Churchill Fellow, Jane Milburn, grew up on a sheep farm in South Island, New Zealand, and later completed an Agricultural Science degree at The University of Queensland.
She maintained a strong alliance with the agricultural industry and developed a growing passion for the slow clothing movement.
As the founder of "Textile Beat" and author of Slow Clothing: finding meaning in what we wear, Ms Milburn makes a compelling case for why and how we need to change the way we dress to live lightly on Earth.
When her Churchill Fellowship to investigate ways hands-on upcycling actions help reduce textile waste and enhance wellbeing was deferred due to Covid, Ms Milburn did a permaculture design course which only affirmed her focus on natural fibres, regeneration and living simply.
Such was her passion, she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for service to fashion sustainability in 2022
"Dressing is an agricultural act - if we want to wear natural fibres like linen, cotton and wool rather than plastic ones like polyester and nylon derived from fossil fuels, a shift to more local regenerative textile systems is a way to reduce their ecological impact.," Ms Milburn said.
As part of her Fellowship, Ms Milburn visited the United States
"I had the opportunity to visit Fibershed Northern California and Fibershed South East New England in Massachusetts," she said.
"Through the Fibershed Learning Center in San Geronimo, founder Rebecca Burgess is making the soil-to-soil connection in the production, use and regeneration of natural fibres.
"Rebecca's book, Fibershed: growing a movement of farmers, fashion activists, and makers for a new textile economy, is an invitation to engage with all parts of the growing, creating, wearing and caring processes of our clothing."
Then heading to Cape Cod, Ms Milburn met with Amy DuFault who runs the South East New England Fibershed.
Ms DuFault's goal is to reconnect the local growing of regenerative fibres, as well as milling and then making the clothes we wear.
"The solution is working with the soil, working with the farmers, keeping farmers on the land so we can have fiber that's made from plants or animals," Ms Dufault said.
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Now back in Australia, Ms Milburn said one of the recommendations from her Fellowship is to see more localisation to promote and enable place-based fibre systems and culture
"Australia is a large producer of high-quality cotton and wool, but most is exported as a commodity and feeds into complex global textile supply chains," she said.
"Only three percent of clothes are manufactured locally.
"Processes involved in turning fibre into clothing are largely out of sight and out of mind and this disconnection means there is little understanding of the clothing story."
Ms Milburn said fully local supply chains from farm to fashion, including the potential for nimble circularity and small-scale mills, would be valuable and she continues to advocate for that.
"Government and industry support for innovative local manufacturing, and training skilled machinists - or sponsoring genuine talent migration - is to be encouraged," she said.
"The Linen Project in The Netherlands and Fibershed are examples of rebuilding small-scale local textile industries, as is Full Circles Fibres in Queensland.
"In a climate changing world, we need infrastructure in place to secure geographical hedging and community resilience for manufacturing of essential textile needs; for example, fire-fighters' uniforms, reusable cloth PPE, as well as discretionary needs."
Ms Milburn said that overseas, there was general recognition that Australia produces great Merino fibre but the people she met were focused on place-based textiles in their own countries.
"They wanted to seek out regenerative natural fibres and dyes that are produced locally because this is known as a way to reduce the carbon footprint of materials and clothes," she said.
"This move toward localisation could play out in Australia if, and when, technology enables us to rejuvenate entire supply chain manufacturing here.
"Increasing concerns about exploitation of people and resources, the requirement for evidence of local provenance, transparency and ethical sourcing could justify a return to local manufacturing and making.
"That is something I continue to advocate for," she said.
"Two-thirds of clothes are now synthetic fibres derived from petroleum and shedding microplastics as they are worn and washed.
"Natural fibres, such as wool, may be more expensive initially but they are definitely our best option to avoid the toxic impacts of fast fashion."
