Solutions? This research became the jumping-off point for writing The Nature of Fashion (@chelseagreenbooks.bsky.social, 2025) – an exploration not of easy answers, but of better questions. #naturewriting

Sustainability strategies that promote natural fibres as straightforward substitutes for plastics risk overlooking environmental persistence and the potential for fibres to carry or release associated chemicals. If we care about our material future, we need better science, not better slogans.

This does not mean natural fibres are equivalent to synthetics. It does not mean they do not biodegrade.
It does mean the story is more complex than those charts doing the rounds on social media that suggest natural textiles simply vanish in a short time. #sustainablefashion

Textile pollution research has focused primarily on synthetics. Because we assumed plastic was the only problem in terms of microfibres, lab methods often dissolved everything natural to isolate and count synthetics. This study shows that natural fibres are long-lasting in aquatic environments.

Cotton was the dominant fibre type, accounting for 70% of all fibres identified and present throughout the entire core. Natural fibres such as cotton and wool were still structurally identifiable more than a century after deposition. #sustainablefashion

I am co-author on a new peer-reviewed paper Natural textile fibres preserved in a 150-year lake sediment record Stanton, T et al 2026 www.cell.com/iscience/ful... Researchers from @lborouniversity.bsky.social and @keeleuniversity.bsky.social recovered textile fibres dating back to 1876

In 2018, in Fashion Revolution’s Loved Clothes Last fanzine, we shared a graphic about how long different textiles take to decompose. It reflected what many of us believed: that natural fibres biodegrade quickly and therefore disappear. But science evolves. And so must we. #sustainablefashion

150 year old cotton and wool fibres found in UK lake sediment. Published yesterday in @cp-iscience.bsky.social: the paper I’ve been working on with colleagues from Keele and Loughborough Universities and beyond www.cell.com/iscience/ful... #microfibres

This is a truly horrifying account of increasingly likely collapse of essential natural systems which would bring mass food shortages, price rises & global disorder. Commissioned from UK intelligence chiefs but scandalously suppressed by Govt, & sneaked out now while attention is elsewhere 👇

“Women remain at the selvedge of history—stabilising the seams, preventing the fabric from fraying—yet their contributions are too often overlooked, their voices hovering at the margins while men fill in the words.” Brilliant interview and material

I talked to reviewer Carolina Cucci of Foreword Reviews about how humans have used plants to make textiles and clothing across time. #naturewriting #textiles www.forewordreviews.com/articles/art...

'An interview on history and hope.' I talk to The Voice of Fashion about my new book, The Nature of Fashion. @chelseagreenbooks.bsky.social www.thevoiceoffashion.com/climate-acti... #naturewriting

Delighted to be named one of the best fashion books of 2025 by @fashionista.com alongside the likes of Anna Sui, Rick Owens and Michelle Obama! fashionista.com/2025/11/2025... #fashionbooks

So exciting to see my book, The Nature of Fashion, here alongside so many brilliant books. My reading list is growing! #naturewriting

The Nature of Fashion: A Botanical Story of our Material World is out today in North America. If you've bought a copy, I look forward to hearing what you think! And if you enjoy reading, it would be so helpful if you could leave a review somewhere - it really helps others to find it. #publicationday

Read the Nature of Fashion by @carrysomers.bsky.social excerpt, Threads of Resistance: The Women Reviving Peru’s Native Colored Cotton, on @bioneers.org bioneers.org/threads-of-r...

8000 years ago in the Judaean desert, the first plant-based waterproof coatings. Resins from sweetgum, sea squill, and styrax chosen over bitumen, a sticky petroleum substance used for millennia to waterproof baskets, clothing, and boats. Read more in The Nature of Fashion. #naturewriting

34,000 Years Ago: the first blue In Dzudzuana Cave in the Caucasus foothills, archaeologists have uncovered the very first evidence of indigo dye on wild flax fibres. This discovery shows that early humans were not only skilled in survival, but in colouring their world. #naturaldyes #archaeology

Neanderthals twisted 3-ply string from the satin-soft inner bark of a conifer and tied it to a stone tool – 50,000 years ago. Not just a thread. A net. A bag. A snare. A means of survival in a glacial world. Every strand counted. Read more in The Nature of Fashion #archaeology #textilehistory

Happy UK Publication Day to THE NATURE OF FASHION by @carrysomers.bsky.social! #BookSky

Thank you so much Olivia 🌸

In these days of AI-penned posts full of triple adjectives (have you noticed that too?) words like regenerative and resilient – favourites in the sustainability space – are often drained of meaning. Here's why storytelling matters more than ever @sumup.bsky.social www.sumup.com/en-gb/runnin...

BREAKING: Peru & Ecuador’s Crude Gamble Faces Indigenous Wall of Resistance “Without our consent, this project has no legitimacy. Investors must be warned: any deal built on rights violations is built on quicksand.” #EndAmazonCrude #RespectIndigenousRights amazonwatch.org/news/2025/07...

How are you spending your Saturday evening? I'm learning to pronounce Chinese words, moving on to Danish, Guaraní, Irish, Maori... Because when you write a book, no one tells you that one day - if you are fortunate enough to be published - you might have to voice the audiobook! #writingcommunity

Some messages that go beyond words. This was one of them. This review of my forthcoming book The Nature of Fashion comes from MaMo Sintana and MaMo Isuama Kunchaluintana, Kogui spiritual leaders, sent from the Heart of the World. Full review on my website www.carrysomers.com #bookreview #indigenous

🚨 Brazil’s Congress passed a bill that dismantles environmental licensing & allows the destruction of the Amazon & Indigenous rights. Indigenous Peoples are calling for action: Tell President Lula - VETO the #DevastationBill! #UrgentAction #NaoAoPLdaDevastacao amazonwatch.org/take-action/...

