Is fashion more than just what we wear?
In this episode, I speak with Carry Somers who shares her research and insights on the deep relationship between textiles, history, and the environment, emphasizing the importance of understanding the origins and stories behind our fibers to foster a more sustainable and reciprocal relationship with nature.
An episode that I’ve been waiting a long time to do. This angle of the story seemed to be just the right one for me.
From ancient fibres like oak bark used millions of years ago to modern discoveries in lakes, the story of fabric is a story of our relationship with the Earth.
The fascinating part, natural fibres might have more potential than we think, if we look at them through a different lens.This isn’t just about sustainability it’s about recognizing our impact and reconnecting with the roots of our clothes.
We speak about:
Research findings on fibers in Rudyard Lake and their implications
The history of natural fibers and their cultural significance
The importance of storytelling and understanding the origins of textiles
The relationship between humans and nature through fibers
Innovations in natural dyeing and fiber cultivation
“The relationship between plants, cloth, society, it’s always been shaped by human choices and those choices can change and that really gives me hope”
About Carry
Carry Somers is an author and storyteller whose work connects the worlds of fashion, nature, and creativity. Co-founder of Fashion Revolution, the world's largest fashion activism movement, she has spent three decades building organisations that have transformed how fashion thinks about its impact – from Pachacuti, the world's first Fair Trade certified company and pioneer of supply chain transparency, to League of Artisans, championing artisanal skills as a vital response to global challenges. She is currently an expert consultant for the UN International Trade Centre, providing training to Indigenous textile artisans in Guatemala. Research interests include microfibre pollution and the non-biodegradation of natural textile fibres.
In The Nature of Fashion (Chelsea Green/Rizzoli 2025) Carry offers more than a history – she presents a vision. Rooted in her research published in iScience (Stanton, T. et al., 2026) which found that natural textile fibres persist in aquatic environments over ecologically significant timescales, her lyrical exploration of the history of plant materials invites us to look beyond the surface and discover the deeper patterns that shape our lives. Her writing reveals how fashion is interwoven with the rhythms of nature, encouraging us to see the world in new and unexpected hues.
Find her here:
Website
