Introducing Jane Milburn, Textile Beat
Australian author, social activist and entrepreneur, Jane Milburn, joins the team at The Sound Temple in Perth Hills this month to roll out a collection of talks and interactive workshops as part of the “Common Threads – Woven through Community” exhibition, focusing on sustainability, creativity and traditional hand-crafted wisdom of the ages.
A former agricultural scientist and journalist, Jane is a passionate advocate of the Slow Clothing Movement and author of the book, “Slow Clothing – Finding Meaning in What We Wear”. She brings a health and well-being context to how we choose, wear and care for clothes.
“Australians buy an average of 27 kilograms of new textiles each year – we run second to North Americans who buy 37 kilograms each – and then we discard 23 kilograms into landfill”, Milburn says.
“Two-thirds of new clothing are from man-made fibres which shed microplastic particles into the environment and take decades to rot in landfill. In a finite world, we can’t keep pretending this doesn’t matter. We are accountable, through the everyday clothing decisions we make.”
In an era dominated by passive consumption of cheap and synthetic fashion, Jane presents a compelling case for why we need to change the way we dress to live lightly on Earth through everyday practice. She will be hosting workshops on upcycling, creativity, sustainability and smart ways to reduce our fashion footprint.
Jane’s events, talks and workshops at The Sound Temple:
Slow Clothing as a Lived Practice – May 29th 7pm – 9pm
Mindful Mending Brings Love – May 30th 3pm – 6.30pm
Conversation about Clothes – May 30th 7pm – 9.30pm
Clothing Revival and Resuscitation – May 31st 10.00am – 1.30pm
Take your Unloved Teez to the Catwalk – May 31st 2pm-5pm
Jane’s Slow Clothing Manifesto:
10 ways to thrive and dress smartly in our modern material world:
THINK: Make thoughtful, ethical, informed choices
NATURAL: Treasure fibres from nature and limit synthetics
QUALITY: Buy well once, quality remains after price is forgotten
LOCAL: Support local makers, those with good stories and fair trade
CARE: Mend, patch, sort, sponge, wash less, use cold water, line dry
FEW: Live with less, capsule wardrobe, have one best style, unfollow
MAKE: Embrace home sewing as a life skill, value DIY and handmade
ADAPT: Refashion, eco-dye, create new from old to suit yourself
REVIVE: Enjoy vintage, exchange, op-shop and swap
SALVAGE: Donate, pass on, rag weave, recycle or compost