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On this week\u2019s podcast we talk to Laura Sullivan, a fiber artist living and working in Vermont.

She works at University of Vermont Extension, growing hemp fiber in the research trials at Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh.

Through her work with textiles and hemp, she has come to a revelation that clothing is agriculture \u2014 or at least should be agriculture.

She points to traditional ways of spinning and weaving.

\u201cAlmost every culture around the world did this,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cSo it's almost universal in that way. And those fibers were all derived from the soil. So in that sense, to me, clothing is originally agriculture and can also be agriculture again in the future.\u201d

Her work at the Extension fiber trials gives her access to hemp fibers. But because there is no infrastructure in the Vermont to process hemp fiber, she does it all by hand.

\u201cI use all antique hand equipment to do my processing, and it's not ideal by any means,\u201d she said.

From retting and breaking, to sketching and hackling, spinning and scouring, she takes us through the whole process.

During the interview she talked about the importance of fibersheds.

\u201cA fibershed is a commitment to work within the geography of a land base,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cIt's a way to belong to each other and the land.\u201d

The fibershed movement asks: Where is fiber in our environment, and how can we work with it?

Domestically produced textiles are at an all-time low, thanks to the now-replaced North American Free Trade Agreement, she said.

\u201cIn 1990, 50% of clothes worn in the U.S. were made here,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cAnd now that figure stands at 2%. So in a very short amount of time, we have completely offshored the entire industry.\u201d

And at what cost?

\u201cThe textile industry was the biggest employer of people in rural America, and namely women and those without diplomas. So we've really lost a lot in that, especially in a state like Vermont, where we are largely rural and agrarian. It's just a huge missed opportunity,\u201d she said.

Sullivan is hopeful that industrial hemp can revitalize the domestic textile industry.

Laura Sullivan's Pipe Dream Hempworks
https://pipedreamhempworks.com/

Northern New England Fibershed
https://nnefibershed.com/

UVM Extension
https://www.uvm.edu/extension

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New Nuggets

WV House passes Industrial Hemp Development Act
https://www.lootpress.com/house-passes-industrial-hemp-development-act/

Clouds darken over CBD as more states consider banning delta-8
https://hemptoday.net/dark-clouds-grow-over-cbd-as-more-states-consider-banning-delta-8/

Should Fashion Industry Switch To Sustainability To Fight Climate Change?
https://www.thequint.com/news/environment/should-fashion-industry-switch-to-sustainability-to-fight-climate-change

Thanks to our Sponsors!

Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/

Sponsor Spotlight on FARM: a platform for investing in farmland regeneration
https://www.farmland.fi/

IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/