Rebecca Burgess, a textile artist who lives in Lagunitus, will engage us with the story of her efforts to produce what is termed bioregional clothing. The goal of her non-profit, Fibershed Project, is to produce garments that are made start-to-finish within 150 miles of her home in West Marin. In September 2011, her online Fibershed Marketplace, a website through which shoppers can purchase organic fibers, cotton and dyes from within that 150 mile radius, went live.
Through this project, Burgess hopes to illustrate that regional, organic clothing is still possible in today's globalized climate. She couples her artistry with an environmental philosophy that calls for not only a resurgence of local craftsmanship but also a reduction of the carbon footprint in the textile industry. In addition to her background as a textile artist, she tends her small indigo farm (with the help of a formerly unemployed neighbor) which is used to produce organic natural dyes for her clothing. Burgess began her project in September 2010 with a team of about 40 people, including farmers, designers, seamstresses and volunteers but that number has grown to more than 120.