We are a bioregional textile community, spanning a 300-mile radius from so-called New York City. Our mission is to nurture a sense of community, knowledge-sharing, and inclusivity through the use of local fiber, local dye, and local labor.
We hope to unite regional land stewards who are engaged in cultivating fiber and natural dyes along with their city counterparts in urban farming, community gardening, artistic creation, sustainable design, and activism to the citizens who call this city their home. Our goal is to build a welcoming and accessible network that fosters community and craftsmanship at the local level. Our Fibershed strives to create a more resilient and sustainable future while engaging in advocacy, learning, and collaborative opportunities.
The New York Textile Lab — and it’s Carbon Farm Network — are both central projects and partners of the New York Fibershed.
The land, farmers, processors, and designers behind this intiative are committed to creating a "‘Soil-to-Soil’ textile system.
Why it Matters
The existing industrial textile system disconnects workers from their labor, consumers from garment origins, and the Earth from its innate regenerative cycle.
This linear growth model perpetuates global poverty, soil and land degradation, human illness, resource and labor exploitation, and industrial pollution of waterways, soil, and air. Sacrificing dignity, stewardship, and community for short-term gains, it undermines sustainable development.
Looking forward, we can collectively work towards a new, regional, regenerative model for the textile industry that will positively impact economic stability and the health of people and planet.
Regenerative Textile Systems
This system works by utilizing regional resources and actively safeguarding human health and the environment.
Beginning with the soil (located at the base of the diagram), the focus is on establishing connections with farmers, processors, designers, manufacturers, sellers, and consumers. This cyclical approach ensures a harmonious relationship between natural textiles and the earth from which they came. It promotes longevity, minimizes waste, and enriches the very soil that initiates the process.
To the First Stewards of this Land
Indigenous Land Acknowledgment
NY Fibershed (300 mile radius, including so-called NYC, the greater New York area, and neighboring counties) is on the lands of the Lenape, Unkechaug, Haudenosaunee, Tockwogh, Shinnecock, Quinnipiac, Wampanoag, Mohican, and many other Indigenous people’s past, present, and future.
We acknowledge the devastation that colonization has done to this land and its original peoples and how it impacts the imbalance in our current Fibershed, where predominantly white landowners get to farm. Working to repair these relationships, heal this land, and restore balance is imperative in the work we do.
Our Watershed
We operate within crucial watersheds entirely or predominately within New York State that contribute to the region’s water supply and environmental vitality.
These include: The Catskill-Delaware Watershed, The Croton Watershed Hudson River Watershed, The Mohawk River Watershed, the Delaware River headwaters, and the Susquehanna River headquarters.
These watersheds are fundamental for sustaining water resources, ecosystems, and environmental balance in the region. Pollutants in New York watersheds stem from agricultural runoff (fertilizers, pesticides), urban and industrial runoff (heavy metals, oils), wastewater discharge, stormwater runoff (debris, chemicals), and atmospheric deposition (airborne pollutants).
Stay in touch
We’d love to hear from you!
If you have any questions or would like to hear more about how you can support or join the Fibershed movement, please contact us using the form, or send us a direct message at newyorkfibershed@gmail.com