Criteria

South West England Fibreshed Producers listed on our Producer Map meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • Grow or farm natural fibres and/or natural dyes in South West England; 
  • Produce products which are wholly made with fibres, dyes and labour grown and sourced within  South West England;  NOTE: This need not be true of entire line of products, but the Fibreshed logo and any claims made regarding Fibreshed can only be used on, or regarding,  products which meet these criteria. Please see Exceptions below. 
  • Offer services for processing natural fibres and/or dyes in South West England, either on a commercial or an artisanal scale;
  • Offer services for manufacturing garments from local yarns or fabrics;
  • Offer a retail site (physical or online shop) that is geared toward consumers who would support and buy into the Fibreshed ethos e.g. an ethical or sustainable fashion/lifestyle store;
  • Offer education or tuition in Fibreshed-related concepts.

All members must have a demonstrated commitment to working with ethical, sustainable (or even better, regenerative) systems of production and be willing to actively participate in, and advocate for, the Fibreshed community.

 

Exceptions

Note: We have based these exceptions on our knowledge of the textile and fibre industry in the South West and expect them to be under ongoing review.

  • We are aware that the region has limited processing facilities and are therefore happy to consider on a case-by-case basis supply chains and end products that are sent elsewhere in England or the UK for processing when the required service is not available in the South West. We also acknowledge that this may be due to issues of volume or timeline rather than availability of service.
  • Sewing thread and other haberdashery items are not yet manufactured in our region on a commercial scale.  We therefore expect members to:
    • make every effort to to modify their design and manufacturing to minimise the need for such items
    • to source UK-made products wherever available
    • to source ethically produced and traceable products where UK-made products are not available
    • ensure that items contain 5% or less of nylon, poly cotton, or poly thread by weight and clearly label this, since the product will not be biodegradable as a result.

 

Please read on for more information on the benefits that we can offer members, as well as how you can join us.