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Meditations on Textile Waste

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Cover of "Practices of Everyday Ethics Vol 2 Meditations on Textile Waste" by Lois Klasen

Title: Practices of Everyday Ethics, Volume 2: Meditations on Textile Waste
Author: Lois Klassen
Date: 2023
Series: Practices of Everyday Ethics
Pages: 24
Language: English
Dimensions: 4.25″ (106 mm) x 5.5″ (141 mm)
Colour: Black ink on white paper. Suitable for hand colouring.
Binding: Sewn with sewing machine (straight stitch on spine)
Printing: Digital printing from Copies Plus, Vancouver
Edition: first edition of 100
ISBN: 978-1-988895-31-4
Copyright: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 ) License). Content copyrights remain with listed contributors.

Download below or contact us for a free ‘zine exchange:

Download (Volume 2) – Meditations on Textile Waste

Download (Volume 1) – Yoga Bolsters & Dog Beds

Like the mounds of textile waste accumulating in our lives and around the globe, my meditation cushion is filled with mixed and unknown fibers. Most fabrics currently in global circulation are a blend of synthetic (petroleum based) and natural fibers. The word ‘blend’ should really be replaced by ‘fused’ because in most cases separating and sorting fibers (natural, recycled, disposable) are impossible. Contrary to the ‘open loop’ promises of manufacturers most textile waste cannot be re-manufactured or recycled into new materials. Its lint carries micro plastics into soils, water, air, food, and nearly all creatures’ bodies. In effect, textile waste is toxic…”

Meditations on Textile Waste, is the second ‘zine (Volume 2) in the series Practices of Everyday Ethics and was created alongside a batch of home-made meditation cushion forms. These cushion covers, like the yoga bolsters and dog beds described in Volume 1, are proposed to be home-based textile management waste systems. Instructions for making the “zafu” style meditation cushion that is pictured in the ‘zine and in some of these photos are found here.

Lois Klassen describes a 2024 sustainable sewing goal related to these textile waste meditations on Check Your Thread podcast #117: Fabric Goals for 2024.

A round meditation cushion is on a carpetted floor. In the background, exercise weights (dumbbells and other yoga cushions and blocks) are seen in the background.
A portion of a round meditation cushion is seen sitting on a pile of empty meditation cushion forms. They are all made of decorative upholstery fabrics.
A slip of paper has a drawing of a hand holding a small bunch of textile waste. The slip of paper is slipped into the opening of an empty meditation cushion as part of the instructions for how to use the empty form to store and re-used textile waste.
A pile of empty meditation cushion forms. They are all made of decorative upholstery fabrics.
A round meditation cushion sits on a pile of empty meditation cushion forms. They are all made of decorative upholstery fabrics.
A hand is gripping a fabric handle attached to the side of a round, fabric meditation cushion.
A hand is stuffing a meditation cushion with scraps of fabric.
A picture of an open 2-page spread from the 'zine "Meditations on Textile Waste". There is a poem on the right and a drawing on the left. The drawing is of a hand with a small amount of textile waste (same as the cover of the book) and a drawing below of a round meditation cushion.
A picture of an open 2-page spread from the 'zine "Meditations on Textile Waste". There is page of text on the right and a simple, abstract collage on the left. The collage includes a photocopy of two pieces of upholstery fabric cut with a round edge and a drawing below of a round meditation cushion.

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