Reading about the Zero-Waste course at Parson's School of Fashion reminded me of just how great hand-knitting is, particularly in terms of how little waste it produces. This is before you even start to consider the sustainable qualities of real wool as a fibre.
Then I had this mini brainwave, where I was reminded of just how amazing Shetland Wool really is. I mean, we all know that it's lovely, but when you're working with something every day, or knitting with it all the time, you forget - I guess this applies to a lot of lovely things that get lost in the sea of everydayness! Most Shetland Sheep have a completely natural diet, and their wool is processed in the only
plant in the world to be recognised for it's grounbreaking environmental and ecological standards.
So, this post is a reminder to myself not to forget (does that even make sense?) how great Shetland Sheep and their wool is. And maybe even a reminder not to forget other nice things too.
Now if only we could hand-knit denim jeans, the world would be an even better place!
"This course presents a new way of exploiting and building upon the students’ existing design and technical skills with focus on sustainability in fashion design. It introduces the students to designing a garment without creating fabric waste in the process. In designing and producing a zero-waste garment, the students will develop a deeper understanding of the relationships between cloth, fashion design, patternmaking and draping, and in a broader sense, the connections between material, design process and final product. On completion the students will be able to utilize patternmaking and draping as tools for innovative, sustainable fashion design. In this course sustainability provides a tool for the students to examine their design practices in a critical light."
PS. We love
Ecco-Eco, where I found out about Zero-Waste.
