The fashion system as we know it is broken. As we get dressed each day, we are all a part of this system, whether we like it or not.

With a growing dependence on fossil fuel-derived fibers and a relentless drive toward overconsumption, fashion and clothing behemoths have created a take-make-waste model that harms communities and ecosystems at every step. This system’s disconnection from nature’s cycles has placed us on a dangerous path.

The reality of our fast-fashion world is staggering: 60% of all materials in the industry come from plastic, derived from fossil fuels. Every year, 500,000 tons of microfibers — equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles — are released into our oceans from washing clothes. The fashion sector accounts for up to 8% of global carbon emissions, and without change, that could rise to 26% by 2050. Add to this the fact that fashion is responsible for 20% of industrial wastewater worldwide and that millions of textile workers, primarily women, are paid unlivable wages for exhausting work, and the depth of the problem becomes clear.

All of this harm, and yet our clothes barely last. In the U.S. alone, 11.3 million tons of textiles are discarded every year, equating to 81.5 pounds per person. These garments, many of which are barely worn, are flooding our landfills at an alarming rate.

Despite this bleak picture, there’s hope. Across the globe, leaders and innovators are working to repair the fashion system — and they’re seeing real results. From regenerative agriculture to circular design, these changemakers are proving that a different way is not only possible, but already underway. By prioritizing natural fibers and supporting the farmers and ranchers who grow them, they are transforming soils into carbon sinks, restoring ecosystems, and ensuring the future of both agriculture and fashion.

Transforming the fashion system requires a unified, cross-industry effort. In this newsletter, in collaboration with our friends at Fibershed, we delve into just a few of the vital conversations and innovations leading us toward a more regenerative fashion future.

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What If Everything Goes Right? Rebecca Burgess Envisions a Brighter Textile Future

Rebecca Burgess, the Executive Director of Fibershed, is a leading voice advocating for a shift in our approach to clothing consumption and production. Her vision for a fiber future centers on quality materials, cultural reverence, and a deeper connection between textiles and the ecosystems they stem from. In this interview, Burgess shares her thoughts on the challenges and opportunities within the textile industry, emphasizing the importance of consumer behavior, policy changes, and innovative agricultural practices in paving the way for a more sustainable future. Photo by Paige Green, Courtesy of Fibershed

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Weaving Past and Future: McCormack Ranch’s Journey in Regenerative Farming

In the sprawling landscapes of Northern and Central California, a quiet revolution is taking place. It’s a movement rooted in the soil, nurtured by the hands of dedicated farmers, artisans, and craftspeople who are redefining what it means to create a sustainable and resilient textile economy. Agricultural producers are the foundation of the textile supply chain, responsible for nurturing the raw materials that will eventually be spun, woven, and dyed into fabric. Read the story of McCormack Ranch, a historic operation in Rio Vista, California, where time-honored practices meet forward-thinking stewardship. Photo by Paige Green, Courtesy of Fibershed

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Liz Ricketts of the Or Foundation Sheds Light on Clothing Waste in Ghana

In Accra, Ghana, the journey of donated clothing often ends in environmental distress. While charity shops in the U.S. only manage to sell 20% of donations, the unsold items are bundled into bales and sold to for-profit aggregators. Ghana, the world’s largest importer of used clothing, sees these bales flood into the Kantamanto market. Nearly half of each bale is unusable leading to one hundred tons of waste entering a barely regulated waste stream every single day.  

In several powerful accounts, Liz Ricketts, cofounder of the Or Foundation, chronicles the stories of people in Ghana who haul, sort, clean and process second-hand clothing, showing the far-reaching impact of the fashion industry’s waste crisis. Our thanks to the inspiring publication Atmos.earth, which has been covering the work of the Or Foundation by way of a stellar series of articles about the situation on the ground in Ghana and beyond. 

• Learn about the impacts of imported second-hand clothing in Accra, Ghana, as Ricketts follows used clothing retailer Abena through her workday. Abena buys bales of second-hand clothing, known locally as “dead white man’s clothes,” aiming to resell the best pieces for a profit.
• Ricketts chronicles 10 days in the lives of women and girls known as kayayei — a Ga and Hausa term meaning “she who carries the burden” — who transport 120-pound bales of donated clothing on their heads.
• In an open letter to the fashion industry, Ricketts insists there can be no sustainability revolution without justice throughout the global supply chain. 