As LVMH's luxury brand Loro Piana is placed under administration after alleged worker exploitation, this is yet another glaring example of the need for transparent supply chains to protect and respect artisans in the value chain. Read more in the CRAFTED report leagueofartisans.org/crafted

Last chance to order The Nature of Fashion from @barnesandnoble.com with a 25% discount, and an extra 10% off for premium members. Offer ends tomorrow! Use PREORDER25 at checkout. Order links for hardback and ebook: www.carrysomers.com #BNPreorder #booksky #naturewriting #sustainablefashion

My book The Nature of Fashion is available to preorder now, and from 8-11 July readers can get at least 25% off at @barnesandnoble.com using code PREORDER25. B&N Rewards members (free to sign up) get 25% off and Premium members get an additional 10% discount #booksky #booklaunch #BNPreorder

Out today: The CRAFTED Report, exposing blind spots in fashion & homeware climate claims. The report launches the Artisans’ Index, the first research initiative to benchmark how 50 global brands disclose the environmental impact of artisan production. leagueofartisans.org/crafted #artisans

Cliffy Gosling, the last of Branscombe’s cliff farmers. His donkeys hauled seaweed up the cliffs to fertilise England's earliest new potatoes (1962). This photo captures the balance between people and place that's at the heart of The Nature of Fashion. Out autumn @chelseagreenbooks @rizzolibooks.

Some unexpected pre-publicity for my book in @theobserveruk.bsky.social Zandra's light reading? What looks like an advance copy of The Nature of Fashion by Carry Somers (due in September). It's “an epic sweep through the history of how we learned to create clothing with plants…” #booksky

Our project with @carrysomers.bsky.social League of Artisans is launching the Artisans' Index on 19th June. It maps best practice fashion and homewares brands supporting artisan workshops to protect workers and their environment. www.eventbrite.com/e/1388991905...

not just a climate pope, but an all caps petition sharing climate pope

12 years ago today, over 1100 people were killed in the Rana Plaza factory collapse – a tragedy rooted in an exploitative system. Some progress has been made, but too much of it is cosmetic. Decorative topiary. When what's needed is radical change – from the root. #RanaPlaza #FashionRevolution

No sea urchin fossils today, but I still returned from my walk with a pocketful of pebbles. #fossils

As the Bluesky symbol is a butterfly 🦋, can anyone here confirm this as the rare Wood White - out very early if so. Spotted on my usual daily walk through Branscombe undercliff #butterfly

THE book that you need about the past and future of fashion. Carry is a preeminent fashion activist and a founder of Fashion Revolution, and the breadth and depth of her knowledge and insight is unparallelled. Coming in September 2025 from @chelseagreenbooks.bsky.social @rizzolibooks.bsky.social

Thrilled to reveal the cover of The Nature of Fashion! 🌿 This book traces fashion’s connection to the natural world across landscapes and centuries, myth & memory. Out Sept (UK) & Nov (US) @chelseagreenbooks.bsky.social @rizzolibooks.bsky.social. Big thank you to my agent @juliasreading.bsky.social

I couldn't be more thrilled that brilliant fashion industry activist and storyteller @carrysomers.bsky.social's history and future of fashion will be published in September this year by the fantastic team at @chelseagreenbooks.bsky.social So many exciting plans are afoot for this book!

Why are #ForestDay & #WorldWaterDay back-to-back? Because everything is connected. In The Nature of Fashion I explore this web, how one thread pulled loosens the rest. To mend what unravels feels impossible. But isn’t repair the essence of human tenacity? Each act of restoration is resistance.

If you're interested in knowing more about botanical fibres and dyes from Latin America, my Dictionary of Plant Fibre & Colour is free to download from @churchillfship.bsky.social website, documenting close to 100 plants. www.churchillfellowship.org/ideas-expert... #naturaldyes #sustainablefashion

I was surprised at how my unpublished writing slotted into my debut here and there. Mostly just odd sentences that suddenly found their home.

I just got my first ISBN number. This is real now. It had me in tears even more than seeing my beautiful book cover for The Nature of Fashion (which is under wraps for another few weeks). It's an incredible feeling when all that hard work starts to pay off. #amwriting #writingcommunity #nonfiction

Utterly shameful - a sickening betrayal of some of the poorest people. And counterproductive too - as if global security isn’t also dependent on efforts to tackle the climate crisis, global poverty, inequality, and humanitarian needs.

Thrilled to announce The Nature of Fashion will be published this September with @chelseagreenbooks.bsky.social! This book traces the entwined histories of textiles and plants, exploring how the threads of our past can weave our shared future. Huge thanks to @juliasreading.bsky.social & Muna Reyal.

Polished off my bibliography for The Nature of Fashion last night and felt I was almost there. Just acknowledgements to write today, I thought. I clearly should have given them some consideration more than a day before my submission deadline. Where do you start? Or where do you stop! #amwriting

Reading the @unccd.bsky.social Fashion and Land report on the environmental impact of fibres. The world map of fibre production, textile trade and land degradation is particularly interesting - I'd love to be able to zoom in and see this in more detail. #naturalfibres www.unccd.int/resources/pu...

Interesting item on the shifting soils of garment production on BBC News at Ten tonight. Around 90% of garment factories in Cambodia are now Chinese-owned or Chinese-run. #whomademyclothes?

At @kewgardens.bsky.social planning Material World festival, running 18 September for 6 weeks. Excited to be working with Kew’s Youth Forum and the local community to co-create a textile map of fibre and dye plants at Kew #plants