Sustainable Fashion Week at Zero Carbon Guildford

This September, Zero Carbon Guildford will be a hub for Sustainable Fashion Week, hosting a programme of events designed with volunteers to showcase regenerative fashion practices. From free clothes swaps and mending circles, to a natural dyeing workshop and a garden tour at Rosamund Community Garden, the events will explore how we can create new relationships with our clothes through community, creativity and care for the land.

My own journey into sustainable fashion began after more than a decade working in fashion, across sourcing, supply chain management, product development and design. Working in factories in Bangladesh, China, Europe and the UK, I saw first-hand the unethical practices that underpin much of the industry. I knew things needed to change.

Later in life I decided to use that experience to pursue an MA in Sustainable Fashion with Falmouth University. Through my final major project I launched the Kindred Cloth Collective, partnering with Zero Carbon Guildford and Rosamund Community Garden to promote regenerative fashion practices.

At Kindred Cloth Collective, we are experimenting with what a fashion commons might look like in Guildford. This draws on the work of commons scholars like Elinor Ostrom and David Bollier, who explore shared stewardship as a new paradigm for how communities can thrive together. For us, this means creating spaces where people can repair and redesign clothes, grow and cultivate natural dye plants, and reconnect fashion back to the soil and other living systems that support it.

The future goal is to grow enough dye plants to establish a community dye bath, while continuing to host workshops that share skills in land stewardship, ethical fashion practices, craft and sustainable design. By doing so, we hope to build a strong regenerative fashion commons with Zero Carbon Guildford, a place where clothing is extended and cared for, through social spaces and celebrated as part of a circular community - led system.

Join us at Zero during Sustainable Fashion Week to get a taste of what this further could look like.

🌿 Programme of Events at ZERO & Rosamund Community Garden

📅 Saturday 27th September

• 👕 Clothes Swap | 1–3pm, ZERO Bring up to 5 good-condition items to refresh your wardrobe sustainably.

• ✂️ Mending Circle | 1–3pm, ZERO Learn visible mending (Sashiko) and upcycle clothes in a friendly space.

• 🎨 Upcycling with Nature Block Printing | 1–3pm, ZERO Adorn clothes with nature-inspired prints, designed by ZERO artists.

  
  

📅 Tuesday 30th September

• 🌍 Doughnut Economics Workshop | 7–9pm, ZERO Explore how fashion impacts the planet and discuss sustainable futures.

  
  

📅 Saturday 4th October

• 👕 Clothes Swap | 1–3pm, ZERO

• ✂️ Mending Circle | 1–3pm, ZERO

• 💧 Talk: Fashion in the Wey | 3–4pm, ZERO A look at Guildford’s lost textile history and how fashion still impacts our river today.

  
  

📅 Sunday 5th October

• 🌸 Natural Plant Dye Workshop | 11–3pm, Rosamund Community Garden (£20) Learn to create beautiful textiles using seasonal, organically grown dye plants.

Check out the Sustainable Fashion Week events page and book your space on one of our events today!

Book Your Space