With the help of an expert weaver, archaeologists have unraveled the design secrets behind the world’s oldest pants. The 3,000-year-old wool trousers belonged to a man buried between 1000 and 1200 BCE in Western China. To make them, ancient weavers combined four different techniques to create a garment specially engineered for fighting on horseback, with flexibility in some places and sturdiness in others.
This compelling 12-minute film showcases the beautiful dance between sheep and shearer, the importance of sheep shearing to the health and well-being of sheep, and the impact that Slow Fashion and local wool have on the economy and local community.
After a 1.4-million-mile mission beyond the Moon and back, the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission arrived back at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on 30 December 2022. On board was wool air filter technology developed by New Zealand-based Lanaco.
My Alpaca Adventures covers this year-long journey where I share experiences about my weekly volunteer days at Alpacas at Windy Hills, attend fibershed events, participate in & contribute to the nascent fibershed movement. Each month I’ll post a summary of the prior month’s journal entries & discoveries.
“Similarly, a new path for California may seem revolutionary in its vision as it will mean dissolving current systems, reappropriating land through expropriation for the benefit of the many, and insisting on mutualism and collaboration for new social organizations. But it’s a vision that can be possible if we decide this is the future we want, and resolve to follow a new ethic, one of mutual respect, one of compassion, and one that is aimed toward nurturing life.” Orange orchard in Ojai Valley. Image by Stephanie Pincetl.
Dhaka, Bangladesh has lived in our collective memory since the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse. Recently an article has come out detailing some of its rich, lengthy, textile legacy predating the age of fast fashion.
This BBC article chronicles the life, death, and revitalization of Dhaka muslin, the luxury cloth depicted in many historical portraits.
It’s an enlightening, heartbreaking, and ultimately inspiring story touching on the many historical intersections of textiles, technology, fashion, artisanship, imperialism, industrialization, and revitalization.
Learn more about the work of Saiful Islam and Bengal Muslin here.
If this story speaks to you, you might also be interested in Exploring Sustainable Fashion Beyond Consumerism: Intersections, Power Dynamics, and Activism.
Photo Credit: Bengal Muslin
