One of the big environmental issues getting traction at present is the amount of textile waste we generate.  Textiles are not just biodegradable cotton and natural products, more than 2/3rds is polyester and we have a world model that is based on fast crafting and fast fashion, a big business mass production model featuring cheap production of synthetic materials to meet short-term fashion trends and a high consumption, throw it away attitude when it doesn’t suit any more.  We import what can be sold into the consumer countries, then we export the leftover, unused, unwanted, unsold, offcut, discarded and out of fashion waste to East African or South American (and lots of other places too) landfills or we burn it.

Many of us will claim that quilting, and textile art, use 100% cotton which is a natural fibre and therefore must be a good fibre.  But cotton production may involve pesticides, intensive farming practices, high levels of water usage and significant environmental degradation.  And who has a stash of fabric that will take several lifetimes of intensive sewing activity to meaningfully reduce?

Quilting used to be a slow craft, traditionally utilising scraps and old clothing and blankets to create necessary items for warmth and comfort.  English sailors handmade quilts on board ship to keep themselves warm and helped bring the skill to Australia with early European settlement.  And, of course, the pioneer women free settlers and the convicts brought here to serve their penal sentences also brought their existing skills with them.

Wagga quilts (or “waggas”) are a unique, utilitarian Australian textile tradition born from necessity and extreme scarcity in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally, they were rugged, warm blankets made by swagmen and pioneers from jute or hessian flour/wheat sacks, often just sewn together with a bag needle.  Our grandmothers made quilts with a purpose, with intent and with what they had to hand.

I’m not going to point the finger and say that you should not have a stash, or you should not buy a whole designer range to make your next quilt, or you must only use 100% organic cotton, or you have to finish each quilt knowing where it will end up.  I try not to be involved in blame as it is useless.

I doubt any individual can save the world, or even reduce the textile pile, but if we all change our mindset and expectations, do our best to teach the next generations about the practical means of reducing our consumption and waste, and try to reuse, recycle, repurpose, upcycle, re-imagine and re-engineer each item that passes through our hands, we might have a chance.

The images above are of a Traditional Wagga in the ownership of the National Wool Museum.  The Wagga was probably made between 1958 and 1966.  It is 1550 mm x 1700 mm.  You can see the full story about Waggas at the National Quilt Register or the National Wool Museum websites. Put Australia in the search engine when searching them.