In the coming years, a transition in the textile industry is no longer a question but a task. In today’s linear textile value chain, there is no relationship between natural resources, cultivation, processing and the consumer. Production takes place far away, spread over several continents. The textile system is geared toward the cheapest possible production, with raw materials crossing the globe multiple times. Textiles, traditionally a valuable and cherished material, thus become disposable.

Willemien Ippel is co-founder of Crafts Council Nederland and co-initiator of The Linen Project. The Linen Project is committed to rediscovering the knowledge of local flax production and how to process it into linen by going through all the steps of linen production in both manual and industrial ways. The collective interest and well-being of people and the earth are central to both methods. In doing so, the project looks to use the principle of Shared Stewardship which takes the commons as its starting point: an economic, social and cultural paradigm, based on the values of equality, self-sufficiency, diversity and inclusion.

WDCD Live Amsterdam 2024

Willemien Ippel will join the breakout session: Crafting Tomorrow: Weaving Tradition Through Innovation.

Join Willemien Ippel and hundreds of creatives on 5 July, tickets are now available.