Installation view of Unravel The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art at the Barbican.
Jemima Yong/Barbican Art Gallery
Textiles have a deceptive simplicity that conceals their potential for subversion and political dissent.
Employees at the K.P. Textil textile plant in Guatemala City.
Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images)
Relaxing ‘rules of origin’ restrictions in an existing trade deal could add tens of thousands of jobs in Central America.
Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
Next time you do your laundry, think like an astronaut – wash your clothes as little as possible.
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Every wardrobe tells a story and reconnecting with the clothes you already own could reduce your need to buy more fast fashion. Here are three ways to fall back in love with your wardrobe.
Horsemen parade during the Durbar Festival in Ilorin.
Samuel Alabi/AFP via Getty Images
New research on Ilorin in Nigeria provides insights into regional socio-political developments prior to the 19th century.
Treena Clark
Colonial settlers made myriad objects with problematic portrayals of First Nations people. Now, a number of artists are using these objects in their work to retell these stories.
Children who experience sensory overload struggle with many items of clothing, including school shirts.
macniak
It is important to study clothing items to pinpoint the triggers for sensory over-stimulation.
The glamourous aspect of fashion obscures the health and socio-environmental issues of the textile industry.
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The production, use and end-of-life of clothing all have an impact on our health. But greater ecological awareness could turn the tide.
Kofi Ansah changed fashion in Ghana after his return from the UK.
Eric Don-Arthur, courtesy of Kofi Ansah Foundation
International career mobility can give people valuable knowledge and expertise to be used in their home country.
Discarded clothing is responsible for millions of tonnes of plastic waste each year.
Yudhistira99/Shutterstock
Polylactic acid – a popular bioplastic – does not readily break down when released into the ocean, and could disrupt marine ecosystems
Tiny pieces of plastic litter have a harmful impact on marine animals, including mussels.
Popova Tetiana/Shutterstock
A study shows that exposure to polyester microfibres inhibits growth in mussels.
Label symbols tell you all you need to know about how to wash, dry, bleach and iron your clothes.
Arturs Budkevics/Alamy
By understanding clothing care labels, you can extend the lifespan of your clothes.
Rejecting fast fashion for “homegrown” sustainable clothing.
View Apart / Shutterstock
The barriers and benefits to reviving the UK textile industry.
Quilts are a repository of memory, personal and collective.
The Conversation
What started out as an instinctive and private response to trauma has become a collective process of grieving and commemoration.
Yannick Folly/AFP via Getty Images
Together with higher cotton production, nanotextile products can boost Nigeria’s textile industry and the economy.
Stain-resistance can mean questionable chemicals in children’s clothes.
VM via Getty Images
Tests found PFAS in school uniforms, pillows, upholstered furniture and several other items that are often next to children’s skin and near their noses and mouths.
Shuttershock
From fibre to fabric. The process of making textiles has been important to humans for almost 35,000 years.
Vendors in front of their shop in China Town, Ojota, Lagos.
Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
Nigeria and China should work more on the relationship between their citizens so that the two countries can continue to have good bilateral relations.
Will the pandemic influence schools’ return to practical skills traditionally gained through home economics?
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Some designers, makers and consumers are imploring us not to stop sewing after the pandemic because of the potential for utilitarian, psychological and environmental benefits.
People shop for used clothing at the busy Gikomba market in Nairobi, Kenya.
SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images
There are significant economic and social pull factors behind the popularity of used clothing.