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Your Next Steps: How to Support a More Just and Regenerative Fashion Industry

Each small action contributes to a larger movement toward positive change. Your involvement is crucial, from participating in challenges to advocating for policy reform. Dive in and discover how you can help drive the transformation toward a fashion system that values people and the planet.

• Join Fibershed’s Slow Fashion Challenge: Take the next step toward a more conscious wardrobe. Sign up for this 7-day challenge to receive daily action items that will help you make ethical, sustainable choices.
• Support The Or Foundation: Follow and support The Or Foundation as they work toward a justice-led circular economy. Operating at the intersection of environmental justice, education, and fashion, they’re leading the charge to create alternatives to the harmful systems that dominate the fashion industry. 
• Find Local Regenerative Textile Producers: Explore Fibershed’s Producer Directory to discover farmers, ranchers, and artisans in your area who are leading the way in regenerative textile production. From natural dyers to weavers and ranchers, this network connects you to makers working in harmony with the land. 
• End U.S. Sweatshops – Sign the FABRIC Act Petition: The FABRIC Act aims to protect American garment workers from wage theft, exploitation, and unsafe working conditions while boosting domestic manufacturing. By holding fashion brands accountable and supporting a fair wage system, this bill is a critical step toward a more just and responsible fashion industry.
• Share the Knowledge – Spread the Word: Education is a powerful tool for change. Share this newsletter and your favorite resources about sustainable fashion with your network and community. By raising awareness and sparking conversations, you help drive collective action toward a more regenerative fashion system. 

Call for Artists for 2025 Bioneers Conference 

Bioneers is excited for art to play a vital, celebratory and transformational role at its 36th annual conference. The conference will take place March 27-29, 2025, in Berkeley, California, across several different locations. Bioneers is accepting applications for outdoor performances, indoor installations and sculptures as part of its mission to program the conference with captivating and compelling art. Applications are due November 1, 2024, by 11:59 p.m. PST. 

Apply Today 

Upcoming Bioneers Learning Courses 

We’re excited to announce that our new season of Bioneers Learning is online, and registration is open! You can register for our first-ever self-paced courses, along with courses covering topics such as the Rights of Nature movement, regenerative herbalism, and sacred activism.

• Regenerative Herbalism: The Healing Power of Plants | Sept. 18-Oct. 23 | Explore the magical realm of herbal wisdom with this 6-session online course led by renowned herbalists Penny Livingston and Rosemary Gladstar.
• “What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures” Book Club | Oct. 1-22 | The Bioneers Learning Book Club is thrilled to offer you a rare chance to delve into Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s brand new book, “What If We Get It Right?” — the highly anticipated sequel to her best-selling book, “All We Can Save.” 
• The Rights of Nature: Drafting, Adopting, and Enforcing Rights of Nature Laws in Cities, Towns, and Counties | Oct. 3-24 | This course will provide attendees a full background on the emerging “rights of nature” movement in the United States and internationally; prepare them to engage in their own communities to develop, adopt, and enforce local rights of nature laws; and address frequently asked questions.
• A Course on The Imaginal: Cultivating the Visionary Self | Oct. 26-March 16 | This course will explore and exercise our creative muscle to strengthen our visionary selves. When we encounter and encourage the wild dance of the artist within, the creative self becomes part of the visionary collective needed for these times.
• Sacred Activism: Meeting our Challenges as Gateways for Cultivating Relational Leadership | Oct. 30-Dec. 4 | Join us to explore sacred activism and relational leadership. Celebrating the learning that happens through your own lived experience and discoveries, this workshop will offer you new practices and orientations to life.
• Honoring Your Emotional Ecosystem | Nov. 12-Dec. 3 | In this four-week course, you can join author, researcher, and emotions-and-empathy expert Karla McLaren, M.Ed., for a grounded and surprising exploration of the healing genius in your emotional realm.
• The Four Sacred Gifts: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Times | Self-Paced | Discover how the Four Sacred Gifts of forgiving the unforgivable, unity, healing, and hope in action provide us with a path to our most grounded, loving, healed, and generous selves.
• Regenerative Agriculture: Nourishing the Soil, Healing the Planet | Self-Paced | Be enlightened on the practical applications and impressive potential that regenerative agriculture has to revive healthy landscapes; contribute to human and animal health; create an equitable food system; and help heal the climate.

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