Slow Fashion and Fiber Farming: Nexus for Community Engagement

Abstract

Agriculture and fashion become intertwined when fiber animals are used as a source of “raw materials,” including wool and mohair for clothing and textile production. This study evaluates the emerging visibility of fiber farms in the United States with sheep, alpacas, and angora goats in physical and virtual realms. This study explores twenty-first century fiber farmer discourses that contribute to Slow Fashion. Farmers have extensive expertise about their animals, fibers, and the farm landscape. The research methodology included a virtual ethnography on Facebook, and on-site visits to US fiber farms during 2013. Findings from the virtual ethnography conveyed how fiber farmers in Texas, Virginia, New York, and Illinois individualize the fiber animals with photographs, names, and descriptions of their personality characteristics. Individualizing fiber animals led to user engagement and interest in physically visiting fiber farms. Findings from on-farm visits in New York, led to deeper insight about alpaca fibers, a heritage breed of sheep, and the farmer’s role in the community. The “open” atmosphere created by fiber farmers suggests the sustained development of a local fiber industry, and opportunities for collaborations between fiber farms and the fashion industry.