Dispatch No. 9 Shoddy Work

Join us as we navigate an unexpected turning point in our mission to build a fully circular textile system.

Working with Dr John Parkinson, one of the last remaining “shoddy men” in the UK, we set out to recycle fibre from our blanket project and cotton offcuts from clothing production.

Shoddy, a term once used to describe reclaimed and respun yarn, has its roots in West Yorkshire’s textile industry, where generations of skilled workers turned waste into new material long before sustainability became a modern concern.

But as the project unfolds, John retires suddenly, taking with him not only a lifetime of knowledge but a crucial part of the process. Faced with the loss of both expertise and infrastructure, the system we were building begins to unravel.

What follows is not an ending, but a shift. Drawing on what we've learned, we begin the search for a new path forward. One that continues to honour the principles of reuse, locality, and making things properly, even when the route becomes uncertain.

We're not there yet.

But we'll keep sharing the journey as we go.