Episode 3: High Fibre

What is it about cloth that is so appealing? Now more than ever, there is a hunger for sensual experiences that can only be satisfied by touch. We are surrounded by smooth surfaces, from computer screens and kitchen counters, to cars and sadly clothing.

Clothing is increasingly constructed from a narrow range of mostly synthetic fibres – while momentarily appealing to the eye and the purse, these fabrics leave us starved of the tactile stimulus we need. In this episode we ask why only 42% of our clothes are made from natural fibre, when it is generally considered that they are better for the environment and feel better against our skin. Furthermore, why does one fibre - cotton - account for 39% of our clothing?

Always keen to support the underdog, in this episode I talk to proponents of marginalised or undervalued fibres: an angora rabbit farmer from Sweden, a weaver from Shreenagar, the beautiful lake capital of Kashmir in Northern India, and a crofter and a knitter from Fair Isle in Scotland.