Exciting News: We're launching our New Report Today!
As 2024 comes to a close, we are excited to be releasing our new report that explores how the time-tested practice of creating commons, or “commoning,” can revitalise the clothing and textile communities that have been erased and eroded by the fashion industry.
The report encapsulates key insights and learnings from OC.M’s first year in action working toward clothing commons that prioritise wellbeing and sufficiency. These insights were gathered through community assemblies, conversations, surveys, and interviews with grassroots clothing communities and practitioners in Europe and beyond. We have many here, in our Common Room and our OC.M Members to thank for their valuable input. This work has been supported by the European Cultural Foundation and Naturesave Trust.
Our report provides insight on how to support and encourage commoning in clothing systems. It is based on the premise that expanding the existing pluriverse of clothing communities can meet most of our material and cultural needs for clothing without relying on the wasteful and extractive industrial fashion system. It aims to support clothing communities that are resisting industrial fashion through: craft revitalisation; clothes swapping; visible mending; upcycling workshops; farm-to-closet initiatives; campaigning, and more.
The report details what clothing, textile, and fashion commons are, how they align with degrowth, and what current forms of clothing commons look like. It then outlines guiding principles of commoning. It also provides practical guidance on building clothing commons, through alternative financing pathways, educational reform, and inclusive collaboration.
Thank you again to everyone who took part in the collaborative process of putting this together, and especially Carolyn who was ultimately responsible for compiling this. We hope you are all pleased with the outcome!
Please do share far and wide!
And we always welcome feedback to incorporate into the next report. We are always learning and reaching higher!
