In our latest episode of Weaving Beings: Conversations with The Lissome, we journey into the landscapes of soil and fibre. Our guest is Emma Hague, a clothing and textiles systems ecologist, and founding director of South West England Fibreshed, Bristol Textile Quarter and Bristol Cloth.

With a background in political and economic anthropology, Indigenous rights, natural resource development and conflict, Emma’s career over the last 15 years has been at both grassroots and global policy levels with lots of hands-on experience in the UK and South America.

The Fibershed is a non-profit organization that has been one of my guiding lights for many years. It was founded by Rebecca Burgess in 2010 in Northern California as a way to revive localised textile industries through regenerative practices and processes. Since then Fibershed has grown into a global movement, and according to their latest 2024 annual report, there are now 79 Fibershed affiliates worldwide in 18 countries and 4 continents.

What makes the Fibershed approach so relevant is its simplicity: it reconnects what we wear to the landscapes that sustain us. Instead of textiles travelling thousands of miles through long and opaque, global supply chains, Fibershed focuses on soil health, local fibre, regional processing and fair relationships. It’s a model that reduces harm, strengthens communities and brings climate-beneficial farming into the heart of design.

Order your copy of The Lissome No 5, Rise Up Rooted, Like Trees: https://www.thelissome.com/shop/the-lissome-rise-up-rooted ⁠⁠⁠

Support the show with a membership subscription: https://www.thelissome.com/membership

Sign up for The Lissome Substack: https://thelissome.substack.com/

More from South West England Fibreshed: https://southwestenglandfibreshed.co.uk/

More from Hardeep and The Architecture of Contemplation podcast: https://www.instagram.com/hardeep.earth/

Audio Producer, Ivan d’Avoine: https://www.instagram.com/ivandavoine