It’s not immediately obvious how fashion impacts our forests which can make it easy for brands and organisations to hide behind opaque supply chains and greenwashing.
But the reality is that many of the raw materials we rely on in fashion come from plants or their pulps, meaning that fashion and forests are intrinsically linked.
Materials such as viscose, Lyocell, and natural rubber are derived from trees, but other kinds of material production cause deforestation, including cotton and leather, which are major drivers of land clearing for plantations and cattle grazing in forests.
‘Fast fashion’ is not sustainable and contributes hugely to landfill and pollution. Add to this the working conditions in many fashion factories where mostly women are often poorly paid, and we really do need to transform the fashion industry.
What are we doing?
- Next Clothes Swap & Stitch Don’t Ditch workshop, 22 April 2026 at Fairfield Nursery & Junior School, Bench Rd, SK17 7PG, 7-9pm.
- 25 June 2026 Clothes Swap & Stitch Don’t Ditch workshop, Sy Anns Ctr, Hardwick Sqr, 7-9pm
- On 12 March’26 we held a 3rd Clothes Swap at Buxton Community School over lunchtime and an after school sewing workshop. They must like it as we have been invited back in Sept’26.
- On 23 October 2026 we will be in the Assembly Rooms for the second Upcycling with a Spooky Twist actiivty making Halloween costumes from donated fabrics and costumes. Such Fun!
- In March 2024 we hosted a sold out Alternative Catwalk event in partnership with the New Mills Fashion Activistas at the Green Man Gallery which inspired us to do more around this serious issue.
- On 24 September ’24 we were blessed with someone who was great at taking photos of our Clothes Swop event in a church hall in Fairfield – see photos below.
- Our monthly Repair Cafes include clothing and textile repairs.
- The Library of Things has sewing machines that you can borrow to experiment with some upcycling.
- Our Stitch Don’t Ditch Sewing Workshops have oroven popular so we are doing them as frequently as we can – half a dozen a year.
- Buxton is blessed with a wide range of second hand / vintage (charity) shops where you can donate clothes you no longer wear and buy pre-loved garments.
Stitch Don’t Ditch sewing workshop
Our first Stitch Don’t Ditch sewing workshop was held in May 2025 and was a great success. Since then we have hosted quite a few sessions where people have enjoyed learning how to stitch by both hand and machine, make cloth bags, bunting and alter clothes. Several people have come to gain confidence on sewing machines they have but rarely use and our enthusiasts delight in seeing them re-bitten by the sewing bug. Join us for one soon. All free (donations welcome). You can read more here:
Further Items of Interest
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.