Price: $18.95 - $17.62
(as of Apr 01, 2025 22:15:55 UTC – Details)
Follow a sweater with an “Italian Merino” label back far enough and chances are its life began not in Milan, but in Montana. Many people want to look behind the label and know where their clothes come from, but the textile supply chain-one of the most toxic on the planet-remains largely invisible. In Raw Material, Stephany Wilkes tells the story of American wool through her own journey to becoming a certified sheep shearer.
What begins as a search for local yarn becomes a dirty, unlikely, and irresistible side job. Wilkes leaves her high tech job for a way of life considered long dead in the American West. Along the way, she meets ornery sheep that weigh more than she does, carbon-sequestering ranchers, landless grazing operators, rare breed stewards, and small-batch yarn makers struggling with drought, unfair trade agreements, and faceless bureaucracies as they work to bring eco-friendly fleece to market.
Raw Material demonstrates that the back must break to clothe the body, and that excellence often comes by way of exhaustion. With humor and humility, Wilkes follows wool from the farm to the factory, through the hands of hardworking Americans trying to change the culture of clothing. Her story will appeal to anyone interested in the fiber arts or the textile industry, and especially to environmentally conscious consumers, as it extends the concerns of the sustainable food movement to fleece, fiber, and fashion.
Publisher : Oregon State University Press; 1st edition (October 20, 2018)
Language : English
Paperback : 312 pages
ISBN-10 : 0870719513
ISBN-13 : 978-0870719516
Item Weight : 1.03 pounds
Dimensions : 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
Customers say
Customers find the book an engaging and well-written read with wonderful personal stories. Moreover, they appreciate its informative content about wool raising, with one customer noting its detailed coverage of the textile industry. Additionally, the book receives positive feedback for its honest portrayal of sheep shearing, with one review highlighting that it doesn’t romanticize the process.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
