For one year, Rebecca Burgess will wear only clothes made and dyed from plants that grow no more than 150 miles from her closet door in Fairfax. She spoke in Piedmont about the project in April, and Oakland Local caught up with her recently for more details.

On June 1, the Fibershed Project will begin with a base wardrobe of 11 pieces (socks and under garments count as a group). Burgess will wear the collection to bring attention to the environmental and social cost of clothing consumption.

Burgess coined the word ‘fibershed’ to describe her actions. Like a watershed or foodshed denotes a localized geographical region where water and food can be obtained, a fibershed is the area where clothing can be procured.

She wants to show that clothing can be produced locally using native sustainable fibers and regionally specific colors. The clothing can be made by hand or by small mills in every region.

Burgess said her grandmother taught her to garden and work with natural fibers as a child in Ross Valley, Calif., not far from San Rafael. As she got older and took art classes, she identified the paradox that became central to the fibershed project.

“I was being asked to interpret nature, but the materials I was being asked to use were synthetic. They were causing damage and promoting ecosystem collapse to the same natural world I was depicting in my art.” she explained.

Searching for art that would be creative and sustainable, Burgess renewed her interest in natural fiber and dye production. Her travels in Southeast Asia led her to villages where the entire clothing supply chain operated out of a 20 mile region. Residents grew cotton and indigo, produced their own cloth and made their clothing.

She looked at the basket weaving culture of northern California Native American history and realized that these weavers were stewards of the land who practiced renewable harvesting.

Burgess wanted a way to combine the best of sustainable textile and basketry traditions and also benefit the ecosystem.

She asked two questions: “How could I rekindle a small manufacturing garment business here?" and "What would that geographical zone look like?’”

She assembled a group of cotton growers, wool sources, knit clothing designers and knitters and established relationships with landowners where she could harvest dye plants. She said people are calling to volunteer to knit or even be taught to knit, so they can participate in the challenge.

Designed with Heidi Iverson, using Burgess’ activities as a guide, the wardrobe will consist of boy-cut shorts and a tank top with a bra shelf for her swim suit; wide leg capris for biking; work pants; sleeveless tunics that double as dresses; separate sleeves; below-the-knee bloomers for yoga; socks and undergarments. She’s excited about making an evening dress dyed in pokeberry (fuchsia). Burgess emphasized that the pieces are just the foundation to kick-start the challenge.

“If I’m cold,” she laughed, “I’ll make a coat.”

To prevent temptation, she’s packing her other clothes to store them away. When the basic wardrobe is complete, the fibershed partners will begin making their own pieces. Burgess is documenting the project on her blog and creating a publicity campaign.

As of this article, the latest completed outfit is a tan pair of loosely fitted bolero pants and a tank top made from naturally brown organic cotton created by Sally Fox.

Burgess aims to bring attention to the lack of mills in the U.S., and Fox’s naturally colored cotton that doesn’t require dye. If used on a large scale, carbon dioxide emissions from synthetic brown and khaki dyes could be greatly reduced. But it’s very difficult to produce cotton in the U.S. right now, as there are few mills.

Changes in U.S. trade policies over the last 20 years have resulted in less domestic textile production, increased exportation of raw materials and more imported clothing and consumer goods.

Specific to textiles, the Multifiber Arrangement, signed in 1974, was removed in 2005. Its purpose was to limit textile imports to the U.S and E.U., from developing countries, to keep production domestic and prices high.

When it was removed, much domestic clothing and textile production moved to China and other countries where manufacturing was cheaper. Imported cotton goods gradually replaced U.S. goods and our textile industry declined.

When China joined the World Trade Organization, in 2001, instead of exporting consumer goods to China, the U.S. exported even more raw materials and imported more clothing, shoes and machinery made in China.

Burgess said garment production and consumption don’t have to “stay in the Wal-Mart era.”

She wants to prove with the Fibershed Challenge that local sustainable clothing production is possible and that it benefits individuals and communities. She wants to offer it as a model to be used anywhere.

To start, Burgess hopes to awaken a desire in people to know where their clothing comes from and gain awareness that clothing is a direct product of the land, like food.

She suggests looking at every garment tag and visualizing the chain of events that made the clothing available. She said efforts to reduce textile consumption can be as simple as organizing clothing swaps and shopping at second hand or consignment shops.

Of course, she’d be thrilled if people learned to knit or grow and use dye plants too.

Burgess said, “The very act of doing these things will change your life. Like growing food, growing fiber or dye plants makes you responsible for a process that supports your life.”

To learn more, donate, volunteer or follow Rebecca's journey, click here for her blog.