Why does it matter? 

About 92 percent of clothing sold in Australia is made overseas, says Choice magazine which means we have lost sight of the making process. The Rana Plaza clothing factory collapse in Bangladesh last year exposed the fashion industry's dark underbelly when 1133 garments workers were killed making cheap clothes for us in an unsafe sweat shop. This catastrophe sparked a coming to consciousness. The global Fashion Revolution is now inspiring ethical, environmental and social change in the way we engage with clothes.  As a consumer, you need to be curious, ask questions, find out where your clothes are made. Join Fashion Revolution Day on April 24. Turn your shirt inside out to show the label, take a selfie and post on social media using the hashtag #insideout. 

Sew it Again project refashions an alternate way

We're up to Sew 112 in the 365-day eco-clothing project Jane Milburn is undertaking to demonstrate creative ways of reusing existing garments. The project aims to empower individuals to reimagine and recreate their own wardrobe collection by resewing at home using 'slow fashion' skills. As a side-benefit, Jane is working her way through five wardrobes of natural-fibre clothing rescued from op shops. You can view Jane's upcycles on pinterest, instagram or the blog at sewitagain.com 

Sewing is a life skill, like home cooking

As with the rising interest in home cooking and food growing for health and wellbeing, there is a pressing need to rethink our approach to textiles and fashion. Jane Milburn (photo by Patria Jannides) came to recognise this while completing a Graduate Certificate (Australian Rural Leadership) at James Cook University in 2013. Jane told the story for the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation website here:

On average, we each use 11 kg of textiles/yr

A common first-world problem is wardrobes bulging with clothing – we often keep stuff we bought in previous years and (on average) we each go on to buy another 11 kg of clothing every year, according to FAO apparel fibre statistics. Multiply that by 7 billion people in the world and you begin to appreciate the impact clothing habits have on global resource use and ecological health. Most of the rejects end up as landfill. What does 11kgs of clothing looks like? Each person in the world is each year consuming 6.6kg synthetic, 3.74kg cotton,  400g cellulose fibres (eg viscose), 200g of wool and 150g flax/linen. Together they nearly fill two 50 litre boxes, see below. 

Join us for an upcycling experience

You don't need special skills to upcycle and there are several upcoming opportunities:

• The Garment Story exhibition/workshop May 4-16 at Pandora Gallery in Coolah, NSW
• T-shirt upcycling free workshop at Green Heart Fair at Chermside, Brisbane, June 1, BYO shirt
• Two-day History Skirt workshop at Biloela on June 14-15
• Half-day Jumper Skirt workshop at Warwick on July 25
• QRRRWN Conference Charters Towers 17 September 2014