that lead to disposal issues. Books by journalists such as Lucy Siegle in the United Kingdom To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing out the World and Elizabeth Cline in the United States Overdressed: The shockingly high cost of cheap fashion have articulated these problems well. Continue reading →

Sew 91 – Small actions feed big picture

In a variation from my usual clothing-to-clothing upcycling, Sew 91 is a strappy dress recast as a carry-all bag.

Reducing consumption by reusing stuff that already exists in the world is something we as individuals can do in response to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.

Although I live with geologists who have a long-term perspective on climate change across millennia, yesterday’s IPCC report presents a compelling compilation of 1729 expert and government reviewers distilled by 436 contributing authors.

Their considered view is that the effects of climate change are already occurring on all continents … the world is ill-prepared for risks from a changing climate … but there are opportunities to respond to such risks.

In an ABC 730 interview last night with Sarah Ferguson, co-chair of the IPCC Working Group II Dr Chris Field said: “The impacts of changes that have already occurred are widespread and consequential … and the risks of impacts that are severe, pervasive and irreversible is much greater if we stay on a path of continued high emissions.” Continue reading →

Sew 90 – Renovating your wardrobe

This casual linen suit made ages ago is refreshed by shortening the jacket and covering up the buttons. We renovate houses, why not our wardrobes? One way to do that is to sew it again.

Our clothes encapsulate our body. What we chose to wear is extremely personal – we want to look right, feel sharp, mirror trends and/or make a statement about who we are.

In the same way we may make informed food choices to nurture our health and wellbeing, we can make informed clothing choices which are good for ourselves and the planet.

Over-consumption of the wrong sorts of food is feeding obesity problems in most first-world countries – and that’s exacerbated by the many labour-saving devices we have on hand. Spending time growing a few herbs and cooking meals from scratch makes for a healthful, meaningful life.

By all accounts, the world is drowning in excess clothing and marketers are constantly pushing us to buy more new stuff through sales catalogues, inducements and prestige pedalling. Continue reading →

Sew 89 – Using what already exists

This silk jacket has shortened hem with sleeves rolled up and is toned down by a jumper-skirt made from a cardigan. Nearly a quarter of the year is gone, which means I’m 25 percent of the way through my Sew it Again year in which I’m following my heart on a creative journey into eco-fashion with no fixed destination in mind except making a difference.

In a nutshell, I’m an upcycling advocate aiming to empower individuals to reuse existing clothing in creative ways rather than always buying new. As an recycler, there are words posted on Day 11: I’m an agricultural scientist by training and my first professional job was as ABC rural reporter working in radio and television in Victoria and Queensland.

Now I’m on a 365-day journey with the Sew it Again project to inspire creative upcycling of natural fibre clothing and revive home-sewing as a life-skill akin to cooking. In between these endeavours, as a communications consultant I’ve run issues-based campaigns such as the 612 ABC Swap It Challenge for health groups, Save the Aussie Banana for growers and water fluoridation for dentists. Continue reading →

Sew 87 – Signpost for wool

This black wool jumper carries the distinctive Woolmark logo but I’m less certain about the fibres in the second jumper I converted to a skirt and scarf for this outfit.

Wool is a beautiful fibre from nature and it is great to see the trademark Woolmark making a comeback after languishing for a period while the wool industry got its act together.

Australia is the leading wool producing nation but New Zealand spearheaded the wool comeback with its Icebreaker Merino story dramatically showing the way. Check out Southern Alps and Merino 101 here – such a great product and the quality remains long after the price is forgotten.

Prince Charles is an influential ambassador for wool as it aligns with the sustainability philosophy he has championed for a lifetime. The Prince’s Campaign for Wool helped revive the Woolmark as the signature of assured provenance.

Woolmark is owned and funded by Australian growers and it was leadership from Stuart McCullough that brought the Woolmark out of mothballs to celebrate 50 years in 2014 and proudly feature in Italy’s L’Uomo Vogue March issue about Australia.

Today’s upcycle is of a black op shop wool jumper which I smartened up by removing the pilling which can accumulate with wear and now it’s as good as new. The second jumper is too lightweight to be 100 percent wool but nonetheless was perfect for conversion to my signature jumper-skirt, but reshaping the bottom and using the sleeves as a scarf.

Sew 86 – Valuing others’ work

Respecting time, effort and resources of others’ creations is part of today’s upcycle which includes the waistband of a knitted garment now featuring as a loose collar.

Thinking of others is key to the inspiring story told at the Rural Press Club by Danielle Crismani about her leadership journey during the 2011 Queensland floods when a simple act of baking muffins for volunteers sparked an outpouring of baked relief at this time of community crisis.

By giving to others Danielle has achieved many things, including being able to opening dispense her recipe for overcoming depression – which is show gratitude, sleep, be kind to yourself and help others. There were many great pearls of wisdom in Danielle’s speech, which you can get a taste of by reading ABC Landline Pip Courtney’s twitter feed. Continue reading →

Sew 83 – Second life for crochet

This fire-engine red crocheted wool cardigan was carefully created by an unknown soul before I rescued it from an op shop, rinsed in wool wash, repaired the seams and teamed with a black and red checked wool wrap skirt.

Valuing natural resources by upcycling existing clothing was the subject of a session I shared with Manjimup Senior High School home economics students in south-west Western Australia this morning, and it was great to engage and learn their perspectives. Sustainability is part of the new curriculum and I enjoyed the opportunity to seed ideas for slow fashion and future upcycling projects.

I was in Manjimup briefly to see my gorgeous friend and RIRDC Rural Women’s Award colleague Lucinda Giblett who is doing great work sowing seeds and ideas that enrich life, land and traditions through her community organisation Stellar Violets. It celebrates learning, living richly, health, land stewardship, local heritage, traditional skills, and the wisdom of elders. Continue reading →

Sew 80 – Valuing natural treasure

Today’s textured pink silk two-piece suit has a simple frill added to enhance its plain neckline, after the skirt bottom was recast as the collar.

Reusing material from nature has been a theme today. My brother’s friend Marcus and I spent the morning at Gingin north of Perth working out a future for the mountain of recycled jarrah timber my brother Paul accumulated over years as a builder.

I guess that’s the problem with upcycling. It is one thing to have an intention to reuse natural resources – but they need to be in the right place in the right hands at the right time to be useful. Otherwise they become a burden. Continue reading →

Sew 79 – Extended hemline

This blue and black outfit was created from a too-short skirt extended by adding bands of black and blue fabric teamed with an op-shop-found silk shirt.

I was in upmarket Perth suburb Claremont shopping for a SodaStream for my friend Pat yesterday and spotted the Jigsaw shop window of blue and black garments equivalent to today’s upcycled outfit.

In the first-world consumer society, we have been conditioned to buy new and buy often but there are alternatives when we turn our minds and energy towards clothes swapping, second-hand vintage or resewing.

Insights into our buying habits were analysed by Cherry Healey in Secrets Of The Sales which aired on ABC2 last night. Healey looked at the retail world from both sides of the counter to discover the tricks of the sales and reveal ways of becoming savvier sale shoppers. Continue reading →