Fiber and textiles are more than clothing, though clothing is central to our daily lives. Fiber is embedded in rugs, towels, sheets, tampons, baby wipes, home goods, and more and most of what we use each day is made of textile materials. However, how we produce these materials has changed and shifted drastically throughout the  history of our country.

In 1960, about 95 percent of all US clothing and bedding was manufactured in the United States; today it is closer to 2%. Likewise, clothing was once predominantly made from natural fibers such as cotton, linen, hemp, and wool, whereas today roughly two-thirds of garments are made from petroleum-based fibers like polyester, nylon, and acrylic. These are fossil fuel-derived fibers contributing to pollution, climate change, and environmental injustice, in communities predominantly populated by Black and Brown people. The erosion of US domestic production, natural fiber use, and our environment has occurred alongside broader shifts in international geopolitics, democratic participation, and civic life.

Civic engagement, as a cornerstone of democracy, is more than voting and policy advocacy—it can also be a daily practice embedded in how we produce, consume, and relate to the material world. These practices shape our communities, regional economies, and collective futures. Using natural materials sourced from US farmers can be understood as civic practices. As such, rebuilding regenerative material systems becomes a form of democratic practice because it requires collective coordination, shared resources, and intentional design.

Civic Regeneration: Preserving and Resurfacing Fiber and Textiles Traditions Today

The Black Fiber & Textile Network (bftn) is a collective of entrepreneurs and producers who grow, process, and work with natural fibers, plant dyes, and regenerative textiles. Through our work in natural fibers, textile circularity, and community-rooted production, we understand civic engagement as a lifestyle—one rooted in caring for the land, making what we need and desire, and sustaining one another in the process.

Read the full article about the civic work of regeneration via fiber and textiles by Teju Adisa-Farrar at Nonprofit Quarterly.