Sustainable Fashion Spring Gathering
23-25 MARCH 2023
The very first SFS Spring Gathering ran 23rd-25th March 2023. The 3-day series of events across Scotland (and online) enabled over 270 attendees to meet and connect with others working to create change in fashion and textiles, to improve their sustainability practice by learning from each other and support organisations, and to grow community and confidence in contributing to the sustainable fashion movement.
Thanks to our inspiring event collaborators and volunteers, we are proud to have offered workshops, talks, workspace tours and social gatherings across Scotland and online, reaching people from Kirkwall, Orkney down through the Central Belt to Langholm in the Scottish Borders.
We believe it is important for everybody who wants to be involved with the sustainable fashion movement to be able to. So we hope you will find value in catching up or rewatching the event recordings if you were not able to join the Spring Gathering at the time.
The Spring Gathering coincided with our third birthday at Sustainable Fashion Scotland. We hope you enjoy exploring what happened during this countrywide celebration of sustainability and community in fashion and textiles in Scotland.
Thank you to Creative Scotland for supporting the SFS Spring Gathering through the Open Fund.
Welcome from SFS +
Intro to Business Gateway
Thu 23 March, 09:15-10:00 | Online
SFS Directors Mairi Lowe and Liisa Lehtinen share about SFS and warmly welcome you to the Spring Gathering, including an introduction to Business Gateway by Andrew Caldwell (00:10:05).
Intro to Zero Waste Design Collective
Sat 25 March, 09:15-10:00 | Online
Cassandra Belanger introduces Zero Waste Design Collective - a global collective tackling textile waste - during the morning welcome session on day 3 of the Spring Gathering.
Source and share supplies, skills and equipment with CAN
Thu 23 March, 12:30-13:30 | Online
Don’t know what to do with all your spare materials? Join Kate V Robertson from CAN (Circular Arts Network) to learn how to use the new online circular economy exchange platform and for a discussion on sourcing and sharing supplies, skills and equipment.
Communicating Sustainability: Marketing Challenges Workshop with Mairi Lowe
Thu 23 March, 16:00-17:00 | Online
Join SFS Creative Director Mairi Lowe for a talk and Q&A on marketing and communicating sustainability. Participants brought along their fashion and textile marketing challenges for the group to explore and workshop ideas together.
Introduction to Social Enterprise Scotland and Q&A
Fri 24 March, 12:00-12:30 | Online
Join Jayne Chappell from Social Enterprise Scotland to learn what a social enterprise is, why it is an essential part of a transformational change in our communities, and to ask questions about available support.
Metamorphosis: Rethinking Waste and Our Future
Fri 24 March, 15:00-16:00 | The Great Tapestry of Scotland (Galashiels) & Online
Join Euan Winton and Lucy Robertson, Assistant Professors of Design at Heriot-Watt University, for an exhibition viewing and talk about Metamorphosis.
Clothing and Climate Change
Fri 24 March, 19:00-20:30 | Zero Waste Hub by SHRUB Coop (Edinburgh)
Join Repair What You Wear and SHRUB to explore the key issues around clothing and climate change and what we can all do to improve the outcomes, including repair skills.
Video filmed and edited by Mary O'Driscoll
Photos by Mary O'Driscoll
Social Gathering in Fort William
Thu 23 March, 18:30-21:00 | Beinn Nibheis (Fort William)
Jam, founder of The Caledonian Wool Co and Eilidh, founder of Beinn Nibheis, Scotland’s technical outdoor shop for and by women, hosted an event exploring how the local community in Fort William is driving change in fashion.
ACS Clothing Site Tour
Thu 23 March, 11:00-12:30 | ACS Clothing (North Lanarkshire)
Zero Waste Design in Practice Workshop
Sat 25 March, 13:00-16:00 | Glasgow School of Art (Glasgow) & Online
Cassandra Belanger and Danielle Elsener from Zero Waste Design Collective taught a hybrid workshop about what zero waste design is, the main principles of zero waste design and why it’s important. The workshop recording is only available for people who purchased a ticket, but you can discover more zero waste design resources and e-learning courses on the Zero Waste Design Collective website.
Tour of Prickly Thistle Heritage Mill
Sat 25 March, 13:30-15:00 | Prickly Thistle Heritage Mill (Alness)
Clare Campbell from Prickly Thistle hosted a tour of the only B Corp mill in the UK, sharing about the operations of a slow fashion textiles manufacturer and the movement it has awoken.
Creation Mill Open Doors Day
Fri 24 March, 10:00-17:00 | Creation Mill (Langholm)
In Langholm, Creation Mill opened their doors for a tour of the Buccleuch Mill textile production workspaces, a mending workshop, and a stash busting fabric & haberdashery swap.
Fashion Fictions Workshop
Sat 25 March, 11:00-12:30 | Online
Sustainable Fashion Scotland hosted a Fashion Fictions workshop for the group to imagine and explore enticing alternative fashion Worlds, and to gain hopeful inspiration to create transformative change in fashion in Scotland.
Social Gathering in Glasgow
Sat 25 March, 17:30-21:30 | Stereo basement (Glasgow)
Sustainable Fashion Scotland invited the fashion community to connect, celebrate and close the very first Spring Gathering in Glasgow city centre, where SFS launched in February 2020!
Thank you to everybody who came along to celebrate with us.
Liisa and Mairi, SFS Directors
Special Thanks
We would like to say a special thank you to all our event hosts and collaborators and the 270+ attendees for being part of the first SFS Spring Gathering.
We would also like to say thank you to our amazing volunteers for their hard work - we couldn’t have done it without you!
If you would like to get involved with planning how the Spring Gathering could evolve or support it with funding, please get in touch with Liisa, Operations Director at SFS and the Spring Gathering Project Lead.