Before many of us were even aware of the damaging aspects of fabric production, Charlie Bradley Ross was researching better alternatives. Her desire to share that extensive research and the connections she made with ethical and more sustainable producers grew organically (excuse the pun) into her business, Offset Warehouse, and later The Sustainable Fashion Collective. For Episode 34 of CYT, Charlie tells me about her journey, offers a beginner’s guide for sewers wanting to choose better fabrics, and explains why we should be wary of the term ‘deadstock’. We also get into finding the balance between using what you have and supporting business doing good work. We learn how she approaches working respectfully with fabric producers, how she’d like over-consumption to be addressed and other important fabric-related concerns.
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Charlie owns eco and ethical fabric business Offset Warehouse HERE
The documentary, China Blue, that switched Charlie onto thinking about the impact of fabric HERE
One of the handwoven Ikat fabrics that might make Charlie cry! HERE
Image source: Offset Warehouse
Discover some banana leaf textiles HERE and pineapple textiles HERE
My favourite fabric on the Offset Warehouse site is this hand-dyed, handwoven, Fairtrade selvedge denim HERE
Image source: Offset Warehouse
Find out more about The Sustainable Fashion Collective HERE
Dark Waters is a film about the contamination of a town by manufacturing corporation DuPont HERE